Voting in the 2025 Osgoode By-election

The by-election to elect a City Councillor for Ward 20 Osgoode will be held on Monday, June 16, 2025. Eligible electors will have the opportunity to cast a ballot for the office of City Councillor for Ward 20 Osgoode.

A list of candidates running in the 2025 Osgoode By-election will be regularly updated and available on ottawa.ca/vote. Electors in the 2025 Osgoode By-election can use their address to view the list of candidates for City Councillor Ward 20 Osgoode by using the Who is running in my ward? tool.

A person is eligible to vote in the 2025 Osgoode By-election in the City of Ottawa if on Voting Day (Monday, June 16, 2025), they are:

1. a resident of Ward 20 Osgoode, or an owner or tenant of land in Ward 20 Osgoode, or the spouse of such an owner or tenant.
2. a Canadian citizen.
3. at least 18 years old.
4. not prohibited from voting by law.

If you do not live in Ward 20 and live in a different City of Ottawa ward, you may not vote in the 2025 Osgoode By-election, even if you are the owner or tenant of a separate property in Ward 20. If you are a non-resident who lives outside the City of Ottawa and have a qualifying address in Ward 20, you may vote in this by-election.

If you own or rent properties in more than one ward in the City of Ottawa, you must choose only one ward to vote in and be on the Voters’ List for that qualifying address. You do not qualify as a non-resident elector if you do not personally own or rent a property in the municipality.

Disclaimer: External links to candidate websites or social media accounts may be included in the tables on this page if they were provided by the candidate. These links are intended to help visitors access campaign information but do not constitute an endorsement of the content. By clicking these links, you will leave the City of Ottawa’s Elections website. The City of Ottawa’s Elections Office does not operate, review, endorse, or approve any external website nor are we responsible for the views, content, accuracy or display language of information presented by any external website. The City of Ottawa is not responsible or liable for any damages arising from linking to or accessing these sites.

Vote in person

Eligible electors in the 2025 Osgoode By-election can vote in person on:

1. Advance Vote Day on June 6 from 10 am to 8 pm.
2. Voting Day on June 16 from 10 am to 8 pm with the exception of long-term care and retirement homes.

In person voting will use an “anywhere voting” model that uses an electronic Voters’ List and allows electors to cast their ballot at any voting place, regardless of their address. Staff is in the process of reviewing voting places that will be used, and the list of voting places will be made available once confirmed.

Vote by special mail-in ballot

From May 15 to May 23 at 4:30 pm, eligible electors in the 2025 Osgoode By-election can request to vote by special mail-in ballot. Once the application period is open and the form is available, forms can be submitted online, by mail, email or in person.

The Elections Office will send a Special Ballot Voter Kit to applicants the week of May 26 with: 

1. Instructions on how to vote  
2. A ballot  
3. A ballot secrecy envelope
4. A voter declaration form
5. A yellow return envelope with prepaid postage (within Canada)

Completed special ballots must be received at the Elections Office or the Client Service Centres by 4:30 pm on June 16 in order to be counted. Any special ballots received after the deadline will not be counted.

Vote by proxy

From May 15 to June 16 at 4:30 pm, eligible electors in the 2025 Osgoode By-election can appoint a proxy to vote on their behalf if they are unable to make it to a voting place on voting days (June 6 and June 16). Once the application period is open and the form is available, forms can be submitted by mail, email or in person.

A proxy must be an eligible elector in the City of Ottawa but does not need to be a resident eligible elector of Ward 20 Osgoode. If the appointed proxy is also a resident of Ward 20 Osgoode, they can still cast their own ballot while being a proxy. 

You can act as a voting proxy for only one elector unless you are representing members of your own family. You can not be appointed as a proxy for a non-family member and a family member at the same time.

At a voting place, an election worker will issue you a ballot with the list of candidates running in Ward 20 Osgoode. You will then be directed to a voting privacy screen to mark your ballot to vote for your chosen candidate. 

To mark your ballot, use the black marker provided and completely fill in the voting oval to the right of the name of the candidate you wish to vote for. Once you have completed filing out your ballot, you will place it in a privacy sleeve and bring it to an election worker to process through a vote tabulator. 

If you make a mistake 

If you make a mistake and mark your ballot incorrectly, you may return it to the election worker who issued you your ballot. The election worker will mark “cancelled” on the back of the ballot and place it in an envelope for cancelled ballots. The election worker will then issue you a new ballot.  

Declining your ballot 

You have the right to decline your ballot. To decline your ballot, tell the election worker that you are declining your right to vote when they issue you your ballot.  

The election worker will mark “declined” on the back of your ballot and place in an envelope for declined ballots.  

Declined ballots will be counted as part of the official results. 

Spoiling your ballot 

You also have the right to “spoil” your ballot. If you wish to spoil your ballot, you may: 

1. Leave all of the ovals blank (“under-vote”)  
2. Fill in more than one oval (“over-vote”)

In each scenario, the vote tabulator will notify the election worker that the tabulator has detected an over or under vote. The election worker will confirm this with you and ask if this is how you intended to vote before casting the ballot.  

If a mistake was made, you may return the ballot to the election worker who issued you your ballot. The election worker will mark “cancelled” on the back of the ballot and place it in an envelope for cancelled ballots. The election worker will then issue you a new ballot. 

Spoiled ballots will be counted as part of the official results.

For more information, we recommend consulting the Ministry of Municipal Affairs' 2022 Voters’ Guide – Ontario municipal council and school board elections. This guide was published in for the 2022 Municipal Elections to provide voters with general information in plain language concerning the rules and constraints of the Municipal Elections Act, 1996 as well as other legislation and regulations. The content remains relevant for by-elections during the 2022-2026 term.