Dear Queen’s students,
Municipalities across Ontario are officially in election season. Every four years, we can choose our next mayor, district counsellors, and K-12 school board trustees. Election day is Monday, October 26, but there are also advance voting options.
It’s important for you to know that all Queen’s students who live on or off campus are Kingston residents and therefore eligible to vote in Kingston’s municipal election. In addition to voting in the Kingston election, you can also vote in your hometown. This means you can have one vote to influence how local outcomes affect your experience living in Kingston during your studies and your priorities for your hometown.
This is turning out to be a highly contested election in Kingston, with multiple for Mayor and in several of the districts where most students live. Your student governments—the and —and I would like to see a strong voter turnout by Queen’s students. We’ve created this webpage, a series of videos, and have upcoming events (run by the ) to offer the most important information for students ahead of the election.
If you feel passionate about a certain candidate, you can also reach out to them or their election team to support their campaign. This is a great way to start or continue your civic engagement, participate in democracy, and make sure Queen’s student voices are heard in setting priorities and policies for our city’s housing, transit, waste collection, public health, and safety, to name a few.
I also hope you will share this with your networks on social media, have conversations at the dinner table with housemates, and make a plan to vote before or after class with peers.
At your service,
Niki Boytchuk-Hale (she/her)
39th University Rector