WHAT ARE
STRONG MAYOR POWERS?
In September 2022,
the Ontario Government enacted Bill 3, Strong Mayors, Building Homes Act, 2022 which gave strong mayor powers to the mayors of Ottawa and Toronto (the “Strong Mayor Powers Act”). A link to the Act can be found here.
Since then, the number of Ontario municipalities granted the powers has been expanded, first in July 2023 when an additional 26 municipalities were given the powers. These municipalities were identified as “large and fast-growing municipalities that have committed to a housing pledge” (i.e., the promise to build their share of new housing in order to help satisfy the Government’s goal of building 1.5 million new homes by 2031).
In October 2023, another 18 municipalities were granted the powers. These municipalities were identified as having populations “projected to be 50,000 or larger by 2031.” Finally, on May 1, 2025, the strong mayor powers were expanded to an additional 169 municipalities, this time to single-tier municipalities with councils of six members or more. Of the 444 municipalities in Ontario, almost half are now subject to strong mayor powers, and it is likely that the powers will be expanded to the rest.
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The purported purpose of the Strong Mayor Powers Act is to enhance the executive authority of mayors in select Ontario municipalities; to accelerate housing development to meet the provincial target of 1.5 million new homes by 2031; to align municipal actions with provincial priorities like housing, transit, and infrastructure; and to streamline governance and reduce delays in decision-making.​​​​
The Ontario government outlines the specific “powers and duties” awarded to strong mayors here.
In brief, the powers include:​
Budget Powers
The mayor prepares and presents the municipal budget. While council may amend the budget, the mayor can veto their amendments. Council can override this veto only with a two-thirds majority. The mayor may also make limited budget amendments after the budget has been passed.
Appointment Powers
The mayor alone can appoint or dismiss the CAO/City Manager and senior staff. The mayor is authorized to create, dissolve, and manage municipal committees. The mayor has the power to assign or remove committee chairs and vice-chairs. In each of these scenarios, council input is optional, not required, and their consent is not needed.
By-law Powers
The mayor may direct staff to draft bylaws aligned with "provincial priorities". The mayor can introduce bylaws without a seconder or committee review. The mayor can veto council amendments which conflict with these "provincial priorities". Council may override the veto only with a two-thirds majority vote.
The "provincial priorities" referred to above are set by provincial regulation, and include: housing supply; infrastructure (eg., transit, utilities); and economic development. The mayor’s use of the strong mayor powers must directly support these priorities and cannot be used outside of this framework. It should be noted that not all municipalities accepted the powers. Four of them refused to accept the powers at the outset (Newmarket, New Tecumseh, Norfolk County and Haldimand County), stating they were undemocratic and that the housing pledge would be impossible for them to meet, that they simply didn’t have enough available land to meet the targets, with most saying they didn’t want the powers regardless. 31 of the first 46 municipalities stated they would not use the powers other than for passing bylaws and/or advancing budget processes and council decisions (not to sway decisions). 27 more went further and rejected the powers and delegated some or all powers back to council. As of May 2024, only 15 of 50 municipalities offered the powers were using them.
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Since the powers were first introduced in 2022, opposition to them has been strong. As the powers are expanded to more municipalities, and as councillors, municipal staff, and the Ontario public see the impacts of their use, this opposition keeps growing. Many councillors across Ontario are speaking out, both in municipalities where the powers are in use and in those where the powers are likely soon to be introduced.
We at Restore Democracy Ontario have been opposed to them from the beginning, and we are now working to amplify and unite the voices across the province of those who are alarmed by the desecration of democracy that such powers bring.
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Individuals looking to stay informed and get involved can begin by checking out our Community Toolkit.