UPDATE: 2026 Municipal Election sees more Saugeen Shores residents ‘throwing hats into the ring’

The 2026 Municipal Election nomination deadline on Friday, August 21st, has come and gone and more residents in Saugeen Shores have decided to ‘throw their hats into the ring’.

What began as a two-candidate race in Port Elgin has now become a five-candidate one with the addition of Patricia Corrigan-Frank, Jordan MacKinnon and Dane Buttenaar putting their names forward, joining Tamara McDonald and incumbent Rachel Stack.

Southampton Ward remains at the five who earlier submitted their names: Incumbents Cheryl Grace and John Divinski, Cathe McIntosh, Brenda Reeves and Harry Mazmanian.

Saugeen Ward (Township) remains at three: Eric Tolton, Sterling Thiele and Neil Sarginson.

When it comes to the office of Deputy Mayor, Peter Stanley has withdrawn leaving incumbent Diane Huber and challenger Odette Bartnicki and the Vice-deputy Mayor’s office is between recent Councillor Bud Halpin and Don Matheson.

The three-way race for Mayor remains unchanged: Incumbent Luke Charbonneau, Brian Putnam and Jeff James.

When it comes to the two regional School Boards’ trustees, the Bluewater District School Boar has two contenders, Incumbent Katie Lutz and Julia Bates while the Bruce-Grey Catholic District School Board will have acclaimed Trustee Lucie Desbiens.

(Saugeen Shores website)”The upcoming Municipal Election will be held on Monday, October 26, 2026. The Town of Saugeen Shores will be using an internet and telephone voting system. Paper ballots will not be available.

Electors will be able to vote online or by telephone from Monday, October 19, 2026, beginning at 10:00 a.m. and concluding on Monday, October 26, 2026, at 8:00 p.m.

A Voter Help Centre will be available at the Pryde Aquatic and Wellness Centre (The AWC) in Port Elgin throughout the voting period for assistance with internet voting.

• Voter Help Centre Hours:
  • Monday, October 19, 2026, 10:00 a.m. – 4:30 p.m.
  • Tuesday, October 20, 2026 – Friday, October 23, 2026, 8:30 a.m. – 4:30 p.m.
  • Saturday, October 24, 2026, 10:00 a.m. – 3:00 p.m.
  • Sunday, October 25, 2026, 10:00 a.m. – 3:00 p.m.
  • Monday, October 26, 2026, 8:30 a.m. – 8:00 p.m.

In alignment with Bruce County area municipalities, election services have been procured from Simply Voting Inc., a Canadian-based eDemocracy provider located in Montreal. Simply Voting Inc. also provided voting services for the previous municipal election, allowing Saugeen Shores electors to experience a familiar and user-friendly voting process.

A voter introduction to the Simply Voting internet and telephone voting system for the municipal election is available in this YouTube video. For more information about the security and reliability of Simply Voting, please review the  Integrated Electronic Voting Solutions for Municipal Voting Events document.

Free Internet Access for Voters is available at Bruce County Public Library locations. Voters who require internet access to obtain election information or complete election related activities can visit any Bruce County Public Library location during their regular operating hours.”