Ontario Premier Doug Ford has fundamentally altered the scope and nature of local democracy in the province, marking a significant shift in the traditional relationship between the provincial government and its cities and school boards. While the provincial government has always held ultimate responsibility for these entities, Ontario has long operated on the principle that residents would maintain meaningful control over their own communities. Under Ford, however, that local control has diminished, and in some cases, it has vanished entirely. These changes have been incremental and spread over time, but their cumulative effect is now unmistakable.
The Appointment of Regional Chairs
In its latest move, the Ford government will appoint the chairs of eight regional municipalities in southern Ontario. These positions were formerly elected, although in three cases, individuals had been appointed for the 2022–2026 term only. These unelected regional chairs will possess the same strong mayor powers that Ford granted to elected mayors across the province a couple of years ago. This gives the new chairs significant authority over the elected members of regional councils.
Specifically, the appointed chairs will be able to propose budgets, veto changes that regional councillors wish to make, appoint or dismiss many city officials, and veto council decisions that could slow down action on provincial priorities such as infrastructure or housing construction. Housing and Municipal Affairs Minister Rob Flack has stated that the move is necessary for effective government and to get politicians out of the way.
Criticism from Municipal Leaders
Lindsay Jones, executive director of the Association of Municipalities of Ontario, has called these strong chair powers fundamentally undemocratic because they allow unelected individuals to overrule elected councillors. The strong mayor system concentrates power in one person. Ontario is unique in Canada for having such a system, although many large American cities do.
Ford has fully embraced this concept. He began by granting strong mayor powers to Toronto and Ottawa with the aim of speeding up housing approvals. Then he expanded that control to larger cities and ultimately to every municipality in the province, even tiny townships. These enhanced powers have altered the traditional balance on councils, where mayors previously had to build consensus to secure a majority vote. Councillors have not lost all control; mayoral vetoes can still be overturned by a two-thirds majority council vote.
Impact on Housing Starts
When it comes to housing, the strong mayor system has not produced significant results. The Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp. predicts that housing starts in the province will decline in 2026 for the fifth consecutive year. Notably, Ottawa had one of the strongest housing-start performances in the province last year, even though Mayor Mark Sutcliffe does not use his strong mayor powers. This suggests that the concentration of power may not be the most effective approach to addressing housing challenges.
