As new Regional Council makeup nears, voting mechanism comes into focus

Politicians in Niagara’s smaller communities are voicing concerns about the new weighted voting system on Regional Council as Niagara Region braces for major changes in how politicians make decisions that impact Niagara. 

The Ford government’s changes, made under the Better Regional Governance Act, 2026, which was passed earlier this year, will see the elimination of the role of regional councillors. Starting this upcoming term, on Nov. 16, Niagara Region’s 12 mayors will make decisions regarding regional budgets, taxations levels, and more. 

But those 12 mayors will not weigh in on decisions equally. Because votes are weighted by population, the incoming mayors of Niagara Falls, St. Catharines, and Welland – Lori Lococo, Mat Siscoe, and Pat Chioccio – will combined cast 15 of a total of 25 weighted votes when Regional Council makes a decision. That means that just three individuals, if they vote together, will have the power to determine policy moves that impact the entire region. 

Previously, these three lower-tier municipalities had a majority of the representatives on Regional Council. But because not all representatives of each municipality voted together, the outsized impact of cities like Niagara Falls, St. Catharines, and Welland wasn’t necessarily felt as prominently. 

Some mayors of Niagara’s smaller municipalities have called on the province to instead impose a double majority threshold for passing measures at Regional Council. This would require major decisions to have the support of more than half of Niagara’s municipalities in addition to the support of half of the region’s population (which is what weighted voting would achieve). 

The Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing had previously rejected suggestions that voting powers be given equally to each mayor, noting that this would see smaller municipalities have an outsized influence, but has not previously commented on the possibility of using both weighted and one mayor, one vote methods at the same time. 

Niagara Region’s residents should also expect a new regional chair to be named later this month or in nearly December. The St. Catharines Standard recently reported that defeated mayors, including Niagara Falls’ Jim Diodati, will not be eligible for a regional chair role. However, mayors who chose to retire rather than seek re-election, such as Welland’s Frank Campion and Niagara-on-the-Lake’s Gary Zalepa, both of whom have interviewed for the position of chair, are eligible. 

The new regional chair will have the same “strong chair” powers that were given to regional chairs via the Better Regional Governance Act, 2026, as well.