VOTE 2022 EXPLAINER: What's the difference between regional and municipal councils in Ontario?

10 things to know before you vote for 'upper tier' and 'lower tier' government

Yorkregion.com
Sept. 7, 2022
Kim Zarzour

Ten things to know before you vote for "upper tier" and "lower tier" government:

1. If your municipality operates in a two-tier structure, the upper tier may be referred to as the regional municipality, county or district.

2. This upper tier acts as a federation of the local municipalities within its boundaries and provides services such as arterial roads, regional transit, policing, sewer and water systems, waste disposal, health and social services and region-wide land use planning.

3. A person may become a member of the upper-tier council automatically because they are head (mayor or reeve) of a lower-tier council.

4. In other cases, regional councillors are elected directly by voters, (some are elected to sit on both regional and local councils) or appointed by their local councils to serve at the regional level.

5. The head of the upper-tier council may be called the warden or the chair and is directly elected either by voters, or by the members of regional council (usually at the inaugural meeting).

6. All decisions at the upper tier are made by a majority of councillors. The chair (or warden) presides over council meetings, frequently acts as the spokesperson for council, and may vote to break a tie.

7.  The lower-tier level is the local municipality (also known as city, town, township or village) and provides services such as local parks, libraries, animal control, snow removal, local planning and maintenance of local roads.

8. Membership on local councils is established by direct election, either by wards (voted in by the electors in one ward only) or “at large” (by voters of the whole municipality).

9. The head of local council is elected at large by all voters in the municipality and is called the mayor or reeve.

10. Members of council may be called councillors or aldermen or alderwomen.