Municipal elections in 2018 may look very different for donations, ballots

Morning North8:31New options for 2018 municipal election

The province is giving municipalities the option of bringing in ranked ballots for the 2018 election, and the option of banning certain campaign contributions. The CBC's Erik White looked at what the changes could mean for the northeast.

Tens of thousands of dollars in corporate and union donations could soon stop flowing to candidates for mayor and council.

A new provincial law will allow towns and cities to ban that kind of campaign fundraising.

But not everyone thinks the current system is broken.

Most Sudbury city councillors paid for their own election campaigns in 2014.

Deb McIntosh was one of the exceptions. She raised more than $10,000 including $7,100 from businesses and organizations.

But she did that by beating the bushes for dozens of donations. The maximum contribution is just $750 dollars.

"I don't think you can buy anybody for $750," McIntosh said.

"It does cost money to run a campaign and we need to make it accessible to everyone, not just those who have the means."

McIntosh said she's fine with how things are.

But Sault Ste. Marie city councillor Susan Myers disagrees.

She's never accepted a cheque from a union or a company... and would welcome a ban on those kind of contributions in the Sault.

"And are we then put into question then as to what our decisions are if we've accepted financial donations?"

While it's not common in all parts of northeastern Ontario, in Greater Sudbury, corporate donations bought close to $100,000 worth of lawn signs and pamphlets during the last election.

Controlling candidates?

The change in provincial law was partly inspired by the research of York University political scientist Robert MacDermid.

He showed how real estate developers have influenced town and city councils in the Toronto area.

And while campaign donations can't be more than $750, MacDermid said that hasn't stopped the wealthy from controlling certain candidates.

"A wealthy developer could give in his own name, could give in his wife's name, could give in his children's names and then give in all of his corporate names," he said.

"And discovering whether they're associated corporations is very difficult."

Towns and cities will also have the option of bringing in ranked ballots for the next local elections in 2018.

That means instead of choosing one candidate, voters will number them in order of preference.