Strong Mayor Powers

Strong mayor powers give heads of council (aka the Mayor) the power to set budgets, veto by-laws, and pass by-laws with just one-third of their council’s support. This is a significant shift in how municipalities are governed in Ontario. Traditionally, the head of council is the “leader among equals”, has only a single vote on council, and has limited unilateral executive authority. Under Strong Mayor, centralized executive power emanates directly from the office of the mayor.

Yes, the Mayor may choose to delegate the following powers and duties only:

• appointing and dismissing of the CAO;

• determining the organizational structure of the municipality;

• appointing and dismissing a head of any division or the head of any other part of the organizational structure; and

• establishing or dissolving committees or local boards that consist solely of Members of Council, assigning functions, and appointing chairs and vice-chairs of those committees/local boards. 

The priorities are:

1. Building 1.5 million new residential units by December 31, 2031.

2. Constructing and maintaining infrastructure to support housing, including,

   • transit,

   • roads,

   • utilities, and

   • servicing.

There are 215 designated municipalities that are affected by Strong Mayor Powers including the City of Toronto, the City of Kingston, and Loyalist Township. Powers are only awarded to mayors of municipalities who submitted a pledge to help the provincial government meet its target of building 1.5 million homes by 2031. A full of list of municipalities can be found in O. Reg 530/22.

Yes, the mayor is required to exercise these powers in writing and make them available to the public, subject to the Municipal Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act. These decisions can be found on this webpage. 

The Strong Mayor's Powers came into effect on November 23, 2022, following the Royal Assent of Bill 3, the Strong Mayors, Building Homes Act, 2022. On April 9, 2025, the province announced its intention to expand strong mayor powers to the heads of council in 170 additional municipalities (including Loyalist Township) effective May 1, 2025.

The mayor can propose the annual budget, which is subject to council amendments. If the budget is not prepared by February 1, Council must prepare and adopt it.

The mayor can veto by-laws if they believe it will advance a prescribed provincial priority. Council can override the veto with a two-thirds majority vote.