Frequently Asked Questions

Monday, October 24, 2022

You will vote for one Mayor and six Councillors.

You may vote in the election if:

• you reside in the City of Kenora; or
• you are the owner or tenant of land in the City of Kenora; or 
• your spouse is a property owner or tenant in the City of Kenora;

AND

• you must be a Canadian citizen; and
• you must be 18 years old or older on election day; and
• you are not prohibited from voting as outlined in the Municipal Act, 1996, as amended or nay other legislation.

Vote by phone or online during the voting period, from October 11 at 10 a.m. until October 24 at 8 p.m.

You can voter either by using the telephone and dialing 1-877-380-3657 and following the prompts. Alternately, you can vote using the Internet voting portal at https://elections.kenoravotes.ca and following the instructions on screen.

You must provide proof of your identity and where you live. Even if you have your Voter Information Letter, you must still provide identification.

Please bring:

• A government-issued photo identification that has your name and address; or
• Two pieces of identification:
  • one that includes your name, and
  • the other should have your name and address.

You can vote in person at City Hall, One Main Street South.

You can vote at any time using the telephone or online voting portal from 10:00 a.m. on October 11 to 8:00 p.m. on October 24.

Election Day is October 24, 2022 and polls close at 8 p.m.

All qualified electors on the official Municipal Voters' List will receive a Voter Instruction Letter with a unique  PIN to vote in the election.

Confirm if you are on the Voters' List or register by visiting VoterLookUp.ca before August 31, 2022.

By logging into Voterlookup.ca, you can:

• confirm or update your electoral information;
• add an elector name to an address; and
• change school support for the purpose of voting in a school board election.

After August 31, you can still be added to the list or correct your information using our Form EL15 Application to Amend Voters’ List.

The Voters' List for the Municipal and School Board Elections is only used for the Municipal and School Board Elections. If you have not registered, please visit VoterLookup.ca

Electronic and telephone voting allows increased rights of privacy to voters with physical challenges. Today’s technology provides a variety of ways that persons with disabilities can more easily vote using the online or telephone voting systems. In many cases the person with the disability has the required equipment to allow him or her to access either the telephone or online voting systems and to be able to cast their vote independently and privately.

All qualified electors on the official Municipal Elector’s List provided by the municipality will receive a Voter Instruction Letter with a PIN.

If you are an eligible elector whose name is not on the official Elector List, you will have to attend City Hall or complete the form online at kenoravotes.ca. Once this is completed you will be given a letter containing a unique PIN and voting instructions.

Individual PINs will be mailed to eligible electors starting Monday, October 3, 2022.

If you are an eligible elector and on the official Elector List, but you did not get a PIN in the mail by the start of the election period, you can request a replacement PIN.

If the Election Official’s records indicate you were sent a PIN in the mail, then the original PIN will be disabled and cannot be used to cast a vote in the election. A replacement PIN will be issued to you if the original PIN has not been voted and you provide appropriate identification.

If you did not get a PIN in the mail one of two things may have happened. First, your name was not on the official Elector List. PINs are only mailed to electors whose name appears on the official Elector List as supplied by the City of Kenora. Second, a PIN may have been mailed to you and it has been delayed by Canada Post in the delivery.

No. The system does not track how a particular PIN has voted. It only tracks that the PIN has been used to cast a vote.

No. There is no registration required. During the election period you can use your PIN to cast your phone either through the Internet or by telephone. However, once you have used the PIN by either telephone or internet, you will not be able to use it again to vote by another method.

If an elector loses or misplaces his or her PIN, he or she should contact the City Hall Voter Help Centre at 807-467-2975 (Monday to Friday, 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.) or attend City Hall at 1 Main Street South, Kenora.

The Election Official can decide to replace the missing PIN if it has not already been voted. You have to attend City Hall, sign a form, and then get a replacement letter with a new PIN. The original lost or missing PIN will be disabled to prevent its being used to vote in the election.

You may vote using common smart phones, based on the Android and iOS (iPhone) operating systems that have access to the Internet.

You may vote using common tablets based on the Android and iOS (iPad) operating systems that have access to the Internet.

Yes. You must complete the entire voting process in one session. If you are interrupted, you may go back into the Internet or telephone voting system and enter all of your selections. The manner in which the system works is that none of your selections are registered until you review all of your selections and click the confirm button. You then receive a message stating that your vote was received.

The system will either advise you that you have already voted and prevent you from logging into the system or it will let you log into the system and allow you to make your selections and to cast your vote. If you completed your voting – it will not allow you to log in again.

If the vote has not been cast, you will be able to change your selection(s) to the preferred candidate. However, if you have confirmed your selection, your ballot is cast and cannot be changed.

No. Once a vote has been confirmed it cannot be changed. This process is the same as dropping the ballot into the ballot box in a traditional paper-based election. This ensure complete voter anonymity and secrecy of ballot.

The system does not know how the ballot was voted; only that the PIN was used in the election to cast a vote. Therefore, it cannot be removed from the vote count.

You can vote during the election voting period using the Internet from anywhere in the world. You can use dial the toll free telephone number and vote from anywhere in North America. You need to take your Voter information letter with you so you have your PIN number ready to vote.

You do not have to vote from home. You can vote from any location using any telephone with touch tone service or from any computer such as those at your public library or at City Hall. You can also attend City Hall and cast your vote there using their telephone or computers.

You should never give out your PIN to anyone. You should treat your voting PIN with the same level of secrecy and confidentiality that you would use for your bank card PIN.

