The upcoming municipal election taking place in Waterloo gives the community an opportunity to elect a mayor, ward councillors and School Board trustees. The election is taking place on Monday Oct. 26, 2026.
To vote, confirm your voters’ registration by visiting Waterloo.ca. Select “Vote or run in an election” then click on “Check the voters’ list” to enter your information.
Students can vote if they live or study in Waterloo Region. For student accessibility, the City of Waterloo offers supervote locations, including on-campus in the Concourse. You can vote regardless of assigned polling station using your Waterloo region address.
Registration to vote is also available in-person on election day by registering at your polling station.
When registering to vote on voting day, bring two pieces of identification, with one that shows your current address. A student card paired with a bank statement, lease or utility bill will work.
Below are the mayoral candidates for the Waterloo election:
Dorthy McCabe first lived in Waterloo as a student at Wilfrid Laurier University and is running for re-election as mayor. She aims to keep Waterloo affordable, create local opportunities and build on the vibrant city.
Jeyas Balaskanthan attended Wilfrid Laurier University and held leadership positions there until 2022. His current position is executive director at the Uptown Waterloo Business Improvement Area. His vision is to make Waterloo the safest, most entrepreneurial and consumer-focused city in Canada.
Jamie Hari plans to base his policy positions on human rights and needs. He is promoting accessible and livable environments including education, transit, healthcare, food, water and shelter.
Jerry Jiang founded Akatos, a startup community and hacker house for young builders. He aims for Waterloo to be a space where ambition thrives and ideas can blossom with success.
Shannon Weber aims to give Waterloo accountable leadership and hopes to make Waterloo more affordable, empower the local economy and create public spaces for opportunities.
For councillor elections, any resident students living close to Laurier can look into the Uptown Ward 7 candidates. To find your councillor and exact ward, visit Waterloo.ca and use the interactive ward map. The two candidates for Ward 7 are: Julie Wright, current councillor, and Abdullah (no surname).
Councillor Julie Wright was the only name running this year, until the final moments, when Abdullah was added on the last day of nominations.
Abdullah has not published an official platform yet, but has provided the email Abdullahforwaterloo@gmail.com for platform inquiries.
Julie Wright is hoping to be re-elected and plans to continue her commitment to climate action, affordable housing, creating space for equity in local decision making and hopes to engage youth in municipal issues.
Voting day is the last Monday of October from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. Supervote locations such as Wilfrid Laurier University’s Concourse (75 University Ave West) and the University of Waterloo’s Student Life Center (200 University Ave West) are available for students. Advance voting starts on Oct. 10 in Waterloo. Check out the October issue of The Community Edition for more information or visit their website communityedition.ca.
contributed photo of uptown ward from Waterloo.ca
