What will a ‘strong’ mayor system mean for Toronto?

On today’s The Big Story podcast, Doug Ford announced an expansion of mayoral powers this week in Ontario’s two largest municipalities, Toronto and Ottawa. The move would provide the mayors of both cities with significant veto power, potentially giving them the ability to force motions through council without broader support. The changes come at an interesting time for Toronto, which is in the midst of a mayoral race where the incumbent, John Tory, is the heavy favourite.

So will the new powers give mayors the ability to make headway on vital issues like housing or transit? Will it lead to an erosion of democracy in two of Canada’s most influential cities? And what might Toronto look like under the reign of a largely unbounded John Tory?

GUEST: Ben Spurr, city hall reporter at the Toronto Star.

You can subscribe to The Big Story podcast on Apple Podcasts, Google and Spotify.

You can also find it at thebigstorypodcast.ca.