The Better Regional Governance Act, 2026, which would transform regional governance in several regions in Ontario, including Niagara Region, is currently undergoing fierce debate at Queen’s Park.
The legislation, introduced by municipal affairs minister Rob Flack, would see, among other things, Niagara Regional Council reduced to just 13 members, composed of a provincially-appointed chair and the region’s 12 local mayors, each receiving weighted votes based on their local population.
Niagara West MPP Sam Oosterhoff, the region’s lone representative on the government benches, spoke out in favour of Flack’s proposed reforms.
Oosterhoff insisted that the government’s legislation is “responding to the letters of local mayors. It’s responding to the calls of elected officials. It’s responding to the calls of business owners.”
He added, “We need to move to reduce the cost of living for the people who live in Niagara. We need to move to build infrastructure to keep our roads safe, to keep our communities moving. We need to move to plan for the future. You know, 1970 till today – 56 years of growth that have happened. We need to plan not just for today, not just for the next electoral cycle, but to plan for the next 56 years.”
Oosterhoff also noted that Niagara Region has more politicians currently than there are members at Queen’s Park and insisted that needs to change. He furthermore spoke about the fact that there’s been too much political paralysis in Niagara in recent years and suggested that the Ford government’s proposed changes will help move things in the right direction.
But the opposition wasn’t buying what Oosterhoff, Flack, and the Ford government are selling.
Jennie Stevens, the NDP MPP for St. Catharines, insisted that the government’s changes are not about reform and better governance.
“What we are witnessing is not reform. It is not modernization, and it’s not about efficiency. It is a continuation of a troubling pattern from this Conservative government, one that centralizes power, sidelines local voices and erodes the very foundation of the democracy in all of our municipalities,” said Stevens.
One of the major points of contention is the fact that the new regional chair will be a provincial appointee rather than someone who is elected by Niagara Region residents or Niagara’s regional councillors.
The Better Regional Governance Act, 2026, is currently in second reading. Given that the Ford government has a majority, in all likelihood the legislation will be passed into law in the coming weeks, and the structure of Niagara Regional Council will therefore be changed considerably following this year’s municipal elections, to be held in October.
Jay Goldberg is the Canadian Affairs Manager at the Consumer Choice Center. He previously served as the Ontario Director at the Canadian Taxpayers Federation and a policy fellow at the Munk School of Public Policy and Global Affairs. Jay holds a Ph.D. in Political Science from the University of Toronto.
