A municipal election chooses the people who make local government decisions. In Burlington, that means a mayor, one councillor for your ward and the school-board trustee race you are eligible to vote in.
The mayor is elected by the whole city. Each councillor is elected by one ward.
It is a vote to choose who gets a public job. Municipal elections happen every four years in Ontario. The winners serve until the next regular municipal election.
This election is about Burlington and the local school boards. It is different from a provincial election, where you choose an MPP, and a federal election, where you choose an MP.
Everyone in Burlington votes in the same mayoral race. The mayor leads council, chairs council meetings, represents Burlington publicly and has additional provincial “strong mayor” powers, including proposing the City budget. The mayor is still one member of the seven-person council for ordinary council votes.
Burlington has six wards. You vote for one councillor in the ward where you live. That councillor represents local issues and also votes on citywide decisions such as budgets, roads, transit, parks and development.
Trustees sit on a school board, not City Council. They bring community concerns to the board and make board decisions together. Which trustee race appears on your ballot depends on your school-board support and eligibility.
That matters because some services you use are not run by the City of Burlington. Halton Region handles things such as drinking water, wastewater, waste management, paramedics, public health, housing services and regional roads. In 2026, the Halton Regional Chair is not a separate Burlington ballot choice under the province's new regional-governance rules.
Every eligible Burlington voter gets the same mayoral candidates.
Councillor = your part of the city. Burlington changed some ward boundaries for 2026, so use the City's exact-address ward finder instead of guessing from your neighbourhood name.
If another government controls it, what can Burlington realistically change?
If the promise saves money, what gets reduced? If it adds a service, how is it paid for?
Most council decisions need enough votes. Some projects also need Halton, provincial or other approvals.
A specific target, date or measurable result is easier to check than “improve traffic” or “make life affordable.”
Built from the City of Burlington's descriptions of Council and the 2026 election, Ontario's 2026 voters' guide, Halton Region's service list and Ontario's description of school-board trustees. See how sources are handled.