Timmins voters to weigh in on city’s ward system

Voters in Timmins will have an additional choice to make in October’s municipal election: whether the city should change the way it elects city councillors. (File)

Voters in Timmins will have an additional choice to make in October’s municipal election.

In addition to choosing a mayor and eight councillors, residents also have the option of voting on whether they would like to see changes to the city ward system.

The decision to add the question to this year’s municipal vote was approved by city council in June 2025.

Currently, there is one ward councillor for wards 1-4, while Ward 5 elects four councillors in total.

“Residents can choose to answer it or leave it blank,” the city said on its elections page.

“The results are reported to council, but are not legally binding -- they are used to guide future decisions.”

Non-binding vote

While rare, similar referendums have been held in northern Ontario as part of municipal elections. In 2014, residents in Greater Sudbury voted in favour of deregulating store hours and allowing stores to open on Boxing Day.

While also a non-binding vote, city councillors voted to change local laws in accordance with the referendum results.

Attempts to change the way councillors are elected in municipal votes have failed to gain traction in North Bay, where all 10 councillors are elected at large.

Coun. Jamie Lowery tried to convince his colleagues on a few occasions to at least study the idea of switching to a ward system in North Bay, but the idea failed to gain approval.

Similarly, Sudbury also changed its ward system in 2005, switching from a six-ward system that elected two councillors each to a 12-ward system with one councillor each.

Councillors in Timmins will receive a report on the referendum question at Tuesday’s evening’s meeting.