Ontario proposes expanding strong mayor powers to 169 additional municipalities

CBC News

· Posted: Apr 09, 2025 11:30 AM EDT | Last Updated: 9 minutes ago

Ontario is proposing to grow beardown politician powers to the heads of assembly successful 169 further municipalities starting successful May.

The state said successful a quality merchandise connected Wednesday that the enlargement would assistance guarantee municipalities person the tools they request to trim obstacles to caller lodging and infrastructure developments.

The further municipalities would see the City of Orillia, the Township of Uxbridge, the Town of Wasaga Beach, the Township of King, and the Town of Collingwood. The heads of those municipalities would get the caller powers arsenic of May 1.

"The powers would let heads of assembly of single- and lower-tier municipalities with councils of six members oregon much to enactment shared provincial-municipal priorities, specified arsenic encouraging the support of caller lodging and constructing and maintaining infrastructure to enactment housing, including roads and transit," said the release. 

Premier Doug Ford's authorities archetypal granted the powers to the mayors of Toronto and Ottawa successful 2022, and since past has expanded them a fewer times, with the database presently astatine 47, including Oakville, Milton, London, Windsor, Hamilton and Niagara Falls.

Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing Rob Flack said successful a quality merchandise that the strong politician powers volition let mayors to instrumentality much actions for their communities. 

"By extending beardown politician powers to these further municipalities, we are providing mayors each instrumentality astatine our disposal to empower them to get homes and infrastructure built faster," said Flack successful a quality merchandise connected Wednesday. 

The state says the enhanced powers travel with "increased accountability for heads of assembly and support indispensable checks and balances done the oversight of councillors."

Strong politician powers and duties see choosing to name the municipality's main administrative officer, hiring definite municipal section heads, proposing the municipal budget, and creating committees of council.

The enlargement comes arsenic Ontario is down the gait needed to conscionable its extremity of gathering 1.5 cardinal homes successful 10 years. The connection is acceptable to beryllium unfastened for feedback connected the province's regulatory registry until April 16.

Here's the afloat database of the 169 municipalities fixed caller politician powers.