Condo Board Elections in Ontario: What Every Director Should Know

Who Can Run for Your Condo Board?

Under Ontario’s Condominium Act, 1998, any unit owner who meets the basic eligibility criteria can stand for election to the board of directors. This is not legal advice, but generally speaking, under Ontario law, a director must be:

•       At least 18 years of age

•       Not declared legally incapable by a court

•       Not an undischarged bankrupt

•       A registered unit owner (or the nominee of a corporation that owns a unit)

Tenants — regardless of how long they have lived in the building — are not eligible to run for director. This is a point of frequent confusion in buildings with a high proportion of rental units.

One nuance many boards overlook: if at least 15% of your corporation’s units are owner-occupied (meaning the registered owner also resides in the unit), Ontario law requires that at least one board seat be reserved for election exclusively by those owner-occupants. This rule ensures resident owners have representation even in investor-dominated buildings. If your board hasn’t been tracking owner-occupied status, it’s worth reviewing before your next AGM.

How Are Condo Board Elections Actually Conducted?

Board elections in Ontario are held at the Annual General Meeting (AGM), which must take place within six months of the end of the corporation’s fiscal year. Owners must be given proper notice — generally at least 15 days in advance — and that notice must include a list of the positions up for election and the term length for each seat.

During the meeting, any eligible owner present in person or by proxy may put their name forward for election, unless your bylaws specifically require advance notice of nominees. Directors may serve terms of up to three years, as determined by the corporation’s bylaws — and the term length for each position being filled must be stated clearly in the meeting notice.

For boards navigating the full AGM process, our guide How to Prepare Your Condo’s Annual General Meeting covers the logistics and common pitfalls in detail.

Quorum is the critical first hurdle. The Act requires a minimum of 25% of all unit owners (by unit count) to be present in person or by proxy at the first and second attempts to hold the meeting. If a quorum is not reached on those two attempts, the threshold drops to 15% for any subsequent attempt. This is one of the most commonly misunderstood points: board members often confuse meeting quorum (25% of all owners) with board quorum (a majority of the directors on the board), which are two entirely different standards.

Voting Rules, Proxies, and Who Cannot Vote

Once a quorum is established, electing a director requires only a simple majority of votes cast by those present or represented by proxy at the meeting.

Proxy voting is an important tool for reaching quorum and ensuring broader owner representation. Owners may appoint a proxy — someone who votes on their behalf — and since the 2017 amendments to the Condominium Act, proxy forms must follow a provincially prescribed format. Boards still using informal or outdated proxy documents risk having votes challenged after the fact.

Electronic and telephone voting have also been permitted since 2017, provided your corporation’s bylaws allow for it. For larger buildings in London and Sarnia, enabling electronic voting can make a meaningful difference in reaching quorum.

One firm restriction: an owner who is 30 or more days in arrears on their common expenses is not entitled to vote, including in director elections. This right is restored as soon as the arrears are paid.

To understand how fee arrears can affect your corporation more broadly, see our article: What Happens If Multiple Owners Stop Paying Their Condo Fees.

Mandatory Director Training: Non-Compliance Has Real Consequences

This requirement catches many new directors off guard: every person elected, re-elected, or appointed to an Ontario condo board after November 1, 2017, must complete the Condominium Authority of Ontario’s (CAO) mandatory director training within six months of taking their seat. The training is provided online through the CAO’s website at no cost.

The consequences of non-compliance are automatic and serious. A director who does not complete the training within six months is immediately disqualified — they lose their seat without a vote or formal proceeding, can no longer vote at board meetings, and no longer count toward board quorum. The corporation is then required to notify both the CAO and all unit owners within 30 days of the vacancy.

At Sapphire, we flag this requirement to every new board member shortly after their election and confirm they’ve completed it before the six-month mark. It takes roughly two hours to finish and genuinely covers material that makes directors more effective. A simple calendar reminder at election time is often all it takes to avoid a preventable mid-year governance disruption.

For a broader look at how boards can operate more effectively, read: Top 5 Mistakes Condo Boards Make — many of them stem from preventable knowledge gaps like this one.

Removing a Director: A Higher Bar Than Election

It is notably harder to remove a sitting director than to elect one. While election requires only a majority of votes cast at the meeting, removal of a director requires the affirmative vote of a majority of all unit owners in the corporation — not just those attending the meeting.

In a 100-unit building, that means at least 51 votes in favour of removal, whether cast in person or by proxy at a properly convened meeting. This higher threshold protects directors from removal on the basis of a poorly attended meeting or a small vocal group of disgruntled owners. It also means that if an entire board genuinely needs to be replaced, the process requires real engagement and communication with the full ownership community.

This is not legal advice, but generally speaking, under Ontario law, the meeting to remove a director must be properly requisitioned and noticed in accordance with the Condominium Act. The notice requirements and procedures for a requisitioned meeting differ from those for a regular AGM, and errors in this process can invalidate the outcome.

London, Ontario and Sarnia boards facing internal governance challenges — whether among directors or between the board and owners — often benefit from having a management company that can provide neutral procedural guidance and help keep meetings on track.

Frequently Asked Questions

Q: How many votes does it take to remove a condo director in Ontario?

A: Removing a director requires the affirmative vote of a majority of all unit owners in the corporation — meaning more than 50% of all registered unit owners must vote in favour of removal, either in person or by proxy at a properly convened meeting. This is not legal advice, but generally speaking under Ontario law, this standard is significantly higher than the simple majority of those attending that is required to elect a director in the first place.

Q: Can a tenant run for the condo board in Ontario?

A: No. Under Ontario’s Condominium Act, 1998, only unit owners (or nominees of a corporation that owns a unit) are eligible to serve as directors. Tenants are not eligible to stand for election or serve on the board, regardless of the length of their tenancy or their involvement in the community.

Q: What happens if we can’t get a quorum at our condo’s AGM in Ontario?

A: If 25% of unit owners are not present or represented by proxy at the first and second attempts to hold the meeting, the Condominium Act allows subsequent meetings to proceed with a reduced quorum of 15% of unit owners. Notice requirements still apply for each adjourned attempt. Collecting proxies in advance and communicating proactively with owners is the most reliable way to ensure the first meeting attempt succeeds.

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Related Reading

→ How to Prepare Your Condo’s Annual General Meeting (AGM)

→ Top 5 Mistakes Condo Boards Make (From a Condominium Management Expert)

→ What Happens If Multiple Owners Stop Paying Their Condo Fees