How to Run an Ontario Condo Election
A practical guide for condominium boards and property managers — from notice package through quorum, voting, and certified results.
Before you start
Ontario condominium corporations hold board elections at the annual general meeting (AGM) unless your declaration or bylaws specify otherwise. Special owners' meetings follow a similar process when owners vote on specific resolutions or requisition a meeting.
This guide covers a typical AGM board election under the Condominium Act, 1998. Your declaration, bylaws, and rules may add requirements — confirm timing, quorum, and voting rules with your manager and legal counsel before proceeding.
Confirm meeting type and timeline
Identify whether you are running an AGM (board election plus routine business) or a special owners' meeting (specific resolutions). The board sets the meeting date and must allow enough lead time for notices, nominations, and proxy collection.
ElectoSense's Ontario Condo AGM template defaults to a 15-day minimum notice period and pre-enables the modules most corporations need: notices, electronic consent, proxies, advance voting, nominations, and resolutions.
Prepare the notice package
Owners must receive a complete notice package before the meeting. At minimum, this typically includes a notice of meeting, agenda, proxy form, and voting instructions. If candidates are standing for election, include nomination details and any required disclosure forms.
Document when and how each notice was delivered. If you use electronic notices, confirm you have owner consent on file before sending.
Collect nominations and candidate disclosures
Open a nominations period as required by your bylaws. Accept self-nominations and owner-submitted nominations. Verify each candidate meets eligibility requirements in your governing documents.
Record the date and method of each nomination. Collect candidate disclosure confirmations and any supporting documents your corporation requires before listing candidates on the ballot.
Issue and validate proxy forms
Proxies are widely used at Ontario condo AGMs. Include a proxy form in the notice package and establish a deadline for submission. Validate each proxy against the unit roll — confirm the owner is eligible, the form is signed, and no duplicate proxy exists for the same unit.
Valid proxies count toward quorum. Ontario corporations commonly require 25% of units represented (owners present plus valid proxies) before business can proceed.
Confirm quorum
Before opening the election, confirm quorum is met. Count owners present in person, by electronic participation, and valid proxies submitted before the meeting.
If quorum is not reached, the meeting may need to be adjourned and reconvened according to your bylaws and the Act. Track participation in real time so the chair knows when business can begin.
Conduct the vote
Distribute ballots or open electronic voting once quorum is confirmed. Each eligible unit owner (or their authorized proxy) should cast exactly one vote per board position unless your bylaws specify weighted voting.
If using electronic voting, ensure owners who consented receive authenticated voting links. Advance voting and paper ballot entry can run alongside in-person voting if your process allows it.
Tabulate and certify results
After voting closes, tabulate results for each board position. Prepare a written record showing votes received per candidate, confirmation that quorum was met, and any challenged or spoiled ballots.
Distribute results to owners and retain complete election records as part of the corporation's records — including notice delivery logs, proxy receipts, and the certified results report.
Why run the election online?
Manual elections create gaps in notice delivery logs, slow proxy validation, and make quorum hard to track in real time. ElectoSense automates the Ontario Condo workflow — consent tracking, proxy collection, quorum monitoring, and exportable audit records — so boards can focus on the meeting itself.