County of Brant’s municipal election candidates are now finalized after the nomination period closed on Friday, August 21, 2026.
Residents will head to the polls to elect a new mayor, their ward councillors and school board trustees on Monday, October 26.
In all, 33 residents are vying for one of 11 seats on County of Brant Council.
While the race to become the next Mayor for the County of Brant started off between current Ward 1 Councillor Jennifer Kyle and former Ward 5 Councillor Christine Garneau-Bisaillon, four others have since joined them including:
- Graham Horner
- David Swanson
- Kent Hollett
- Stuart Braid
Bailey announced on April 21 that after serving as the head of council for eight years, he would not be seeking a third term.
As for those running for the two seats in Ward 1, incumbent John MacAlpine is joined by:
- John Kemp
- Denise Louise Dyment
- Mary-Jane Brown
- Steve Schmitt
- Mike Petrella
With current Ward 2 Councillor Lukas Oakley announcing in April that he would not be seeking re-election, incumbent Steve Howes is now running alongside:
- James McCulloch
- Jeff Johnston
In Ward 3, incumbents John Peirce and John Bell will be vying to retain their spots on council against:
- Emad Yosif
- David Spencer
- Clifford Atfield
- Arooj Shaikh
- Riley Mulholland.
The race for the two seats in Ward 4 has gained the most traction with eight candidates looking for a spot on council. Incumbent Robert Chambers has been joined by:
- Corey Donn
- Andrea Bowden
- Elaine Tully
- Heather Keam
- Claudine Craigie
- Glenn Hughes
- Ben Clement.
The two positions for Ward 5 are being sought by:
- Incumbent Ella Haley
- Mike Gatopoulos
- Sonia Brown.
Those running to be one of two trustees elected at large to the Grand Erie District School Board include Rita Collver (incumbent), Jason Gemmill, Tom Waldschmidt (incumbent) and Lorraine DeJong.
Those running to be the sole trustee-at-large position on the Brant Haldimand Norfolk District Catholic School Board are incumbent Dan Dignard and current Ward 4 Councillor David Miller.
Kimberly De Jong’s reporting is funded by the Canadian government through its Local Journalism Initiative.The funding allows her to report rural and agricultural stories from Blandford-Blenheim and Brant County. Reach her at kimberly.dejong@brantbeacon.ca.
