Ontario votes today — here's what you need to know

Ontario voters will head to the polls on Monday to elect city councillors and school board trustees as provincewide municipal elections get underway.

Over 6,300 candidates across the province are running to tackle a range of key issues, from housing affordability, to infrastructure and public transit, to COVID-19 recovery and mental health.

While municipalities like Thunder Bay and Sudbury have opened online voting, other parts of the province will choose their local governments at polling stations Monday. 

CBC News tells you what you need to know ahead of the 2022 Ontario municipal elections, and how you can track the results.

Several trends have emerged during this municipal election period.

This year's races could see a historically low turnout. Just 38.3 per cent of the eligible voting population cast a ballot during the 2018 municipal elections, the lowest number recorded since 1982. 

Meanwhile, June's provincial elections saw the lowest turnout in history, with only 43 per cent of the eligible population voting.

An interesting contrast has emerged at advanced polls, where several regions saw higher voter turnouts. Windsor, Ont., saw 80 per cent more voters during the advanced voting period than it did during the last election, according to city officials.

Electronic voting will be more accessible this year to help with lacklustre turnout. Over 215 municipalities are using online or phone voting this year, up from 175 in 2018, according to the Association of Municipalities of Ontario. 

Some experts caution that the system isn't foolproof — earlier this month, an online ballot error affected 27 voters across two wards in Thunder Bay — and that Canada needs higher standards in place to ensure that electronic voting is properly regulated.

The province's major municipalities are facing open mayoral races as a significant number of incumbents opted not to seek re-election, including in Ottawa, North Bay and Vaughan.

Incumbency provides a significant advantage, especially at the municipal level where candidates aren't aligned with brand name political parties and are often working on name recognition alone.

The successful candidates could get another boost: Ontario Premier Doug Ford has said he will extend strong mayor powers to several major municipalities next year, after testing the system in Toronto and Ottawa.

Monday's election will also see voters cast a ballot for their local school board trustee. Some parents are concerned about a pattern of anti-trans rhetoric used by trustee candidates across the province.