Mayor’s strong powers could predict change in Niagara

Just weeks ago, this author chronicled the political bromance between Prime Minister Mark Carney and Premier Doug Ford. The article noted Ford’s fascination with the United States. One thing Ford most admired about the American system appeared in the book he wrote after losing the 2014 Toronto mayoral race. In Ford Nation (2016), he prophesied that if he ever entered provincial politics, he would prioritize municipal government. In one section, he wrote about “one person in charge, with veto power,” modelling his vision after American municipal systems in New York, Chicago, and Los Angeles. His argument rested on mayors having received city-wide mandates, not just votes from a specific ward, as most councillors did. Fast forward to 2022, and Ford, fresh off a second consecutive majority government in Canada’s largest province, grants what he calls “Strong Mayor Powers” to mayors in specific cities across Ontario. The government granted these powers first to Toronto and Ottawa to ensure that homes, transit, and infrastructure improvements didn’t get bogged down in council debates or were hamstrung by community groups opposed to development. From there, the powers spread and now cover almost half of Ontario’s municipalities, including all in Niagara, except Wainfleet. What have Niagara’s mayors, especially the recently elected ones, said about these powers? How do they plan to use them as the new term begins in mid-November? What will this mean for Niagara’s residents? 

NIAGARA MAYORS AND STRONG MAYOR POWERS

Unsurprisingly, several mayors spoke out against the idea at the time, stating that they saw no valid reason to disrupt the existing council dynamics or to create unnecessary tension among their colleagues on council. Wayne Redekop, the mayor of Fort Erie, dismissed the authority as “at its core, anti-democratic,” and further commented that it had no use in smaller communities. In Niagara Falls, Mayor Jim Diodati told the Greater Niagara Chamber of Commerce, “I don’t think it’s a great idea. I don’t think mayors need any more authority. Their job is to create a vision, along with council, and then try to foster it and see it through by being inclusive.” Walter Sendzik in St. Catharines and Frank Campion of Welland voiced the same concerns. Sendzik complained, “If the province wants to address housing, it should ‘stop focusing’ on expanding the powers of mayors and instead ‘strengthen’ its own provincial policies, which municipalities design official plans around.” Campion simply disagreed with strong mayor powers for communities the size of Welland (about 56,000). However, things changed when funding was tied to infrastructure improvements and housing builds. Most of the region’s mayors affected assented to Ford’s decree, with Fort Erie’s mayor remaining the only holdout. What about the new mayors elected on Oct. 26? 

Lori Lococo of Niagara Falls insists that she plans to be responsive to council, work with her team, and build consensus among city representatives. Following her election win as Niagara Falls’ first woman mayor, Lococo said, “I will be more inclusive and collaborative — I want to work together as a team — and I want everybody to bring their skill set and their ideas.” Can she stick to that promise? She deserves the chance to prove she can, but the pressure could mount, some councillors could become difficult, or funding could be at risk. What will she do then? For his part, Pat Chiocchio in Welland never promised to reject strong mayor powers but said he would only use them in “rare, specific circumstances after full debate and only when clearly in Welland taxpayers’ best interests.” Playing it safe, Chiocchio has left himself some wiggle room, still insisting that he will build consensus to create budgets and solve other issues. In Fort Erie, it would be wrong to assume that Tom Insinna will take the border town in a direction opposite to Redekop’s, but it seems certain that he will want to use whatever tools the province provides, including the strong mayor powers, if needed, to help address issues such as healthcare and to secure investments for the community. Mat Siscoe of St. Catharines, one of the few re-elected mayors in Niagara, has already shown a willingness to use strong-mayor powers frequently and specifically to develop a budget, address housing and land crises, and enforce his executive authority.  

HOW WILL THEY BE USED IN NIAGARA?

Despite their protests, most mayors may have to use strong-mayor powers for several reasons. First, under these new protocols, mayors now develop the municipality’s budget. It would not be unusual for mayors to task staff with creating budgets the council must review, amend, and approve. New mayors and councillors will rely heavily on staff to help distribute funds to priority areas. The staff will have background knowledge, familiarity with provincial practices, and their own agendas. Bureaucrats have been known to bamboozle novice politicians who are new to budgeting or unsure about how the system has operated in the past. A slow learning curve could advantage the mayor who directs staff effectively and gingerly bypasses his council. It will be paramount for new councillors unfamiliar with the inner workings of municipal government to get up to speed as quickly as possible. The taxpayer’s best friend will be a representative on council who does their homework, asks questions, and follows up until they are satisfied that all matters are on the record.  

They have also used this power to hire and fire CAOs (Chief Administrative Officers) who must align their priorities with strategic provincial mandates. Ford has kept his commitment to make municipal government the rudder for implementing his vision for Ontario. Resistant mayors can slow the process, even grind it to a halt, but they cannot ignore it. By spending their time trying to hinder or postpone what the premier wants, they get distracted and fail to push forward their own plans. It becomes a war of attrition, with the premier holding the envelopes that will fund improvements in local communities. Mayors who operate differently from the province will find it hard to gain traction. Eventually, mayors who want to build a record to run on will either have to risk financial cutbacks for their locale or use strong-mayor powers to comply with the premier’s directives.  

Finally, if city halls across the region are to be streamlined, Niagara mayors will need to use their powers to clean up administrative matters efficiently and with due haste. It may not be as pronounced as an executive order from Donald Trump, but the idea is similar. Ford wants to see things move deliberately, not caught up in procedural wrangling, delayed by further assessments, or subject to more debate. Some mayors will manage the demands better, but the pressure will be relentless and hard to deflect. 

EFFECT ON RESIDENTS

Canadians are torn about technocracy. They approve of Carney’s executive leadership, trust his decision-making, and remain comfortable with him making deals and moving things along without parliamentary debate. Ford wants to be a horse of another colour. He appreciates Carney’s desire to move things ahead, avoid delays, reduce the time in committee, and get shovels in the ground. Niagara residents cannot have it both ways. The mayors elected on Oct. 26, the decrease in councillor representation, and the delegation of powers to the leaders of municipal councils serve the same purpose as what Carney seeks to do federally. Do voters think Ford should oppose Carney? 

Niagara voters wanted change. The faces sitting at councils across the region are new. Will they deliver the change they promised? Or in short order, will the fresh faces use familiar excuses, justify their compliance with the province’s wishes, and better understand their predecessors’ predicaments? Talking about change has always been easy. Accomplishing it will be the measure of each new mayor’s and every council’s success as this new term begins.