Photo: Onasill ~ Bill - Onasill ~ 109 Millions Views · CC BY-SA 2.0Aurora has one council seat for every 9,630 residents, more than 91% of municipalities in Ontario
Federally, Aurora sits in Aurora—Oak Ridges—Richmond Hill, its riding (a federal electoral district, which elects one MP), held by Costas Menegakis of the Conservative Party of Canada. For the Legislative Assembly of Ontario, Aurora spreads over 2 ridings: Newmarket—Aurora and Aurora—Oak Ridges—Richmond Hill. Who sits as MPP for Aurora isn’t on an open record; the Legislative Assembly of Ontario has the current list. The October 2022 vote made Tom Mrakas mayor of Aurora, heading 7 seats. These names are from the 2022–26 term: Ontario’s municipalities voted on 26 October 2026, but the province’s open list of the results isn’t out.
What stands out in how Aurora is governed
Many residents per seat
Aurora council has more people behind each seat than most of Ontario, where the middle figure is 1,540 residents a seat. Council size ↓
Turnout below the norm
In Ontario’s 2022 municipal elections, the middle municipality saw 35% of electors vote; Aurora council fell short of that. How Aurora voted ↓
Split between ridings
Federal boundaries divide Aurora, with 56% of residents in Aurora—Oak Ridges—Richmond Hill and 44% outside it, mainly in Newmarket—Aurora. Member of Parliament ↓
Compared with the province’s municipalities of 1,000+ residents (2021 Census; MAMH, MMAH and Statistics Canada).
Three governments, and who does what
Aurora, a town in Ontario, shares the work with the province and Ottawa.
Local services, by-laws and property tax.
Spends most on social services and child care, then roads and transit (2024 return).
Schools, health care, highways, municipal law.
ola.org ↗Passports, pensions, EI, defence, immigration.
ourcommons.ca ↗Who to ask
Green: municipal. Gold: provincial. Grey: federal.
Aurora is a lower-tier municipality: York Region, the upper tier, has its own council and services over it.
From the council table to Ottawa
Every elected tier that speaks for Aurora, from the most recent elections.
- 1Aurora councilelected October 2022Tom Mrakas
- 2Legislative Assembly of OntarioNewmarket—Aurora · Aurora—Oak Ridges—Richmond Hill
- 3House of CommonsAurora—Oak Ridges—Richmond Hill · 56%
- 4House of CommonsNewmarket—Aurora · 44%
Party colours are neutral on purpose: they tell parties apart and aren’t the parties’ own. MPs: Wikidata (CC0), 45th Parliament statements, read 7 November 2026; ridings: 2023 Representation Order, Statistics Canada
Who was elected to Aurora council in 2022
Everyone elected in 2022, with their votes; Ontario’s file gives each seat’s votes but not the ward’s name.
- Tom Mrakas
- Ron Weese
- Rachel Gilliland
- Wendy Gaertner
- Michael Thompson
- John Gallo
- Harold Kim
7 members and how they were elected
| Name | Seat | Votes | Share of the seat’s votes | On the last council |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tom Mrakas | Mayor | 7,743 | 70% | Yes |
| Ron Weese | Councillor | 1,445 | 62% | No |
| Rachel Gilliland | Councillor | 1,070 | 53% | Yes |
| Wendy Gaertner | Councillor | 1,210 | 48% | Yes |
| Michael Thompson | Councillor | 744 | 70% | Yes |
| John Gallo | Councillor | 602 | 30% | Yes |
| Harold Kim | Councillor | 801 | 73% | Yes |
For mayor, Tom Mrakas drew 69% of the votes. The mayor is chosen at large, but Aurora council moved its councillors onto a ward system after 2018.
Councils: Ontario 2022 Municipal Election data, MMAH (OGL-Ontario)
Aurora voted less than most of Ontario in 2022
Turnout in the October 2022 municipal elections, beside nearby municipalities; the tick is Ontario’s median.
Aurora council was elected on 24 October 2022 with 27% of electors voting, below the provincial middle.
How Aurora voted: same source as Councillors, above.
