The City of Hamilton will be the last municipality in Ontario to deal with its post-federal election council vacancy.
Belleville, East Ferris, Guelph, Markham, Milton, and Toronto have already voted on how to fill vacancies.
Now-former Ward 8 Councillor John-Paul Danko was elected to Parliament on April 28, 2025.
Hamilton has no announced timeline for its City Council to vote on calling a by-election or filling the position by appointment. The City of Hamilton states it will do so within the sixty days required by the Municipal Act.
This is despite members of Hamilton Council quickly stating they want to call a by-election, and the City Clerk stating he was prepared for the vacancy.
Four of the six other municipalities chose to fill the seat by appointment. Toronto and Milton each called by-elections.
Toronto estimates it will cost $550,000 to administer its byelection. [Toronto wards are approximately three times larger by population than Hamilton.]
Milton estimates it will cost $200,000 to run its by-election. [Milton’s wards are approximately one-third the population of an average Hamilton ward.]
Milton’s Council chose a by-election to ensure democratic legitimacy, declining the request of its Town Clerk, who wished Council to fill by appointment. The Clerk was concerned about the workload of conducting a by-election. The Town Clerk declared their intention to hold the vote in October.
Hamilton City Council is scheduled to acknowledge the vacancy tomorrow (May 28) without taking any action. City staff will have up to 60 days before Council must vote on the process to fill the vacancy.
City Council does not need to wait for City staff’s preferred timeline. They are permitted to pass a resolution to call a by-election immediately upon acknowledging the vacancy.
Hamilton is one of a handful of municipalities in Ontario with a full-time elections manager whose job is to prepare for regular elections, which occur once every four years.
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Published: May 27, 2025
Last updated: May 27, 2025
Author: Joey Coleman
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