Doug Ford delivers new law that will give sweeping powers to ‘strong mayors’ in Toronto and Ottawa -- and maybe other cities

The mayors of Toronto and Ottawa would have sweeping new authority over municipal budgets and the hiring and firing senior staff under Premier Doug Ford’s “strong-mayor” legislation.

Thestar.com
Aug. 11, 2022
Robert Benzie

Toronto and Ottawa are getting “strong mayors” after the Oct. 24 municipal elections -- and other large Ontario cities could follow soon after.

Under Premier Doug Ford’s new legislation tabled Wednesday, the mayors of Toronto and Ottawa would have sweeping new authority over municipal budgets and the hiring and firing of senior city staff.

As first disclosed by the Star three weeks ago, Ford’s Progressive Conservatives are extending the powers to the province’s two largest cities in time for the next civic elections.

Municipal Affairs Minister Steve Clark’s Strong Mayors, Building Homes Act finally spells out the extent and the limitations of the enhanced mayoral authority that will be in effect for council terms beginning Nov. 15.

The mayor could veto any bylaw passed by councillors if it “could potentially interfere with a prescribed provincial priority.”

That would include bylaws affecting housing developments and “critical infrastructure” projects like highways or public transit.

As well, the chief magistrate could veto the budget.

It would take a two-thirds majority vote of council to thwart the mayor’s veto, although Queen’s Park would still have regulatory authority to rein in a potential rogue mayor.

Clark said the Conservatives promised in the June 2 election to build 1.5 million new homes over the next decade and empowering the mayors of Toronto and Ottawa should expedite that.

“One-third of the growth over the next decade will come in the cities of Toronto and Ottawa. Our government needs to support efficient, local decision-making to speed up development,” the minister told reporters.

Ford has said the change is “a trial” and he will look at later extending the powers to “the rest of the mayors of relatively large cities,” such as Mississauga, Brampton and Hamilton, even before the 2026 municipal elections.

That means a mayor in one of those cities elected this fall could see their authority enhanced in the middle of their term.

“I’m open to continue the consultation with other mayors ... my message to all other municipalities is that you need to have a plan to get shovels in the ground, you have to be committed to growth,” said Clark.

His new law would give the mayors the power to appoint a chief administrative officer and hire and fire city department heads -- but not “statutory appointments,” such as the chief of police, the fire chief, the chief medical officer of health, the auditor general, the head of a transit commission or the integrity commissioner.

Still, the mayor would have the authority to appoint the chairs of council committees and create and reorganize city departments.

Under the legislation, a mayoral vacancy would trigger a byelection, though vacant council seats could still be filled by appointment.

Toronto Mayor John Tory, who is seeking re-election to a third term in October and has long called for increased powers, said “at the end of the day, my job remains the same, to work with city council and every elected official in city hall.”

Tory is facing off against 15 less-known challengers in the mayoral race.

There is no incumbent in Ottawa as Mayor Jim Watson is not seeking re-election. So far, 12 candidates have registered, including former mayor Bob Chiarelli, Councillor Catherine McKenney and broadcaster Mark Sutcliffe.

Toronto Councillor Shelley Carroll (Ward 17, Don Valley North) said while she didn’t expect a mayor like Tory to wield any expanded authorities rashly, there’s no guarantee future leaders would follow suit.

“It opens the door for an abuse of power,” said Carroll. “You can only hope that these powers are wisely used by a mayor. But we’ll never know until each new mayor is elected and we see how they proceed.”

Interim NDP Leader Peter Tabuns, a former Toronto councillor, said imposing such changes “on the verge of an election doesn’t make sense.”

“Whether it’s a vanity project on the part of the premier or something to do with making sure developer friends have friendly councils that are controlled by a strong mayor, I don’t know,” said Tabuns.

Green Leader Mike Schreiner pointed out “the provincial government already has many tools at its disposal to increase housing supply in cities without increasing sprawl -- and without concentrating power at the top of municipal government.”

But Tim Hudak, a former PC leader who heads Ontario Real Estate Association, said the bill is “critical and overdue step towards solving the housing affordability and supply crisis” and urged the government to expand the powers to other mayors.

“More can still be done … including ending exclusionary zoning in Ontario’s highest-demand urban neighbourhoods, which would allow for the building of duplexes, triplexes and fourplexes on lots traditionally zoned for single-family housing,” said Hudak.

The Conservative legislation is part of a continuum that began in 2006 when then-Liberal premier Dalton McGuinty passed the City of Toronto Act giving the provincial capital greater autonomy over its affairs, including increased taxing authority.

He wanted a strong-mayor system for Toronto, stressing “this is an issue that is independent of personalities, political leanings” and is about “an effective governance model.”

David Miller, Toronto’s mayor at the time, initially said such powers weren’t needed, so McGuinty held off, though he warned he would impose such a system if city council was incapable of making necessary changes to improve the chaotic budget-making process.

After struggling through a budget crisis, Miller struck an expert panel, which concluded in 2008 that a 45-member city council was “unwieldy, difficult to operate, and diffuses accountability, authority and responsibility.”

However, the global financial meltdown later that year forced the “strong-mayor” push onto the back burner at Queen’s Park.

The Conservative premier, a former city councillor whose late brother, Rob Ford, was Toronto mayor from 2010 until 2014, has long championed civic governance reform.

Even though Ford did not campaign on the issue during the spring election, he first mused about the change his 2016 book, “Ford Nation: Two Brothers, One Vision.”

“If I ever get to the provincial level of politics, municipal affairs is the first thing I would want to change,” wrote Ford.

“I think mayors across the province deserve stronger powers. One person in charge, with veto power, similar to the strong mayoral systems in New York and Chicago and L.A.”

Under Ontario’s existing “weak-mayor” system, a mayor can steer an agenda by appointing committee chairs, but only has one vote on council and needs the backing of a majority of councillors to make changes.