When Aurora votes
The last and next general elections at each level; a by-election can come in between.
| Election | Last | Next |
|---|---|---|
| Aurora council | 26 October 2026 | 28 October 2030 |
| Legislative Assembly of Ontario | 27 February 2025 | – |
| House of Commons | 28 April 2025 | – |
Councils are elected on the fourth Monday in October every four years, says the Municipal Elections Act, 1996, so Aurora votes next on 28 October 2030. The Legislative Assembly of Ontario was last elected on 27 February 2025, and the House of Commons on 28 April 2025. There are no 2025 counts here: Elections Canada’s terms bar their commercial reuse, so 2021 is the latest open result.
Election dates: the legislatures, MMAH and MAMH
Aurora spans 2 ridings for the Legislative Assembly of Ontario
Provinces and territories run schools, health care and municipal law; each riding elects one MPP.
MPP: see the legislature’s list
ola.org ↗MPP: see the legislature’s list
ola.org ↗The riding comes from the 2013 federal map, which southern Ontario’s provincial ridings match under the Representation Act, 2015. So more than one MPP in the Legislative Assembly of Ontario speaks for parts of Aurora.
Southern Ontario ridings: the 2013 federal boundaries (Representation Act, 2015), Statistics Canada
Aurora has 2 MPs
Each riding elects one MP to the House of Commons; the general election of 28 April 2025 chose the 45th Parliament.
Aurora—Oak Ridges—Richmond Hill · Conservative Party of Canada · first elected 2011 · 56%
en.wikipedia.org ↗Newmarket—Aurora · Conservative Party of Canada · 44%
en.wikipedia.org ↗- Liberal Party of Canada71
- Conservative Party of Canada50
As Wikidata records them.
Of the 122 seats from Ontario, the Liberal Party of Canada holds 71, and Costas Menegakis’s Conservative Party of Canada has 50.
The MP’s record
Costas Menegakis first won a seat in 2011 and, after a spell away, came back to the Commons in 2025. Elections Canada’s transposition of the 2021 vote onto today’s Aurora—Oak Ridges—Richmond Hill puts the Liberal Party of Canada first at 45%: Costas Menegakis won it away from them in 2025.
MPs: Wikidata (CC0), 45th Parliament statements, read 7 November 2026; ridings: 2023 Representation Order, Statistics Canada · MPs’ records: Wikidata (CC0), positions held and party memberships, read 8 November 2026
Newmarket—Aurora returned Tony Van Bynen (Liberal Party of Canada) in 2021
Before the 2023 redistribution, Aurora voted in Newmarket—Aurora; these are its 2019 and 2021 results, and Aurora—Oak Ridges—Richmond Hill is its riding today. 60% of Aurora lived in it.
In 2021, 61% of electors cast a ballot in Newmarket—Aurora, under the national 63%. The 2021 count in Newmarket—Aurora put Tony Van Bynen (Liberal Party of Canada) first at 44%, with Harold Kim (Conservative Party of Canada) 3,035 votes back. Back in 2019, Tony Van Bynen took the riding on 43%.
All 6 candidates in Newmarket—Aurora, 2021
| Candidate | Party | Votes | Share |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tony Van Bynen | Liberal Party of Canada | 24,208 | 43.8% |
| Harold Kim | Conservative Party of Canada | 21,173 | 38.3% |
| Yvonne Kelly | New Democratic Party | 6,338 | 11.5% |
| Andre Gagnon | People's Party of Canada | 2,296 | 4.2% |
| Tim Flemming | Green Party of Canada | 1,015 | 1.8% |
| Dorian Baxter | Independent | 260 | 0.5% |
Federal results: Elections Canada, 43rd and 44th general elections and the 44th’s transposition to the 2023 ridings, via open.canada.ca. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Canada
Aurora council spends more per resident than most
The 2024 financial return: spending by service and revenue by source, per resident, compared only with Ontario’s lower-tier municipalities.
Spending per resident by service, 2024
What pays for it
Shares of revenue, town and province.
Long-term debt at Aurora council stood at $5.1M, or $77 a resident, below the $440 median. Taxes on property make up 37% of what comes in, less than the province-wide 42%. More goes to water, sewers and waste than to anything else: $580 a resident, 30% of all spending. The return counts 252 full-time positions, 3.8 for every thousand residents. The upper tier, York Region, adds $2,226 per resident of its own, mostly for social services and child care. Spending by Aurora council reached $1,938 a resident in 2024, well over the $1,901 median of Ontario’s lower-tier municipalities.
