Candidate Information
The Town of Stony Plain will be holding a municipal election on Monday, October 20, 2025, where voters will elect one Mayor and six Councillors.
Nomination Period
Nomination period opens: Wednesday, January 1, 2025
Nomination period closes: Monday, September 22, 2025 at 12 noon.
Register as a Candidate |
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Intent to Run New this year, file your Intent to Run as a candidate. Candidates who plan to run in the 2025 municipal election can only accept campaign contributions and incur campaign expenses once their notice of intent to run is complete and they are added to the Register of Candidates. Nomination Form Every nomination of a candidate shall be completed through the submission of a Nomination Form and Candidate's Acceptance. Each nomination form must be fully completed, and include the signatures of at least 5 eligible electors. To ensure validity of nominations, a candidate may submit more than the required 5 elector's signatures. If a nomination is not signed by at least 5 electors, the Returning Officer cannot accept the form. Reminder, if you intend to accept campaign contributions or incur campaign expenses, you must also file your Intent to Run. The Town does not collect a deposit to file nomination papers. More details for potential candidates can be found in the Candidate Information Package and Nomination Information Package (includes required forms). Forms Form 4 - Nomination Paper and Candidate's Acceptance - Mayor Form 4 - Nomination Paper and Candidate's Acceptance - Councillor |
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Nomination Day |
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The nomination period which runs from January 1, 2025 to 12 noon Monday, September 22, 2025. More details for potential candidates can be found in the Candidate Information Package and Nomination Information Package. |
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Filing of Nomination Papers | ||||||||||
Nominations for the offices of Mayor and Councillor will be accepted by appointment with the Returning Officer at Town Hall (4905-51 Avenue), beginning on January 2, 2025 until 12 noon on September 22, 2025. The Returning Officer is unable to accept nominations before January 1, 2025 or after 12 noon on Nomination Day. Facsimiles and electronically submitted copies will not be accepted.
At any time after the commencement of the nomination period a person may request to examine the filed nomination papers by contacting the Returning Officer to make arrangements. School Trustee nomination forms are not accepted by the Town of Stony Plain. They must be delivered to the appropriate School Board Returning Officer. The candidate is responsible for ensuring that the nomination papers filed meet the requirements of the Local Authorities Election Act. More details for potential candidates can be found in the Candidate Information Package and Nomination Information Package (includes required forms). Forms Form 4 - Nomination Paper and Candidate's Acceptance - Mayor Form 4 - Nomination Paper and Candidate's Acceptance - Councillor |
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Withdraw of Nomination Papers | ||||||||||
Any candidate may withdraw at any time between January 2, 2025 and 12 noon September 22, 2025 (Nomination Day). Following the close of Nomination Day at 12 noon on September 22, 2025, a candidate may withdraw within 24 hours, provided that more than 1 candidate for Mayor or 6 candidates for Councillor have been nominated. The Returning Officer is unable to accept a withdrawal after 12 noon on September 23, 2025 if it could result in less than the required number of candidates for that office. If a candidate wishes to withdraw their nomination papers, a written notice must be provided to the Returning Officer no later than 12 noon, September 23, 2025. More details for potential candidates can be found in the Candidate Information Package and Nomination Information Package. |
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Election by Acclamation | ||||||||||
If at the close of Nomination Day at 12 noon on September 22, 2025, the number of candidates nominated for any office is the same as the number of required to be elected, the Returning Officer shall declare the candidates to be acclaimed to the offices for which they were nominated. |
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Election Sign Guidelines | ||||||||||
Election signs in the Town of Stony Plain are regulated under the Land Use Bylaw. |
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Campaign Finance - Contributions and Expenses | ||||||||||
The Local Authorities Election Act establishes rules for campaign financing and contribution disclosure. Contribution limits A campaign contribution is defined in the Local Authorities Election Act as "any money, personal property, real property or service that is provided to or for the benefit of a candidate's election campaign without fair market value compensation from that candidate." (Section 147.1(1)(c)) Contributions can be accepted from an individual or a corporation that is based in Alberta. It cannot be accepted from the following:
Candidates must submit their Notice of Intent to Run before accepting campaign contributions or incurring expenses. A bank account must be opened in the candidate's name.
Expense limits A campaign expense is defined in the Local Authorities Election Act as "any expense incurred, or non-monetary contribution received, by a candidate to the extent that the property or service that the expense was incurred for, or that was received as a non-monetary contribution, is used to directly promote or oppose a candidate during a campaign period." (Section 147.1(1)(a)) During the year of an election, no candidate shall incur campaign expenses that exceed $20,000. Disclosure of contributions and expenses An accounting of the contributions and expenses must be filed with the Town by March 2, 2026. Any contribution greater than $50 must be disclosed, including the contributors name and address. The Town must ensure that all disclosure documents filed are publicly available on the Town website. |
Council Onboarding |
The Municipal Government Act and the Town of Stony Plain Council Code of Conduct Bylaw specifies that elected officials are required to attend orientation at the start of each Council term. For the purposes of the 2025 municipal election, Council onboarding will begin immediately following the election. A full schedule will be provided to successful candidates, but all prospective candidates should be aware of the proposed time commitments required to participate in onboarding activities: October 28 & 29, 2025 Initial onboarding sessions November 3, 2025 Council photographs, swearing-in ceremony and organizational meeting November 4 – 6, 2025 Onboarding sessions November 12 -14, 2025 Alberta Municipalities Conference November 17 – 19, 2025 Corporate Planning Council Meetings (to be confirmed during the Organizational Meeting on November 3, 2025 Council Meetings (to be confirmed during the Organizational Meeting on November 3, 2025) November 25, 2025 December 1, 2025 December 8, 2025 January 17-19, 2026 Proposed Strategic Planning The expectation is that the onboarding activities will all be full-day events; October 28 will also include an evening commitment. The Council orientation/onboarding will contain pertinent information to assist members of Council in carrying out their legislative duties. Council members have a legislated requirement to attend all orientation training sessions. |
Additional Resources for Candidates |
Local Authorities Election Act Town of Stony Plain Election Bylaw 4 Part Series for Prospective Municipal Candidates - Municipal Affairs
Alberta Municipalities and the Rural Municipalities of Alberta are hosting webinars for potential candidates in this fall’s municipal elections. The associations are offering numerous one-hour sessions from April to September. Prospective candidates can register for webinars that correspond to the size of the municipality in which they will run. |