2026 Hamilton Youth Town Hall

The Hamilton Youth Town Hall is an annual, full-day civic engagement event designed to bring together youth from across all City wards to participate in structured dialogue, learning, and engagement related to municipal governance and City priorities.

The 2026 Hamilton Youth Town Hall is scheduled to take place on Saturday, May 9, 2026, from 9:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. at Hamilton City Hall, and will convene youth aged 14–29 representing all City wards.

The event will provide opportunities for participating youth to choose one of three workshops to engage in youth civic learning activities, hear from City leadership and participate in structured interactions with Members of Council, contribute input into ongoing City initiatives where youth perspectives are being sought, and build civic awareness and readiness ahead of the 2026 municipal election.

If you have any questions about this event please email [email protected]

Info: Panel-style discussions will provide an opportunity for youth to learn from and engage with elected officials; similarly, elected officials will benefit from this engagement and the opportunity to learn youth perspectives on issues.

Info: Supporting You(th) in a Run for Office: This workshop will invite former youth candidates to reflect on their experiences as candidates, and provide participants with an opportunity to see themselves as candidates for office. Discussion and activities aimed at gathering youth feedback on how candidates and campaigns can work to be more engaging and accessible to young people, and what municipalities and community organizations can do to support youth interested in running for office.

Info: Preparing You(th) to Vote: This workshop will invite youth to reflect on what they know about the electoral process. It will seek to identify what youth want to know, and think they should know about, and in turn, how this information can be communicated to them in an effective and engaging manner. It will explore how communicating general process-based information (where, how, and when to vote) may require a different approach than candidate-specific information (who is running, what candidates’ platforms are, and how to connect with candidates).

Info: Creating Candidate Connections with You(th): This workshop will invite youth to step into the role of candidates or campaign staff, and think about what kind of programming they would design - by youth, for youth. Discussion and activities will seek to identify event formats, barriers to participation and methods for improvement, and sample activities and itineraries for youth-led engagement between candidates and youth. It will explore how traditional style candidate-panels, ward-specific and City-wide activations, and skill and knowledge-based workshops can strengthen the relationship between candidates and youth - both current, and future voters.

Info: (French Description TBD)

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Host or Publisher City of Hamilton Children's and Community Services