Spending per resident nearby
Every service line, 2024
| Service | 2024 | Per resident | Share |
|---|---|---|---|
| Water, sewers and waste | $38.9M | $580 | 30% |
| Recreation and culture | $36.5M | $545 | 28% |
| Police, fire and protection | $19.9M | $297 | 15% |
| Roads and transit | $18.4M | $274 | 14% |
| General government | $13.9M | $208 | 11% |
| Planning and development | $2.3M | $34 | 2% |
Money: Financial Information Return 2024, Ontario Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Ontario.
Aurora council beside its neighbours
Residents (2021 Census) per council seat, head of council included, beside nearby municipalities; the tick is the provincial median.
Beside its neighbours, Aurora council is the bar in colour; the headline above has the comparison with the province.
Residents: 2021 Census; seats: the province’s council list
Having a say in how Aurora is run
Check or update the federal list.
elections.ca ↗Every MP lists an office.
ourcommons.ca ↗Ridings, registration and voting dates.
elections.on.ca ↗What this data can and can’t tell you
- Election results. Official counts for 2019 and 2021 are by the 2013 ridings; Elections Canada also re-counted the 2021 ballots onto the 2023 ridings by polling division, and that estimate is what “today’s boundaries” means here.
- Which riding. A riding is listed when 5% or more of the place’s 2021 Census residents live in it; the largest share comes first.
- Who holds each seat. Wikidata, edited by volunteers, is the source for each MP, and it can trail a change of seat by a little.
- Not on this page. Party control (most Canadian councils sit without parties, and the open lists record none) and band councils.
- Council money. Figures are the 2024 Financial Information Return’s totals after adjustments, per resident on the return’s population. Lower tiers stand beside lower tiers only: their county or region spends on top.
- Council size. The 2021 Census population is shared over all council seats, including the head of council’s, for this ratio.
Questions about how Aurora is run
Who is the MP for Aurora?
It depends on the street: most of Aurora is in Aurora—Oak Ridges—Richmond Hill (Costas Menegakis, Conservative Party of Canada), some in Newmarket—Aurora (Sandra Cobena).
Which party won Aurora in the 2021 federal election?
Tony Van Bynen won Newmarket—Aurora for the Liberal Party of Canada in 2021; the riding is now Aurora—Oak Ridges—Richmond Hill, held by Costas Menegakis.
Who is the MPP for Aurora?
Aurora is split between Newmarket—Aurora and Aurora—Oak Ridges—Richmond Hill, so it has more than one MPP; the Legislative Assembly of Ontario lists who holds each.
Who heads the council in Aurora?
The open record gives Tom Mrakas, elected mayor of Aurora council in October 2022.
How much does Aurora council spend?
In 2024, Aurora council spent $129.8M in all, for some 66,970 residents, of which $38.9M went on water, sewers and waste, the biggest line.
Which regional body is Aurora part of?
The council of York Region sits above Aurora’s and runs region-wide services, police and water among them.
How is Aurora council elected?
By ward for councillors and at large for the mayor, on Aurora council.
What was the turnout in Aurora?
Turnout for Aurora council reached 26.5% in October 2022 (Ontario median: 35.5%).
Sources: MPs: Wikidata (CC0), 45th Parliament statements, read 7 November 2026; ridings: 2023 Representation Order, Statistics Canada · Southern Ontario ridings: the 2013 federal boundaries (Representation Act, 2015), Statistics Canada · Councils: Ontario 2022 Municipal Election data, MMAH (OGL-Ontario) · Money: Financial Information Return 2024, Ontario Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Ontario. · Next municipal election: the province’s municipal election act · Municipality types: Statistics Canada census subdivisions · Federal results: Elections Canada, 43rd and 44th general elections and the 44th’s transposition to the 2023 ridings, via open.canada.ca. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Canada · MPs’ records: Wikidata (CC0), positions held and party memberships, read 8 November 2026. Under the Statistics Canada Open Licence.
Adapted from Statistics Canada (Census of Population 2021, population estimates 2025, 2021 census boundaries) under the Statistics Canada Open Licence; this does not constitute an endorsement by Statistics Canada. Neighbourhood names in some cities © OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL).