Municipal election ballots are beginning to take shape across Midwestern Ontario, but a regional review shows a sharp divide between crowded races and positions that still have few, or no, candidates.
Unofficial candidate lists available heading into the August holiday weekend showed 257 municipal candidates seeking 261 positions across 35 municipalities in Bruce, Grey, Huron and Perth and northern Wellington.
However, the nearly even totals do not tell the full story.
Candidates are concentrated in competitive mayoral races and some multi-seat councillor contests, while other wards and offices remain under-subscribed. Based on the latest available lists, 67 individual positions do not yet have a corresponding candidate, while 63 candidates are part of races with more people running than positions available.
Twenty-six of the 35 municipalities have at least one office, ward or councillor category with fewer candidates than available positions. 14 have at least one category showing no candidate at all.
At the same time, 17 municipalities have contested races for mayor/reeve. Another 17 have only one candidate for head of council, while Howick’s July 21 list showed no candidate for reeve.
The lists remain unofficial and are being updated at different times. Some were current to the final week of July, while others were several weeks old. Nominations remain open until 2 p.m. on August 21.
Bruce County
Five of the eight Bruce County municipalities reviewed had at least one under-subscribed race.
The county had approximately 13 positions without a corresponding candidate, with the largest gaps appearing in Northern Bruce Peninsula and South Bruce.
Other shortages were found in Arran-Elderslie, Kincardine and Saugeen Shores.
However, competition was stronger in several other communities. South Bruce Peninsula had contested races for every category, while Huron-Kinloss had competition for mayor and council.
Brockton had enough candidates to fill every position, although none of its races was contested.
Grey County
Six of Grey County’s nine municipalities had at least one candidate shortage, representing approximately 13 positions.
Georgian Bluffs had the most significant gap, with no candidates listed for its five councillor positions.
Councillor shortages were also found in Chatsworth, Grey Highlands, Hanover, Southgate and West Grey.
Competition was strongest in Owen Sound and The Blue Mountains, particularly in the mayoral and councillor races.
Meaford also had more council candidates than available seats.
Huron County
Huron County had the most widespread candidate shortages in the regional review.
Eight of its nine lower-tier municipalities had at least one under-subscribed race, accounting for approximately 21 positions.
The most substantial gaps were found in Howick, Goderich, Huron East and Morris-Turnberry.
Some communities also had geographically uneven candidate fields. North Huron had no candidates listed in one ward, while Bluewater and South Huron each had one area without a candidate.
Central Huron’s June candidate list showed both council wards were one candidate short at that time.
Ashfield-Colborne-Wawanosh was the only Huron County municipality reviewed that had enough candidates in every category.
Perth County
Five of Perth County’s six municipalities had at least one candidate shortage, representing approximately 17 positions.
The largest gaps appeared in Perth South and St. Marys, where the number of councillor candidates remained well below the number of available seats.
North Perth had a strong field in Listowel but remained short in the Elma ward.
West Perth had enough candidates in some wards but shortages in Logan and Mitchell.
Perth East’s publicly available list was dated June 8 and showed no candidates in any of its five wards. Because the list was several weeks old, its current status requires confirmation.
Stratford was the only Perth municipality reviewed without a shortage, with contested races for both mayor and council.
Northern Wellington
Candidate interest was also uneven across northern Wellington.
Minto had twice as many councillor candidates as available seats but no candidate listed for deputy mayor.
Wellington North had no candidates listed in two township wards, while another ward had a contested race.
Mapleton had exactly enough candidates to fill its municipal and directly elected county positions, but no races were contested.
With three weeks remaining before nominations close, more candidates will be needed across much of the region to ensure every position is filled and voters have a choice on election day.
