County among 169 municipalities proposed for ‘strong mayor powers’

Prince Edward County is among 169 more municipalities proposed to gain “strong mayor powers” from the province, effective May 1 “to help deliver on provincial priorities, such as building more homes, transit and other infrastructure across Ontario.”

Also on the list are nearby municipalities of Bancroft, Brighton, Cobourg, Greater Napanee, Port Hope and Quinte West. Currently there are 47 heads of council with the strong mayor powers, granted in 2023, including nearby Belleville and Kingston.

The powers 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.

“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,” said Rob Flack, Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing, in a media release. “Mayors know their municipalities best, and we support them in taking bold actions for their communities.”

“The proposal is posted on Ontario’s Regulatory Registry for comments until April 16,” states Mayor Steve Ferguson. “Should the amendments come into effect on May 1, I will look into this matter further to determine how to exercise these new powers accountably, and in the best interests of the public.”

Ontario’s strong mayor powers, initially introduced for Toronto and Ottawa in 2022, have been gradually rolled out across the province.

Strong mayor powers were specifically created by the province to prioritize building new homes and construction of housing-supportive infrastructure.

The strong mayor powers have been meeting with friction in some municipalities.

Last week, Hamilton city council agreed unanimously to ask the province to take away the powers, noting councillors feel the powers are undemocratic and eliminate their voices from process.

In Orillia this week, a deputy CAO from Guelph was a week away from taking over as CAO in Orillia, but the mayor rescinded the hiring in favour of appointing the city’s current deputy CAO to the role. In response, four councillors have written the provincial government, opposing strong mayor powers.

In Peterborough last week, a residents’ group stated it will issue a legal challenge of the mayor’s use of powers to expedite a housing complex.

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 by-law could potentially advance a provincial priority identified in regulation. Council can pass these by-laws if more than one-third of all council members vote in favour.
-Vetoing certain by-laws if the head of council is of the opinion that all or part of the by-law 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 strong mayor’s power proposal for the 169 municipalities is open for comments on Ontario’s Regulatory Registry, until April 16.