Municipal elections: francophones automatically placed on an English-language voters’ list — September 21, 2026
- Sandra Padovani
In Ontario, during municipal elections, the current electoral system automatically assigns all citizens to the English-language public school system unless they take administrative steps to change their voting practices. This little-known mechanism distorts demographic and linguistic representation, rendering a portion of the Francophone community invisible on electoral lists.
On the ballot for the municipal elections, Ontarians, with or without children, are asked to choose the elected representatives of one of the four education systems for the next four years: English public or Catholic, French public or Catholic.
However, by default, all voters, even Francophones, are assigned to the English-language public school system, unless they undertake an administrative process to change their support and be able to vote for their own representatives.
This largely unknown mechanism notably affects the political and demographic representation of Francophones on electoral lists, with Francophone votes being rendered invisible and diluted.
The list of Ontario's four education system choices, viewable on a voter's online profile by municipality. Photo: Screenshot
“Our schools contribute directly to the cultural, linguistic, and community vitality of our communities,” commented Denis Labelle, president of the Association of Public School Boards of Ontario (ACÉPO). “School democracy allows Francophones to participate in decision-making… It is essential to preserve and strengthen this democratic space.”
For Mathieu Fleury, a former Ottawa city councillor and candidate for the Conseil des écoles publiques de l'Est de l'Ontario (CEPEO), this default assignment is troubling. "Why not ensure that all Francophones, even those without children, contribute to the proper council instead of automatically assigning it to the Anglophone public school board?" he asks.
"For us, the strength of our Francophone institutions in promoting and defending our rights is paramount."
The Francophone vote: a political and demographic weight
Mr. Fleury points out that municipal and school elections are held together because historically school democracy stems from the allocation of school and property taxes.
"At the time of the vote, municipal representatives are elected who vote on a budget, and from this allocation of budgetary proportions, an amount goes to the school boards."
Mathieu Fleury is a candidate for Ottawa Wards 12 and 13 with the Eastern Ontario Public School Board. Photo: courtesy
He explains that in the case of parents who have children in the system, there is a certain level of interest and responsibility, with French-speaking councils trying to raise awareness among families so that they make the change.
“On the other hand, for French speakers who do not have children, their share automatically goes to the public English-speaking sector without their knowledge,” he warns. “It’s like an unidentified indirect allocation.”
According to Emmanuelle Richez, president of the ACEPO School Elections Committee, "although there is no real financial impact, the impact is felt when requesting new schools, because it is necessary to be able to prove that there is sufficient demand."
According to this, the provincial government consults data from the electoral register to assess the size and weight of linguistic communities when making decisions on infrastructure or planning.
"Underrepresentation on electoral lists thus directly harms requests for the construction and opening of new French-language schools," says Ms. Richez.
Additional opaque administrative procedures
The organization in charge of collecting information on school system assignment is called the Municipal Property Assessment Corporation (MPAC).
The municipality orchestrates the elections, but "the designation of the school board remains the responsibility of the SÉFM/MPAC," assures Elections Ontario, responsible for preparing the preliminary list of electors, using the Permanent Register of Electors for Ontario.
To change the school board they support, citizens must log in to the SÉFM online portal, depending on whether they own or rent their home. They can also request the update by mail.
"The way in which SÉFM/MPAC has chosen to orchestrate its database adds extra steps for eligible voters to vote for Francophone councillors, and that's a serious problem."
— Yelena Nichilo, candidate for school trustee for the Csc MonAvenir
June 1, 2026 was the deadline for the final school board choice to automatically appear on the final voters list submitted to Elections Ontario.
"Voters in all municipalities can contact their municipal clerk to update their information or register to vote (online) at any time until the close of election day," Elections Ontario states.
After this period, it is necessary to submit a confirmation to the municipality to correct the list, but also to modify the information on school support using the online school support tool of the SÉFM, in preparation for the future municipal elections.
If a move is made to another municipality, the choice is not retained and, without a new active step, the system reassigns voters by default to the English-language public network.
"The way SÉFM/MPAC has chosen to orchestrate its database adds extra steps for eligible voters to vote for Francophone councillors and that is a serious problem," laments Yelena Nichilo, a candidate for school trustee in Toronto for the Conseil scolaire MonAvenir, who denounces a system that is "archaic, anti-democratic, anti-Francophone."
The system's trap spares no one, not even those involved in the education sector. She notes that many citizens are absent from her electoral list, including employees of the MonAvenir school board: "Yet these are people who work within the system and are aware of this misclassification," she laments.
Last-minute changes at polling stations?
When questioned on this issue, the Minister of Francophone Affairs, Natalia Kusendova-Bashta, assured that as a last resort, a voter can request to change their choice on site at the polling station.
When contacted by ONFR as an example, the City of Ottawa assured us that a voter will be able to change their voters information at their polling station on election day, although this must be done "before receiving the ballot, by completing a ' request to add or change my information' on the voters list ."
In reality, however, due to a lack of knowledge of the system, few will make the request: "Many Francophones or Catholics discover on election day that they are registered by default in the English-language public network and give up on having their status rectified on site," analyzes Emmanuelle Richez.
Emmanuelle Richez, the chair of the School Elections Committee of the Ontario Public School Boards Association (OPSBSA).
"However, these voters (not on the preliminary electoral list) will not have been contacted by the candidates and will not have the necessary information to make an informed choice."
Towards a modernization of the system?
On the question of a possible modernization to ensure the registers reflect the true demographic weight of the Francophone minority, the SÉFM/MPAC is entirely passing the buck to the provincial government. The organization denies having a purely executive role.
"The requirements for designating academic support staff, including available designation options and the legislative framework, are established by provincial legislation. The role of the SÉFM is to collect and maintain information on the designation of academic support staff in accordance with these legislative requirements."
However, regarding determining or updating the language or faith of the occupants, there is no active data collection on their part. The organization acknowledges that this relies solely on the voluntary participation of the voter.
"It's an important issue that really needs to be analyzed, but electoral reform is huge. It's definitely not for these municipal elections, but it's perhaps something we can look at in the future," the Minister of Francophone Affairs cautiously suggested to our microphone.
The Ministry of Education, considering that this falls under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing, is not commenting on the issue at this time.
“No changes are planned. Voters will continue to be able to vote for the school board of their choice,” Michael Minzak, spokesperson for Rob Flack, Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing, told us.
The government noted that it had funded more than one billion dollars in French-language school infrastructure since 2018 without addressing the identified problem: without a review of the registration mechanism, a majority of French-speaking citizens remain, without their knowledge, erased from the
