And they’re off! Candidates for Caledon municipal and school board election finalized 

By Zachary Roman 

A total of 34 people have registered as candidates in the 2022 Town of Caledon municipal and school board election. 

The final day for candidates to register was August 19, ending a registration period that began on May 2. 

Laura Hall, the Town of Caledon's clerk, has certified all of the candidates that registered by making sure they are qualified and meet the requirements set out in the Municipal Elections Act. 

The election will be taking place on October 24, and Caledon residents will be able to vote for a Mayor, a Councillor in their local ward, a Regional Councillor that represents their local ward and two others, and a school board trustee based on which school system they support. 

Caledon residents will be able to vote at any of the voting locations in Town, but can only vote for Councillor candidates running in the ward they reside or own property in. 

Caledon's Ward structure has changed for this year's election, as has the amount of Regional Councillors that will be elected. There will now be six wards in Caledon, compared to the five it has currently. 

An updated ward boundary map is available on the Town of Caledon's website so residents can find out if they will vote in a different ward. Caledon will be voting in two less regional councillors, and will have two sitting at the regional table after October 24 compared to the four it has now. 

One Regional Councillor will be elected to represent Wards 1, 2 and 3, and another will be elected to represent Wards 4, 5, and 6. 

There will be multiple early voting days in the October election if residents are not available to vote on October 24. These dates are October 8, 14, 15 and 21 — but it is important to note that not every early voting day is available in every ward. 

Caledon residents are encouraged to visit caledon.ca/en/government/election-landing-page.aspx for updated information on when and where they can vote, and the times that voting locations are open. 

In Ward 1, voting will take place at Caledon Central Public School, the Alton Library, Inglewood Community Centre, and Cheltenham Community Centre. In Ward 2, voting can be done at the Margaret Dunn Library, Southfields Community Centre, and Brampton Fairgrounds. In Ward 3, voters can visit the Caledon East Community Complex; and Ward 4 voting locations include the Victoria Parks Community Centre and Palgrave Public School. Places to vote in Ward 5 are St. John the Baptist Elementary School, St. Nicholas Elementary School, and the Albion Bolton Community Centre. Finally, in Ward 6, residents can vote at the Caledon Centre for Recreation and Wellness. 

A person is eligible to vote in Caledon's municipal and school board election if they're a Canadian citizen, at least 18 years of age, and reside within Caledon or are the owner/tenant of land in the Town, or the spouse of said owner/tenant. 

Eligible voters need to be on the Voter's List in order to vote; this list is compiled by the Municipal Property Assessment Corporation. Residents can confirm they are on this list by visiting voterlookup.ca. 

In mid-September, residents on the list can expect to receive a voter notification card in the mail and are asked to bring it with them when they go to vote to make the process faster and easier. Voters must also bring with them a piece of identification that has their name and address on it. 

If a voter's identification does not have their address on it, they must bring a separate piece of identification that shows their qualifying address. 

In 2018, just 16,528 of Caledon's 51,190 registered electors cast their ballots in that year's municipal election. That means the voter turnout was 32.8 per cent. Several candidates already interviewed by The Citizen this year have indicated they think it's important for voter turnout to increase in the 2022 election.