2026 Waterloo Region municipal elections

The 2026 Waterloo Region municipal elections will be held on October 26, 2026, in the Regional Municipality of Waterloo, Ontario, Canada, to elect Waterloo Regional Council, the mayors and city councils of Cambridge, Kitchener, North Dumfries, Waterloo, Wellesley, Wilmot, and Woolwich, the Waterloo Region District School Board (Public), the Waterloo Catholic District School Board, and the regional members of Conseil Scolaire de District Catholiques Centre-Sud and Conseil Scolaire Viamonde (Public). The elections were part of the wider 2026 Ontario municipal elections.

(X) denotes incumbent.

Waterloo Regional Council

Chair

Following the passage of the "Better Regional Governance Act", the provincial government will appoint the chair of the Region. Voters in the Region had elected the Chair since 1997.[1]

Council

Waterloo Regional Council includes the chair, the mayors of the seven constituent municipalities (see below) and eight directly elected councillors from the three main cities:[2]

List of candidates: [3]

Candidate Vote %
Cambridge (2 to be elected)
Pam Wolf (X)
Doug Craig (X)
Salman Arefin
Prakash Venkataraman
Bryan Causarano-Bolton
Kitchener (4 to be elected)
Joe Gowing (X)
Michael Harris (X)
Matt Rodrigues (X)
Colleen James (X)
Kim Huxted
Simon Guthrie
Michael Wisniewski
Waterloo (2 to be elected)
Jim Erb (X)
Chantal Huinink (X)

Cambridge

List of candidates:[4]

Mayor

2026 Cambridge Mayoral election
October 26, 2026
 
JL
RB
SH
Candidate Jan Liggett Ryan Bolender Scott Hamilton
Mayor before election

Jan Liggett

 Elected mayor

TBD

Mayor Jan Liggett is running for re-election. She is being opposed by city councillor Scott Hamilton,[5][6] and businessman Ryan Bolender.[7]

Mayoral Candidate Vote %
Jan Liggett (X)
Tony Chaves
Ryan Bolender
Scott Hamilton
Ihtsham Haq
Ken Roche

Cambridge City Council

Map of Cambridge's eight wards
Candidate Vote %
Ward 1
Helen Shwery (X)
Jeff Donkersgoed
Ward 2
Mike Devine (X)
David Craig
Ward 3
Corey Kimpson (X)
Ward 4
Ross Earnshaw (X)
David O'Hara
Ward 5
Sheri Roberts (X)
Ward 6
Adam Cooper (X)
Randy Carter
Barbara Harrington
Ward 7
Kristen Danson
David Guerin
Dani Ieso
John Teat
Ward 8
Nicholas Ermeta (X)

Kitchener

List of candidates:[8]

Mayor

2026 Kitchener Mayoral election
October 26, 2026
 
DA
Candidate Berry Vrbanovic David Alton
 
GT
Candidate Wazhma Frogh George Trihenea
Mayor before election

Berry Vrbanovic

 Elected mayor

TBD

Mayor Berry Vrbanovic is running for re-election. Running against him are homelessness advocate David Alton,[9] international human rights lawyer Wazhma Frogh, and[10] businessman George Trihenea.[11]

Mayoral Candidate Vote %
Berry Vrbanovic (X)
David Alton
Wazhma Frogh
George Trihenea
Wali Khan
Manikantan Nair
Cindy Ward

Kitchener City Council

Map of Kitchener's 10 wards
Candidate Vote %
Ward 1
Scott Davey (X)
Ward 2
Dave Schnider (X)
Ward 3
Jason Deneault (X)
Joanne Delaney-Fraser
Lurdes Jordao
Ismail Mohamed
Matt Parker
Ward 4
Christine Michaud (X)
Ibraheem Kappaya
Vikki Poirier
Ward 5
Muhammad Miqdad Hudda
Jon Massimi
Nitin Nair
Rich Peers
Danielle Rose
Sumit Selhi
Fitz Vanderpool
Ward 6
Paul Singh (X)
Brooklin Wallis
Ward 7
Nikki Rollick
Ward 8
Carly Pettinger
Ward 9
Mohamed Askalany
Debbie Chapman (X)
Tim Willcox
Ward 10
Stephanie Stretch (X)
Sam Nabi

North Dumfries

List of candidates:[12]

Mayor

Mayoral Candidate Vote %
Rodney Rolleman

Waterloo

List of candidates:[13]

