Headline News

Orangeville looks to tighten rules governing election signs

February 26, 2026   ·   0 Comments

By JAMES MATTHEWS

Municipal election campaigns have come to mean that Orangeville’s streets and intersections will be congested with a slew of candidate signs.

With a municipal election in the fall, town council is looking to tweak its rules governing campaign sign use.

James Bramley, the municipal licensing and bylaw enforcement supervisor, said during council’s Feb. 23 meeting that the proposed bylaw enhances public safety and promotes equitable treatment of candidates. It also provides clearer expectations for campaign teams and strengthens the town’s ability to regulate election signage in accordance with governing legislation.

Council feedback received through this review will inform final refinements prior to enactment and implementation for the 2026 election cycle.

The town’s Election Sign Bylaw updates and modernizes the existing framework, improves clarity and enforceability, and ensures compliance with the Municipal Act and the Municipal Elections Act.

Bramley said the proposed updates are structured to remain content-neutral while regulating placement, timing, and safety considerations within the town’s jurisdiction.

The updated bylaw establishes clear rules regarding when election signs may be displayed and when they must be removed. Campaign signs can be erected no earlier than Aug. 21 after the nomination period has closed, Bramley said.

Signs left up will be held for pickup for seven days.

And those signs have to be removed within three days after ballots are cast.

According to a report to council, those timing provisions provide consistency among candidate advertising to ensure signage does not remain beyond the election period.

The proposed changes also strengthen placement regulations to enhance traffic and pedestrian safety. Signs can’t be placed within a metre of another campaign sign. That reduces clustering and improves aesthetics.

The current bylaw doesn’t regulate spacing between signage.

“A measurable one-metre rule provides an objective standard, fair treatment among campaigns, easier enforcement, and reduced conflict escalation,” Bramley said.

Following such a complaint, a bylaw officer could measure and space signs by the requisite metre. There will be no more arguing about which campaign sign was first erected.

One Orangeville resident said there are eight council seats to be filled in an election. The last local contest had about double that number of candidates throw their names into the hat.

“You would severely restrict the number of election signs that are allowed on a corner with that (metre) space between,” he said. “To me, a better solution would be that signs don’t impede other signs.”

He said the proposed means to impose order on sign placement is “anti-democratic.”

“It runs counter to our system,” the resident said. “I remind you that democracy is messy. And we live in a democratic system, and people who want to be candidates and meet the qualifications should be allowed to put signs up.”

The suggested space restrictions will inevitably lead to an incumbent candidate advantage, he argued.

Bramley said spacing and orientation are something that could be discussed further.

“The purpose of it [the bylaw] is to not impede existing signs,” Bramley said.

The proposed bylaw also has a provision to prevent campaign signs from being installed within 100 metres of a voting place on election day.

“This provides a clear neutrality zone around polling locations,” he said.

The current bylaw’s muscle is by way of Provincial Offenders Act enforcement. The new rules propose enforcement under the Administrative Penalty Bylaw as a means to resolve matters faster and to reduce court backlogs.

“To be clear, this is not about increasing penalties,” Bramley said. “It’s about modernizing the enforcement process and aligning with what is already established in town for our regulatory enforcement and other licensing models.”

Readers Comments (0)