Candidate Guide

If you are not already a member of the Ontario Libertarian Party you can complete the Membership Application Form and submit it to the Party with a donation to cover your membership fee ($20 per year). Membership fees are eligible for the Ontario Political Tax Credit, so feel free to make a generous donation.

IMPORTANT: If you are a non-active candidate (see description above), we sincerely thank you for your continued contribution of time and effort, and a lot of the information in this guide will not apply to you, except for the paperwork part. However it would be very helpful if you could provide information to put on our web site. We plan to have a page for each candidate so libertarians will know who to vote for in their electoral district. It should include a short bio (age, occupation, marital status, children, how long you've lived in the riding if you have, any community activity), why you are running and what issue or issues you consider important. A picture is also good. This is often all a newspaper needs for their riding profile. If you are willing to talk to media and voters, include your phone number and/or email ID.

The following information is primarily intended for candidates who intend to run a semi-active or active campaign.

As the registered candidate for the riding you are asking to represent in the election, you will most likely be participating in at least one all-candidates debate and may also be invited to participate in one or more media interviews. 'Learn about how to do this in the next section: How do I talk to the media and the public?

A minimum amount of campaign signs will be made available for each riding, so as a candidate, there is not much you need to do except be willing to assist us in receiving (and possibly installing and removing) the signs we provide. A supply of paper brochures will also be provided, which explain the platform of the Ontario Libertarian Party.

Yah, there's a bit of paperwork. It should take 30 minutes, excluding signature collection.

1. Application to be a Libertarian Candidate - This is an agreement between you and the Party which includes the Candidate's pledge, "I will not advocate anything inconsistent with the Ontario Libertarian Party Statement of Principles." The second page provides a checklist to assist you and the Party in planning your campaign.
2. Call your Returning Officer: If it's an unscheduled election (i.e. before October 2026), it will take a few days for your returning officer to set up the Office.  The name, address and phone number will be posted on the Elections Ontario web site a few days after the election is called.  (Find your Electoral District.)  Its a good idea to contact your local Returning Officer (RO) and introduce yourself as the Libertarian Candidate and give them your contact phone number and email. Local media and community groups will contact the RO, and your name will be available to them.
3. Nomination Form - This is available from Elections Ontario[[1]]. Use this form (F0400[[2]]) to collect at least 25 signatures (35-40 to be safe) from eligible voters that live in your riding. It must be filed with the Returning Officer (RO) in the riding (Electoral District) where you are running before the close of nominations. You may collect them anytime, even before the writ is dropped, however if you collect them too early, some of the voters on your nomination form may have moved. (Nominations open the Thursday one week after the Writ is issued (three weeks before Polling Day) for a by-election or if the government is defeated. In the case of a scheduled election (e.g. October 2105) nominations open four weeks before Polling Day. Nominations may be submitted up until 2:00 PM on the following Thursday. Instructions for completing the form are here.
4. Party Endorsement - The Leader of the Party must endorse you as the Party's candidate in your Electoral District, in order to get the Party's name on the ballot under yours. Be sure to let the Regional Coordinator or Campaign Director know you have completed the nomination process.
5. Nomination Statement of Change (F0401) - Available from Elections Ontario [[3]] or from the Party. It must be signed by you and your CFO (the person who will look after your finances and file your Campaign Return) and submitted to Elections Ontario Finance Department before Polling Day, and before you collect any donations for your campaign. The job of CFO may be centralized if the candidate has no expenses worth noting other than materials provided by the party.