Gore Bay, NEMI and Central mayors are granted ‘strong mayor powers’ by province
MANITOULIN—Ontario is proposing to expand ‘strong mayor powers’ to the heads of council in 169 additional municipalities (effective May 1), including three on Manitoulin Island, to help deliver on provincial priorities, such as building more homes, transit and other infrastructure across the province.
For Manitoulin Island, the municipalities of Central Manitoulin, Gore Bay and Northeastern Manitoulin and the Islands (NEMI) are included.
“I feel we have a high functioning council that works well together, and with staff, and I can’t imagine trying to use it (the strong mayors powers), or why it would be used here. In our situation the council debates issues and we come to the best solution and with strong consensus of the majority of council,” stated Al MacNevin, NEMI mayor. “If you have a good functioning group like we have on council and staff I can never see using this power.”
“These additional powers could be used for some municipalities struggling that can’t get things done,” said Mayor MacNevin. “I’m not against breaking a deadlock on a vote of council. To me, (the legislation) would be a last-ditch thing.”
“In our case the process we have now has served us well over the past 20 years. Everyone on council brings forward ideas or proposals and council debates them and comes to a consensus. We don’t always agree on everything, but there is never a battle, we use common sense. And if there are any concerns raised our CAO does research and we bring this forward for further discussion and reach a consensus among council.”
“As long as council is functioning well, it makes no sense to use these powers, depending on the municipality,” said Mayor MacNevin.
Gore Bay Mayor Ron Lane told the Expositor, “In our situation I don’t think there would ever be situations here that we would need or use any extra powers. I can see it in big cities where you have, say, 35 councilors and hardly anyone gets along and it is hard to get anything through and passed and even in some smaller townships where a mayor and council don’t get along.”
“We work as a council and together we come to a consensus on matters, and no one dictates what is going to take place,” said Mayor Lane. “I think it’s far better to work together, which is what we do.”
“I’m not sure what we would ever use this expanded power for,” stated Richard Stephens, Mayor of Central Manitoulin. “I guess it would always be nice to have it in our back pocket if it is needed.”
Mayor Stephens said, “I never expected these expanded powers would ever come down to our municipalities, but we are not going to turn it down. And I can understand it being used in big cities if it is involving an important issue like finances.”
“I’m in favour of anything that gives council more power, the mayor works with council and knows the needs in the community and acts accordingly,” said Mayor Stephens.
This significant expansion reflects Ontario’s commitment to streamline local governance and help ensure municipalities have the tools they need to reduce obstacles that can stand in the way of new housing and infrastructure development. The powers would allow heads of council of single and lower-tier municipalities with councils of six members or more to support shared provincial-municipal priorities, such as encouraging the approval of new housing and constructing and maintaining infrastructure to support housing, including roads and transit.
“Heads of council are key partners in our efforts to build homes and infrastructure across the province,” said Rob Flack, minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing. “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. Mayors know their municipalities best, and we support them in taking bold actions for these communities.”
“Increasing housing supply is a top priority for municipalities in every part of Ontario,” said Robin Jones, president of the Association of Municipalities of Ontario (AMO) and Mayor of Westport. “Strong mayor powers can provide an additional tool to help municipalities play their important role in getting houses built. As the most trusted order of government, municipalities can be counted on to exercise new powers accountably and in the best interests of the public and the communities they serve.”
Ontario’s strong mayor powers, initially introduced for Toronto and Ottawa in 2022, have been gradually rolled out across the province. The province currently has 47 municipalities with these enhanced powers, which have helped to cut red tape and accelerate the delivery of key priorities in their communities. These enhanced powers come with increased accountability for heads of council and maintain essential checks and balances through the oversight of councillors.
Strong mayor powers and duties include: choosing to appoint the municipality’s chief administrative officer, hiring certain municipal department heads and establishing and re-organizing departments, creating committees of council, assigning their functions and appointing the chairs and vice-chairs of committees of council, proposing the municipal budget, which could be subject to council amendments and a separate head of council veto and council override process, proposing certain municipal bylaws if the mayor is of the opinion that the proposed bylaw could potentially advance a provincial priority identified in regulation. Council can pass these bylaws if more than one-third of all council members vote in favour, vetoing certain bylaws if the head of council is of the opinion that all or part of the by-law could potentially interfere with a provincial priority, bringing forward matters for council consideration if the head of council is of the opinion that considering the matter could potentially advance a provincial priority.
The proposal will be posted on Ontario’s Regulatory Registry, until April 16, 2025.
