| Strong Mayors, Building Homes Act, 2022 | |
|---|---|
| Legislative Assembly of Ontario | |
| Citation | S.O. 2022, c. 18 |
| Territorial extent | Toronto, municipalities designated under O. Reg. 530/22 |
| Royal assent | September 8, 2022 |
| Introduced by | Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing Steve Clark |
| Related legislation | |
| Municipal Act, 2001 City of Toronto Act, 2006 | |
| Status: In force | |
The Strong Mayors, Building Homes Act is a statute in Ontario that grants extra powers to the Mayor of Toronto and the mayors of other designated municipalities within their mayor–council governments.
Previously, all Ontario mayors had little to no direct unilateral power, with the role largely limited to chairing council meetings, appointing committee chairs and performing ceremonial duties. All decisions had to be approved by council via a majority vote. Mayors generally did have considerable soft power in terms of influence over council, however they could still be overruled if a majority of council disagreed with their actions. This system can be defined as a "weak-mayor" system. [1][2]
Under the Act, the provincial government could designate municipalities to use an alternative "strong-mayor" system. Under this, the mayors of designated municipalities would be granted direct control over the following matters:[1]
Initially, the cities designated under this system included Toronto and Ottawa. This was later expanded to include numerous other municipallties.[3]
In terms of Toronto, the "strong-mayor" powers are defined directly in the City of Toronto Act and can only be revoked by an Act of Provincial Parliament.[4] As for other municipalities, the designation is done by Order-in-Council and defined in reguation, meaning the "strong-mayor" powers can granted or revoked by the provincial government at will.[5] The "provincial priorities" which relate to the mayor's veto power are also defined in reguation.[6]
John Tory, the mayor of Toronto at the time, expressed appreciation for the powers granted to him under the act.[1]
All five living former Toronto mayors, David Crombie, David Miller, Barbara Hall, Art Eggleton and John Sewell, wrote a letter to Tory describing the new powers as an "attack" on local democracy and majority rule.[7] The Ford government defended the new powers by pointing out the mayor's "city-wide mandate", having received more votes than the rest of council.[8]
Outgoing Ottawa mayor Jim Watson deemed the powers unnecessary, also opining that "if they have to gather up two-thirds of their members to overturn a mayor's decision that's not really democratic at all." Mayoral candidate Catherine McKenney also criticised the reforms as "undemocratic."[9]
Former Hamilton mayor Bob Bratina expressed support for the powers. Andrea Horwath, a mayoral candidate, opposed the powers.[10]
Bonnie Crombie, the then-mayor of Mississauga, voiced opposition to the Act.
All cities (except for Toronto) are defined in O. Reg. 530/22.[5]