The City of Waterloo, Ontario, officially opened the 2026 Council for a Day contest on March 2, 2026, inviting local Grade 5 students to share their ideas for improving the community. This annual program gives young residents a chance to learn how local government makes decisions that affect their neighbourhoods.
Students who live or attend school in the city have until April 1, 2026, to submit their entries. To enter, participants must describe one specific project or change that would make the city a better place to live by using either a 90-second video or two short paragraphs.
Eight winners will be selected to represent the city’s various wards and spend a full day working alongside Mayor Dorothy McCabe and the Waterloo City Council. These students will also have the opportunity to present their ideas during the State of the City event on April 16, 2026.
The contest is designed to follow the Ontario Grade 5 school lessons about how government works and the role of responsible citizens. Mayor Dorothy McCabe said that building an informed community starts with giving youth practical ways to see how local government functions and how they can get involved.
