Last week, the Ontario government announced that it intends to provide strong mayor powers to 169 more cities and towns across the province. Among the municipalities slated to become recipients of the new toolkit are eight communities in Niagara.
The decision to bring new municipalities under the strong mayor umbrella comes as the province seeks to move forward with crucial infrastructure projects, such as the construction of public transit and the building of affordable housing. The goal of strong mayor powers is to provide council heads with enhanced abilities to get things done more efficiently.
“Heads of Council are key partners in our efforts to build homes and infrastructure across the province,” said Ontario Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing Rob Flack. “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.”
The strong mayor powers were originally provided to the province’s two largest cities, Toronto and Ottawa. They have since been progressively expanded to a total of 47 municipalities, including the local cities of St. Catharines, Niagara Falls and Welland.
The newly announced benchmark will include single and lower-tier municipalities that have a total of at least six council members.
In Niagara, this definition includes the Town of Fort Erie, the Town of Grimsby, the Town of Lincoln, the City of Thorold, the City of Port Colborne, the Town of Niagara-on-the-Lake, the Town of Pelham, and the Township of West Lincoln.
The Township of Wainfleet, which has a lower-tier council comprised of councillors plus the mayor, does not meet the requirements to receive strong mayor powers at this time.
Heads of council in strong mayor districts have a wider range of responsibilities, such as preparing and presenting budgets to council, hiring the chief administrative officer and other departments heads, creating and managing council committees, as well as presenting and vetoing by-laws, as the respective Mayor deems doing so is necessary to further provincial priorities.
Designated municipalities are making preparations for the imminent expansion of the strong mayor powers, which the provincial government plans to make effective May 1, 2025.
The Niagara Independent reached out to Niagara-on-the-Lake Lord Mayor Gary Zalepa for comment on the expected strong mayor powers implementation.
“I have asked the Town’s CAO to provide a review of the Province’s decision and outline the potential impacts for Niagara-on-the-Lake,” Zalepa said. “I look forward to better understanding those possible impacts.”
Those interested in learning more about the proposed strong mayor powers expansion can do so here.
Nick Redekop completed his Honours Bachelor of Arts Degree in Labour Studies at Brock University. He has previously served in municipal and federal politics. In his free time, Nick enjoys following sports, taking part in outdoor activities, and reading biographies. Nick resides in Niagara Falls
