Making the decision to pursue higher office is not an easy one.

Several current city councillors have made the choice in the past, including Current River’s Andrew Foulds, who put his name on the ballot in both the provincial vote in 2014 and the federal race in 2015 in the Thunder Bay-Superior North riding.

Foulds, in an email with Acadia News, said that once the writ was dropped he took a leave of absence from both his teaching job and his seat on council.

In Thunder Bay-Atikokan, Rebecca Johnson ran for the Progressive Conservatives in 2007 while Brian McKinnon was the PC candidate in 2003.

What you might find surprising is there’s no rule in the Ontario Guide for candidates or the Municipal Election Act that states that potential candidates need to take these steps.

There are guidelines under Thunder Bay’s Code of Conduct that state that city resources cannot be used for any campaigns.

Anyone who holds a seat at Queen’s Park or in Ottawa and wants to run in a municipal election must take a leave of absence in order to pursue that venture.

Current At-Large Councillor Peng You was unveiled in February 2021 as the PC candidate in Thunder Bay-Superior North, running against Liberal incumbent Michael Gravelle.

The only person that has announced their intention to run in October is Lori Paras.

Candidates can file nomination papers on Monday, May 2nd with it closing on Friday, August 19th at 2:00 p.m.

Election Day will be on or before Thursday, June 2nd in Ontario and Monday, October 24th in Thunder Bay.