Voting in 2026
Why this election matters, how the city actually works, and everything you need to vote, in plain language. Whoever you vote for, vote.
This is the level of government closest to your life.
Federal politics gets the headlines. Provincial politics gets the arguments at dinner. But the government that decides what your street looks like is this one.
Your rent and your property taxes. The bus you catch. The state of the road under your tires. The library your kids use, the park at the corner, the arena, the pool. How the city treats people sleeping outside. What gets built next door, and how long the approval takes. Whether downtown storefronts sit boarded up or fill with life. City council decides all of it, with a budget over a billion dollars a year of mostly your money.
And here is the strange part: most Londoners sit municipal elections out. That is not a scolding. Nobody explains this level of government, so it feels distant even though it is the opposite. But it does mean something useful for you personally: in a low-turnout election, your one vote carries more weight than it does anywhere else.
London’s city government, in one minute.
On October 26 you elect three things: a mayor for the whole city, a councillor for your ward (London has 14 wards, one councillor each), and school board trustees.
The mayor and the 14 councillors together are city council. Council passes the budget, sets property taxes, makes bylaws, and decides what gets built and funded. The mayor is one vote among fifteen, plus the job of setting direction, leading the budget, and speaking for London to the province and the country.
Council meets in public, and everything it votes on is on the record. You can watch any meeting, read any decision, and see how your councillor voted. The links at the bottom of this page make that easy.
Terms are four years. Whoever wins in October runs the city until 2030. That is why one hour at a polling station matters.
Monday, October 26, 2026
Voting hours are 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. Advance voting days run earlier in October. The City posts dates and locations on its official site.
A Canadian citizen, 18 or older on election day, who lives in London, or owns or rents property here.
You’ll need ID showing your name and address. No voter card? You can still vote: check the City’s ID list in the links below.
Start here.
These go to official, non-partisan sources. They’re the same links we’d share whoever you were voting for.
Information for voters ↗
Where, how, and when to vote, ID requirements, and voter registration, from the City of London.
Find your ward ↗
London elects one councillor per ward. Check which ward you live in.
The list of candidates ↗
Everyone who has filed to run in 2026, kept current by the City Clerk.
2026 Voters' Guide ↗
The Government of Ontario's plain guide to municipal council and school board elections.
How municipalities work ↗
A plain-language introduction to what cities actually do, from the Association of Municipalities of Ontario.
All-candidates meetings ↗
The Urban League of London hosts debates where you can hear every candidate. Dates to be announced.
Tools Londoners built for Londoners.
You don’t have to take any politician’s word for what happened at City Hall, including Bronagh’s. Check the record yourself.
Watch what council actually did ↗
A searchable archive of City of London council meetings: video clips and transcripts, built by a Londoner.
Look up how councillors voted ↗
OpenCouncil, a searchable record of London council votes. Community-built and AI-assisted, so double-check anything important against the official minutes.
Thinking of running yourself? ↗
The City's official information for candidates. More Londoners on the ballot is a good thing.
Deciding how to vote for mayor?
Read every candidate. Ask all of us hard questions. Bronagh’s answers are on this site, in plain language. If something is missing, ask her directly.