Ontario is proposing to expand “strong mayor” powers to the heads of council in 169 additional municipalities effective May 1, 2025, including the town of Deep River.
The province says the move is to help deliver on provincial priorities, such as building more homes, transit and other infrastructure across Ontario.
“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 province said in its announcement.
“The powers would 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.”
In Renfrew County, the municipalities that would be eligible for “strong mayor” powers include Deep River, Petawawa, Pembroke, Renfrew, Arnprior, and the townships of Killaloe Hagarty Richards.
“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.”
Ontario’s strong mayor powers, initially introduced for Toronto and Ottawa in 2022, have been gradually rolled out across the province. The province currently has 47 municipalities with these enhanced powers, which it says have helped to “cut red tape and accelerate the delivery of key priorities in their communities.”
Strong mayor powers and duties include:
- 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 bylaw could potentially advance a provincial priority identified in regulation. Council can pass these bylaws if more than one-third of all council members vote in favour.
- Vetoing certain bylaws if the head of council is of the opinion that all or part of the bylaw 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.
The proposal will be posted on Ontario’s Regulatory Registry until April 16, 2025.
The Registry posting notes that local impacts “will depend on how the heads of council (HOC) in designated municipalities choose to use these strong mayor powers and how the municipality will support the implementation of these powers and duties for the HOC.”
“There are no requirements in the regulations that would result in new administrative costs for municipalities. Municipalities may choose to update local processes and policies at any time, based on local needs and circumstances.”
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