Brampton, Mississauga among 26 cities to receive ‘strong mayor powers’ starting July 1

Brampton and Mississauga are among 26 cities that have been granted strong mayor powers by the Ford government.

In an announcement made Friday morning at Queen’s Park, Steve Clark, Ontario’s Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing, confirmed the expanded powers will take effect in large and fast-growing municipalities on July 1, 2023.

Ajax, Barrie, Brantford, Burlington, Caledon, Cambridge, Clarington, Guelph, Hamilton, Kingston, Kitchener, London, Markham, Milton, Niagara Falls, Oakville, Oshawa, Pickering, Richmond Hill, St. Catharines, Vaughan, Waterloo, Whitby, and Windsor will all have the same powers bestowed on them that were provided to Toronto and Ottawa last September, according to Clark.

“Increasing the supply of housing is job number one,” said Clark who pointed out that the municipalities selected represent about 1.2 million of the 1.5 million homes the province has promised to build by 2031.

“It’s all around ensuring that those mayors have the tools to ensure that they meet their obligations of the housing pledge that they made but at the same time ensure that everyone is set up for success.”

Projections in Ontario’s spring budget for housing starts showed the target of 1.5 million homes slipping further out of reach with each passing year. Nearly 100,000 homes were built in the province in 2022, but the forecast shows the number of housing starts in the next few years struggling to crack 80,000 annually, projections that were even lower than in last year’s budget.

The strong mayor powers include allowing mayors to propose housing-related bylaws and pass them with the support of one-third of councillors, as well as override council approval of bylaws, such as a zoning bylaw, that would stymie the creation of more homes.

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

“This is a suite of tools that is at the disposal of mayors and I think each mayor is going to use them differently,” said London mayor Josh Morgan, who was on hand for Friday’s announcement. “In some cases, there will be mayors who won’t use the powers ever.”

“Premier (Doug) Ford has extensive experience at the municipal level and has seen firsthand how the municipal powers for the mayor were inconsistent with implementing the agenda they were elected on,” Brampton Mayor Patrick Brown said in a statement.

“I am grateful the premier has made it easier to implement our respective agendas.”

Mississauga Mayor Bonnie Crombie, who recently announced she’s running to become leader of the Ontario Liberal Party, said she expects the powers will be used “sparingly and with a degree of caution.”

Clark could not say if all 28 mayors actually want to use the strong mayor powers; Ottawa’s mayor has said he doesn’t want them and council voted in late November to oppose the bill. Former Toronto Mayor John Tory expressed support for the powers but several mayoral candidates have vowed not to use them.

Other mayors said they don’t have any plans to use the powers.

“In 8.5 years as mayor I would be hard-pressed to think of a time when I ever would have used this particular tool because my approach has been, and my council’s approach has been, to work collaboratively,” Kitchener Mayor Berry Vrbanovic said in an interview.

“We’ll look at the specifics of the rules and the regulations, but in terms of the day-to-day decisions, tackling things like housing and making sure that we’re getting housing built, we have a council that’s been working collaboratively.”

Kingston Mayor Brian Paterson said in a statement that he and his council are committed to solving the housing crisis through collaboration.

“Today’s announcement doesn’t change my style or how I will continue to lead as mayor,” he wrote in a statement.

“Anyone who has worked with me knows I am not going to all of a sudden start wielding this tool, but I am also not going to rule it out if there were situations in the future that may require considering it.”

Newmarket was among the notable cities not granted strong mayor powers on Friday, along with Chatham-Kent, Greater Sudbury and Thunder Bay. Clark explained the powers were extended to every community that enacted a housing pledge and “they did not.”

“I’m OK with it, frankly,” said Newmarket Mayor John Taylor. “It would be disingenuous of me to pretend I’m really upset because the fact is I wouldn’t use strong mayor powers.”

The NDP said the strong mayor expansion is undemocratic.

“The Conservatives are weakening local government and the ability of local elected officials to serve their residents,” municipal affairs critic Jeff Burch wrote in a statement.

Green Party Leader Mike Schreiner said strong local governments are built on a diversity of viewpoints.

“Concentrating power in the mayor’s office and ushering in minority rule will not solve the housing crisis,” he wrote in a statement.

With files from The Canadian Press