Collingwood’s election results are now official, and voter turnout dropped to 39 per cent for the latest election.
It’s slightly above the provincial average of about 34-36 per cent, but well below Collingwood’s 2018 turnout results of 47.5 per cent, according to data provided by the Association of Municipalities of Ontario (AMO) and the provincial data archive.
While the number of eligible voters in Collingwood increased to over 22,000 people in 2022, still more people voted in 2018 (9,374) than in 2022 (8,692).
Collingwood voters were given the option of voting online from any internet connection, or in person at the town's library. Voting opened Oct. 8 and closed Oct. 24 at 9 p.m.
According to AMO, there are 10.7 million eligible municipal voters in Ontario, there were 2,860 municipal council seats to be elected this year, and there were 6,306 candidates running for those seats.
Provincially, the voter turnout was down slightly from the 38 per cent average reported in 2018.
The Ontario average for municipal election voter turnout has hovered between 40 and 44 per cent since the 1980s, with a dip to 38 per cent reported in 2018, and a further dip for this week’s election.
While not all of the 444 municipal election results have been compiled by AMO, there are 360 municipalities included in the 2022 information available to date, with about 34 per cent voter turnout reported.
In The Blue Mountains there was a sharp decline in voter turnout to 29 per cent (about 4,073 voters of the 13,903 eligible) which is down by 10 per cent compared to the 39.6 per cent turnout reported in 2018.
In Grey Highlands, the voter turnout rate in 2018 was about 37 per cent. This year, AMO reports it at just shy of 35 per cent.
In neighbouring Wasaga Beach, the voter turnout actually increased this year to 48.98 per cent compared to 46 per cent in 2018.
In Clearview Township, voter turnout decreased by about five per cent between 2018 (37.8 per cent) and 2022 (32.2 per cent).