This situation is highly unlikely as the voting system is capable of handling a significant volume of calls simultaneously. However, should it happen, hang up and call back a short time later.

Stealing and opening another person’s mail is illegal. It is also illegal to represent yourself as another person and steal their right to vote in an election. Both these acts are illegal and have penalties defined by law.

If you know someone has voted your PIN illegally you should report it to the Election Official.

If you received more than one PIN it is because your name appeared on the Elector List more than once. This rare situation might occur if you have recently moved and been enumerated in both locations or you own property and are the registered resident at both locations. You are only permitted to vote once in a municipality and you should only cast a vote using the PIN associated with your primary place of residence. Notify the Election Official of the additional PIN and he or she will disable this PIN rendering it unusable for the election.

This municipal election has been decided to only run by internet or telephone. Should you require assistance with voting this way, or should you wish to attend an actual polling station you may attend City Hall at 1 Main Street South. However, your vote will still be cast by either using the telephone or the internet at City Hall.

We have established locations throughout the City to assist you with your voting. Please visit one of the following locations to receive assistance with your voting:

Gardner House
Wednesday, October 12, 10 a.m. to 12 p.m.

Parkview Apartments
Wednesday, October 12, 1 to 3 p.m.

Keewatin New Horizon Senior Centre
Thursday, October 13, 10 a.m. to 12 p.m.

Amethyst Apartments
Thursday, October 13, 1 to 3 p.m.

Lake of the Woods District Hospital
Tuesday, October 18, 10 a.m. to 12 p.m.

Wiigwas Elders and Senior Care Centre
Tuesday, October 18, 1 to 3 p.m.

Pinecrest Home for the Aged
Wednesday, October 19, 10 a.m. to 12 p.m.

Benidickson Court
Wednesday, October 19, 1 to 3 p.m.

Kenora Recreation Centre – includes New Horizons Senior Centre
Thursday, October 20, 10 a.m.  to 12 p.m. and 1 to 3 p.m.

Kenora Public Libraries
Computer stations available at both Kenora and Keewatin Libraries during library hours beginning October 11 at 10:00 a.m. 

Remember to bring our Voter Information Letter containing your PIN and your ID.

Voter Helpline 807-467-2975

You can register to run in the 2022 Municipal and School Board Elections on Monday, May 2, 2022.

Nominations close on Friday, August 19, 2022.

View our Candidate Information to learn about nominations and becoming a candidate.

Candidates for school board trustees should visit the 2022 Ontario School Board Election site. 

A third party advertisement is a message that supports or opposes a candidate or a “yes” or “no” question on the ballot. It can be in any medium including print, broadcast, electronic platform, and more. It does not include issue-based advertising or advertising that does not incur a cost.

Third party advertisements cannot be made by or under the direction of a candidate and must include:

• The name of the registered third party
• The municipality where the third party is registered
• A telephone number, mailing address or email address at which the registered third party may be contacted regarding the advertisement 

In order to run for office in the City of Kenora, the individual must be: 

• A Canadian citizen
• At least 18 years of age 
• A resident of the City of Kenora, or
• An owner or tenant of land in the City of Kenora, or the spouse of the owner or tenant
• Not legally prohibited from voting
• Not disqualified for violation of financial requirements or violations of requirements for filing financial information
• Not disqualified by any Act from holding office
• Not disqualified under the provisions as outlined in the Municipal Elections Act

Candidates must not be the following: 

• A judge of any court
• A member of Provincial Legislature, the Federal House of Commons or Senate who has not resigned from their office by the close of nominations
• A candidate who failed to file the necessary financial statement in the last municipal election or by-election

Interested individuals can file their nomination paperwork beginning Monday, May 2, 2022 and up until Friday, August 19, 2022 by 2 p.m.

Unfortunately, interested candidates must file their nomination papers in-person by the candidate or an agent with the City Clerk. 

Interested candidates are encouraged to make an appointment to file nomination paperwork with the City Clerk. To schedule an appointment, please contact Heather Pihulak, Returning Officer, at 807-467-2295 or by email, hpihulak@kenora.ca

The 2022 Municipal Election nomination forms are now available on the Forms and Tools page.

Hard copies can be picked up at 1 Main Street South, Kenora, ON.

The nomination must be completed in full and filed in person by the candidate or an agent of the candidate and include: 

1. Identification suitable to the Clerk;
2. Nomination Paper- Form 1;
3. If applicable, in the case of a nomination on a council, be endorsed by at least 25 persons and be accompanied by a prescribed declaration by each of the persons endorsing the nomination- Form 2; and
4. Application filing fee. 

Candidates can only start campaigning after the nomination papers are files. Candidates may campaign up until the end of Voting Day.

When you file your Nomination papers, the Clerk will provide you a copy of the Election Sign By-law which will outline the rules around where you may place campaign signage.

Last day to withdraw a Nomination form is Friday, August 19, 2022 at 2 p.m.

Please ensure to file the withdrawal of Nomination Form in-person as original signatures are required and additionally, please provide identification during this time. 

You must open a bank account exclusively for your campaign if you accept any contributions of money (including contributions from yourself or your spouse) or incur any expenses. You cannot use your personal bank account for campaign finances, even if you are planning a very small campaign. All contributions—including contributions you make to yourself—must be deposited into the campaign bank account. All expenses must be paid for from the campaign account.

Find information about what trustees do, becoming a trustee, and other frequently asked questions about school boards at Ontario School Board Elections.