Kids Vote Weekend

The Basswood, Paper Birch, Red Oak, Sugar Maple and White Pine were selected as candidates for Toronto’s 2027 Tree of the Year because they are large trees native to Toronto that play an important role in our urban forest.

These trees are found throughout Toronto’s green spaces, parks and streets and can be easily identified using the resources on this webpage.

Basswood

• Basswood makes amazing shade, great for staying cool on hot days.
• In summer, Basswood grows sweet-smelling flowers full of sugary nectar that pollinators love.
• Basswood grows smooth and even, making it a traditional favourite for carving or making musical instruments.

Check out this candidate’s profile and learn interesting facts.

Watch this candidate’s educational video.

Paper Birch

• Paper Birch is fast-growing when it is young, helping establish new forests quickly.
• Paper Birch has bright white and papery bark with dark lines making it easy to recognize.
• Paper Birch has tiny seeds that can float long distances on the wind, helping new trees grow in different places.

Check out this candidate’s profile and learn interesting facts.

Watch this candidate’s educational video.

Red Oak

• Many animals love Red Oak’s acorns, including blue jays, chipmunks, deer, squirrels and turkeys.
• Red Oak’s leaves provide important food for caterpillars, which later turn into moths and butterflies.
• Red Oak grows deep root systems that help them to stay strong in storms and prevent soil erosion.

Check out this candidate’s profile and learn interesting facts.

Watch this candidate’s educational video.

Sugar Maple

• Sugar Maple is famous for its extra sweet sap – pass the pancakes!
• Sugar Maple seeds spin like little helicopters as they fall to the ground.
• In the fall, Sugar Maple puts on a colourful show with orange, red and yellow leaves.

Check out this candidate’s profile and learn interesting facts.

Watch this candidate’s educational video.

White Pine

• Many animals snack on the seeds hiding in White Pine’s cones, especially squirrels and birds.
• White Pine keeps its needles all year round, creating cozy shelter for wildlife.
• White Pine often grows to be the tallest tree in the forest.

Check out this candidate’s profile and learn interesting facts.

Watch this candidate’s educational video

Voting for the Tree of the Year supports Toronto’s tree planting goals. To help you understand how to get started with voting during Kids Vote Weekend, review the path of the voter and read below the five steps to voting.

Get Ready

To help you decide who to vote for, learn about each candidate using the information, videos and other resources on this webpage.

Learn Where to Vote

Find the advance voting place that is closest to your home by using the web-based tool MyVote.

Go Vote

Vote at your advance voting place on Saturday, October 10 or Sunday, October 11, from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m.

What to Expect

An election official will greet you at the door of the voting place and direct you to the Kids Vote Weekend area to receive your ballot and step by step instructions.
Review a sample ballot.

Results

Kids Vote Weekend ballots will be hand counted after the close of voting and results will be announced after the October 26 municipal election.

The winning Tree of the Year will also be featured in other special plantings and activities in 2027, including:

• 1,000 plantings of the Tree of the Year on public land across Toronto.
• Tree of the Year saplings offered to Toronto schools to plant on school property.
• Free Tree of the Year saplings available at all public tree giveaway events.

View Tree of the Year for more details.

The following are suggested teacher activities that can be used in the classroom to help prepare students for Kids Vote Weekend and voting for Toronto’s Tree of the Year.

Stage a Candidates Debate

Divide the class into teams representing each of the five candidate trees.

Using the candidate profiles, challenge each team to deliver short speeches, poems, songs and skits demonstrating why their preferred candidate tree deserves to be Toronto’s Tree of the Year.

Share a Kids Vote Weekend Voting Plan

Using the path of the voter, take students through the steps required to participate:

• Learn about the five candidate trees
• Find out where and when to vote
• Learn what to expect at the voting place
• Find out the results of the vote and how the Tree of the Year will be celebrated in 2027

Design Election Campaign Materials

Using the candidate profiles, challenge students to create campaign materials supporting their favourite candidate tree and present them to the class. Suggested materials include:

• Posters
• Pamphlets
• Scripts for radio, television or social media

Invite students to highlight unique characteristics of their favourite candidate tree and its role in the environment through beautiful artwork, persuasive language and punchy slogans. Student work can be displayed on a dedicated bulletin board or uploaded to an online classroom.

Kids Vote Weekend Field Research

Using information found in the candidate profiles, take students on a schoolyard or neighbourhood walk to look for candidate trees. Collect and examine fallen leaves and needles, acorns and pinecones, take bark rubbings, make sketches and more.

Create a class display of the candidate trees using your collections alongside interesting facts from the profiles.

Share the following resources and activities in your learning spaces to encourage all young people to participate in Kids Vote Weekend.

• Sample Kids Vote Weekend Ballot
• Meet the Candidates and Path of the Voter (Français)
• Kids Vote Weekend Poster
  • Small Size 8.5″ x 11″
  • Large Size 11″ x 17″
• Kids Vote Weekend Activity Sheet
• Candidate Educational Information:
  • Basswood Fact Sheet and Video
  • Paper Birch Fact Sheet and Video
  • Red Oak Fact Sheet and Video
  • Sugar Maple Fact Sheet and Video
  • White Pine Fact Sheet and Video

View more audio and visual resources about the 2026 Toronto Municipal Election.