How do you run for school trustee, and win?

How much will Ontario trustees be paid from November 2026?

At most $9,000 a year. O. Reg. 320/26 replaced the old honoraria formula on Sept 28, 2026 for terms starting Nov 15, 2026. Each trustee gets the lesser of $9,000 and the board’s 2025-26 base plus enrolment amount. A chair gets $1,000 more and a vice-chair $500 more.

• Pay is prorated for a partial year.
• A code of conduct breach can cut a trustee’s honorarium by up to 25%.
• On a board under a provincial vesting order the Minister can reduce the honorarium or pay nothing.
• Boards must publish their honorarium policy by Oct 15 and the amounts actually paid by Nov 16 each year.

The old formula, a $5,900 base with $5,000 extra for a chair, ends with the current term.

What else changed for Ontario boards in 2026?

Bill 101 (the Putting Student Achievement First Act, 2026) caps boards at 5 to 12 trustees and sets honoraria by regulation. It trims the trustee budget role at English boards, mostly removes their role in central bargaining and creates chief executive and chief education officer roles. Eight English boards were under provincial supervision in August 2026.

Ontario nominations closed on Aug 21, 2026. Voting day is Oct 26, 2026 and the new term runs from Nov 15, 2026 to Nov 14, 2030.

How much do trustees earn in BC and Alberta?

Each board sets its own pay. Vancouver pays trustees $41,600 a year and Calgary $51,099, while the North Okanagan-Shuswap district pays $16,748. Chairs and vice-chairs earn more.

Calgary also provides a taxable benefit package worth 12% of the honorarium.

Who can run for school trustee?

Any Canadian citizen aged 18 who lives in the board’s area. BC adds six months’ residence in the province and Alberta six months in the jurisdiction. Ontario candidates must also qualify to vote for that board, such as a Catholic or French-language board. School board employees must take leave before they are nominated.

• BC: MLAs cannot hold trustee office from 2026. Employees of the board you run for give written notice, take leave from the start of nominations and resign if elected.
• Ontario: employees of any Ontario board take unpaid leave from nomination and resign if elected.
• Alberta: a trustee candidate in a city with wards only needs to live in the division. Staff of any Alberta school division, charter or independent school take leave to run. An Election Act conviction in the last 10 years disqualifies you.

What papers, signatures and deposit do you need?

BC needs two nominators and a sworn declaration, and usually no deposit. Alberta needs five resident electors and a deposit only where a bylaw sets one, up to $1,000 in larger places. Ontario needs a $100 fee, refunded when your financial statement is filed on time, and no signatures.

How is a trustee race different from a council race?

Trustee names sit in alphabetical order on the ballot by default in BC, Ontario and Alberta. A study of about 16,000 Quebec municipal candidates found that with no party label, the third name on an alphabetical ballot ran about five points behind the first. With party labels the effect was weaker.

BC boards may adopt a bylaw to draw names by lot. Alberta boards may rotate ballot order by a bylaw passed two months before the vote. Ontario ballots stay alphabetical.

How do trustee candidates win?

By being the name a parent already recognizes when they reach the trustee part of the ballot. Start with the people who know you from school life: parent councils, coaches and school community leaders. Ask for public endorsements early. Pick the two school issues you care about most and say how you would vote on each.

The seat count matters too. See how many votes it takes to win and how incumbents and challengers fare before you set a target.

What can a trustee campaign spend?

In Ontario the limit is $5,000 plus 85 cents per eligible elector, the same formula as council. The self-funding limit does not apply to trustees and one person can give at most $1,200. BC trustees follow the same local campaign finance rules as council candidates, including expense limits and disclosure.

BC disclosure statements from the October 2026 BC local elections are due Jan 15, 2027, or by Feb 16, 2027 with a $500 late fee. The BC 2026 expense limits list the trustee figures, and what it costs to run for council covers where the money goes. Every paid ad needs an authorization line.

When is the next school trustee election?

Ontario votes on Oct 26, 2026 and BC votes in the October 2026 BC local elections. Both hold their next general elections in October 2030, BC on Oct 19 and Ontario on Oct 28. Alberta voted on Oct 20, 2025 and votes next on Oct 15, 2029, the third Monday in October.