The province is looking to expand strong mayor powers to 169 more municipalities in Ontario.
According to the province, this expansion will reflect Ontario’s commitment to streamlining local governance and help ensure municipalities have the necessary powers needed to reduce obstacles that stand in the way of housing and infrastructure development.
“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.
“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.”
Local municipalities that will be granted these powers are:
- Town of Amherstburg
- Town of Essex
- Town of Kingsville
- Municipality of Lakeshore
- Town of LaSalle
- Municipality of Leamington
- Town of Tecumseh
- Township of St. Clair
The powers and duties that come with strong mayor powers are:
- 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
- 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
These powers will come into effect on May 1. Windsor and Chatham-Kent have had strong mayor powers since July 1, 2023, and Oct. 31, 2023, respectively.
“Windsor is experiencing unprecedented growth driven by large-scale infrastructure projects that are transforming our economy and community,” said Windsor Mayor Drew Dilkens.
“With strong mayor powers, I’ve been able to support key initiatives in housing, transit, and infrastructure, aligning with provincial priorities. With the province’s support, we’ve streamlined processes, reduced barriers, and launched initiatives like Housing Solutions Made for Windsor and the Strengthen the Core Downtown Windsor plan, driving further growth and development.”
The full list of municipalities that will be granted the powers is available here.
