Ontario looks to expand ‘strong mayor powers’ to more municipalities, including six in Lanark area
The mayors of over 150 municipalities across Ontario may soon have access to strong mayor powers, joining the 47 other Ontario mayors who were offered the powers as tools to help deliver on provincial priorities, such as building more homes, transit, and other infrastructure across the province.
According to a release from the provincial government, the expansion will be granted to 169 additional municipalities, effective Thursday, May 1, 2025.
This significant expansion reflects Ontario’s commitment to streamline local governance and help ensure municipalities have the tools they need to reduce obstacles that can stand in the way of new housing and infrastructure development, the government detailed. The powers would reportedly allow heads of council of single- and lower-tier municipalities with councils of six members or more to support shared provincial-municipal priorities, such as encouraging the approval of new housing and constructing, and maintaining infrastructure to support housing, including roads and transit.
“Heads of Council are key partners in our efforts to build homes and infrastructure across the province,” said Rob Flack, Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing, in a statement.
“By extending strong mayor powers to these additional municipalities, we are providing mayors every tool at our disposal to empower them to get homes and infrastructure built faster. Mayors know their municipalities best, and we support them in taking bold actions for their communities.”
The municipalities within Lanarkist’s reporting region that will be part of this expansion include:
- Town of Carleton Place
- Town of Perth
- Municipality of Mississippi Mills
- Township of Rideau Lakes
- Town of Smiths Falls
- Tay Valley Township
Ontario’s strong mayor powers, initially introduced for Toronto and Ottawa in 2022, have been gradually rolled out across the province. Kingston Mayor Bryan Paterson (who is currently on unpaid leave from that position while he runs in the federal election) was provided with strong mayor powers in the summer of 2023.
According to the release, the municipalities that have been granted these enhanced powers have helped to cut red tape and accelerate the delivery of key priorities in their communities. These enhanced powers come with increased accountability for heads of council and maintain essential checks and balances through the oversight of councillors, the government detailed.
Strong mayor powers and duties include:
- Bringing forward matters for council consideration if the head of council is of the opinion that considering the matter could potentially advance a provincial priority.
- Choosing to appoint the municipality’s chief administrative officer.
- Hiring certain municipal department heads and establishing and re-organizing departments.
- Creating committees of council, assigning their functions and appointing the chairs and vice-chairs of committees of council.
- Proposing the municipal budget, which would be subject to council amendments and a separate head of council veto and council override process.
- Proposing certain municipal by-laws if the mayor is of the opinion that the proposed by-law could potentially advance a provincial priority identified in regulation. Council can pass these by-laws if more than one-third of all council members vote in favour.
- Vetoing certain by-laws if the head of council is of the opinion that all or part of the by-law could potentially interfere with a provincial priority.
A full list of the municipalities Ontario plans to extend strong mayor powers to can be found on the provincial government website.