Mayor

2026 Waterloo Mayoral election
October 26, 2026
 
Candidate Dorothy McCabe Shannon Weber
Mayor before election

Dorothy McCabe

 Elected mayor

TBD

Mayor Dorothy McCabe has announced she will be running for re-election.[14]

Mayoral Candidate Vote %
Dorothy McCabe (X)
Jeyas Balaskanthan
Jamie Hari
Jerry Jiang
Shannon Weber

Waterloo City Council

Map of Waterloo's seven wards
Candidate Vote %
Ward 1
Sandra Hanmer (X)
Ward 2
Asma Al-Wahsh
Khaled Berbash
Shawn Humes
Ying Susan Jiang
Ward 3
Hans Roach (X)
Victoria Robertson
Ward 4
Diane Freeman (X)
Travis Restoule
Ward 5
Eda Dede
Scott Piatkowski
Marty Rempel
Victoria Richardson
Ward 6
Mary Lou Roe (X)
Damian Mikhail
Ward 7
Julie Wright (X)

Wellesley

List of candidates:[15]

Mayor

Mayoral Candidate Vote %
Joe Nowak (X)

Wilmot

Mayor

Mayor Natasha Salonen is running for re-election.[16] She is being opposed by Stephanie Goertz, co-founder and organizer with the Waterloo Region Grassroots Response to the Ukrainian Crisis,[17] and Ward 2 Councillor Kris Wilkinson.[18]

List of candidates:[19]

Mayoral Candidate Vote %
Natasha Salonen (X)
Stephanie Goertz
Kristopher Wilkinson

Woolwich

Mayor

Mayor Sandy Shantz is not running for re-election. Running to replace her is Ward 1 councillor Evan Burgess, and Ward 2 councillor Eric Schwindt.[20]

List of candidates:[21]

Mayoral Candidate Vote %
Evan Burgess
Eric Schwindt

References

  1. ↑ "Province passes bill to make appointment of regional chairs official". Cambridge Today. May 11, 2026. Retrieved May 18, 2026.
  2. ↑ "Regional Council". Region of Waterloo. Retrieved May 14, 2022.
  3. ↑ "2026 Municipal Election". Region of Waterloo. Retrieved July 5, 2026.
  4. ↑ "Nominations & Candidate Profiles". City of Cambridge. Retrieved July 5, 2026.
  5. ↑ "'We can turn the tide:' Jan Liggett seeking second term as mayor". Cambridge Today. Retrieved May 24, 2026.
  6. ↑ "'Change needs to be from the top down:' head of BIA announces mayoral bid". Cambridge Today. Retrieved May 24, 2026.
  7. ↑ "Ryan Bolender joins Cambridge mayoral race". Waterloo Region Record. Retrieved July 5, 2026.
  8. ↑ "List of nominated candidates". City of Kitchener. Retrieved June 28, 2026.
  9. ↑ "David Alton pledges to make Kitchener a 'joyful city' as its mayor". Waterloo Region Record. 2026-05-12. Retrieved 2026-05-18.
  10. ↑ "Wazhma Frogh running for Kitchener mayor under 'A Kitchener for Everyone' vision". Waterloo Region Record. 2026-05-04. Retrieved 2026-05-18.
  11. ↑ "George Trihenea would focus on transparency, efficiency as Kitchener mayor". Waterloo Region Record. 2026-07-14. Retrieved 2026-08-22.
  12. ↑ "Municipal Elections". Township of North Dumfries. Retrieved May 18, 2026.
  13. ↑ "Find election candidates". City of Waterloo. Retrieved July 5, 2026.
  14. ↑ "Dorothy McCabe seeks a second term as Waterloo mayor". Waterloo Region Record. Retrieved May 24, 2026.
  15. ↑ "Election". Township of Wellesley. Retrieved May 18, 2026.
  16. ↑ "Salonen seeking re-election in Wilmot". Grant Haven Media. Retrieved July 5, 2026.
  17. ↑ "Stephanie Goertz wants to be the voice for Wilmot residents as township's next mayor". Waterloo Region Record. Retrieved July 5, 2026.
  18. ↑ "Wilkinson declares intention to run for mayor". Grant Haven Media. Retrieved July 5, 2026.
  19. ↑ "Elections". Township of Wilmot. Retrieved May 18, 2026.
  20. ↑ "Ward 1 Coun. Evan Burgess enters Woolwich mayoral race". Observer Xtra. Retrieved June 28, 2026.
  21. ↑ "List of Candidates & Financial Statements". Township of Woolwich. Retrieved May 18, 2026.
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