By actively participating and running for a position within local government, you’ll be contributing to the lives of the over 480,000 residents who call the Halifax Regional Municipality home.
As a passionate resident considering running as a candidate for Councillor or Mayor, you’re about to embark on an exciting and impactful journey.
In the 2024 Municipal and Conseil scolaire acadien provincial (CSAP) Election, candidates can run for one of three roles:
- Mayor;
- Councillor (16 councillors total, one per electoral district ); or
- CSAP Member
Candidate requirements
To be a candidate in the 2024 Election, you must be:
- 18 years of age at the time of nomination;
- a Canadian citizen; and
- ordinarily reside within the Halifax Regional Municipality for six (6) months preceding nomination day, and continue to so reside.
While you don't need to live in the electoral district that you plan to run in, you do need to meet the residency requirement of having lived in the municipality for at least six (6) months.
Preparing for nomination
So long as you meet all candidate requirements, prospective candidates can either appoint an official agent or file a declaration that you'll be acting as your own official agent.
The role of an official agent is to keep track of all campaign contributions and open a separate bank account for this purpose; prospective candidates should appoint an official agent before accepting any campaign contributions.
Campaign contributions
Candidates can begin to collect funds for the 2024 Municipal and CSAP Election beginning on March 1, 2024. Running for public office means that you’ll be held to the same standards of accountability and transparency as the rest of the municipality; all candidates need to be familiar with key campaign finance rules:
- campaign contributions must be received within the official contribution period of each election;
- only individuals can make campaign contributions. Contributions can’t be accepted from corporations, trade unions, non-profit groups, associations or partnerships;
- an individual may contribute up to $1,200 per councillor candidate and/or $3,000 per mayoral candidate (total contributions from an individual can’t exceed $5,900 across all candidates);
- candidates can’t contribute more than $5,900 to their own campaign; and
- candidates for Councillor can’t spend more than $30,000 and candidates for Mayor can’t spend more than $300,000.
On Jan. 9, 2024, Regional Council passed several updates related to campaign finance regulations. Candidates and official agents must be familiar with all finance rules and regulations [PDF].
Current municipal employees
Current employees of the municipality registering to run in the 2024 Municipal and CSAP Election are required to apply for a leave of absence from their position, as outlined in section 17B of the Municipal Elections Act. Questions about this process can be sent to election@halifax.ca.
Making your candidacy official
All candidate forms must be completed and received by the municipality's Returning Officer by nomination day (Sept. 10, 2024). Prospective candidates need:
- to make an in-person appointment to file their nomination;
- valid photo identification;
- all relevant completed forms; and
- a $200 filing fee/deposit.