Council 101
The next Municipal Election is Monday, October 26, 2026.
All residents and property owners of Vaughan who are Canadian citizens and at least 18 years of age or older are eligible to vote in the Municipal Election.
York Region does not hold its own elections; instead, the cities and towns that make up the Region have their own Municipal Elections to elect a Mayor, Local and Regional Councillors, Ward Local Councillors, as well as School Board Trustees, who will make decisions at the regional and local levels.
Vaughan’s government structure
Vaughan’s government is led by elected officials who make up Council. Vaughan’s Council is currently comprised of 10 members – one Mayor, four Local and Regional Councillors and five Ward Councillors.
The Mayor is the head of Vaughan Council. Decisions in Vaughan are made at Council meetings and through a series of committees that are created at the beginning of each four-year term. Council makes policy decisions, and staff administer and manage the process.
Five Local Councillors are elected by citizens every four years, one for each of Vaughan’s five wards (PDF) to represent those wards on Vaughan Council.
Four Local and Regional Councillors are elected to represent Vaughan at both the regional levels of government.
Regional versus municipal responsibilities
York Region is made up of nine cities and towns, including Vaughan, Aurora, East Gwillimbury, Georgina, King, Markham, Newmarket, Richmond Hill, and Whitchurch-Stouffville. The City of Vaughan operates within a two-tier municipal structure, which means there are two levels of government providing services to the community – a local municipality (lower tier) and a regional municipality (upper tier).
The City of Vaughan is a local municipality within the Regional Municipality of York (York Region). The City is responsible for programs, services and infrastructure that affect and support everyone in Vaughan, such as roads, sidewalks, garbage collection, water distribution, parks, recreation activities, community centres, libraries, fire and by-law response and so much more.
With more than 1.1-million citizens and stretching from just north of Toronto to Lake Simcoe, York Region is the upper-tier municipality that manages public transit, supplies water, and provides emergency medical services and policing.
Most of Regional Council’s work is conducted through the Committee of the Whole. During Committee of the Whole meetings, members receive public input, review policies and consider staff reports before making recommendations to Regional Council for final decision at a future Council Meeting.
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