Meaford council wants no part of the provincially imposed ‘strong mayor powers’, but rejecting them is not as simple as one might think.
“It seems these strong mayor powers aren’t something you can just brush off your coat, they seem to stick,” Mayor Ross Kentner told council after having been provided a 14-page report from staff on the issue.
Strong mayor powers were first granted to Toronto and Ottawa in 2022, and the provincial government has continued to grant more municipalities the powers, with 47 of the 444 Ontario municipalities previously granted strong mayor powers, prior to the provincial government’s May 1 expansion of the powers to 169 additional municipalities.
Under the legislation, strong mayor powers and duties include choosing to appoint the municipality’s chief administrative officer, hiring municipal department heads, proposing the municipal budget, and creating committees of council, all without the need for the support of the remainder of council.
The special powers also grant mayors the ability to propose bylaws that advance certain provincial priorities, and to pass them with only one-third support of council. With strong mayor powers, a mayor can also veto bylaws that ‘could potentially interfere with a provincial priority’. That veto power can be overridden however by a two-thirds vote by council.
In their report, staff helped council to understand the legislation, and the impact it could have on council.
“The introduction of Bill 3, Strong Mayors, Building Homes Act, 2022 and Bill 39, Better Municipal Governance Act, 2022 and their expansion in 2023 marked a major shift in Ontario’s local governance, replacing the traditional “weak mayor” system—characterized by shared decision-making among council members—with a model that centralizes executive power in the office of the mayor,” staff advised in their report.
At their meeting on April 28, council approved a resolution requesting to be excluded from the Strong Mayor Powers or requesting the option for municipalities to opt out the powers.
“Despite a number of municipalities passing similar resolutions, the Ontario government expanded Strong Mayor Powers on May 1, 2025, to 169 additional municipalities, including the Municipality of Meaford,” staff noted in their report.
While the province has expanded strong mayor powers to 169 additional municipalities, councils can choose whether or not to exercise the powers.
“It is important to note that many of the Strong Mayor Powers are discretionary and can be exercised, not exercised, or delegated by the Mayor to either Council as a whole or to the Chief Administrative Officer (CAO). Across Ontario, staff have noted that there are a variety of approaches occurring and taking form, with some Mayors indicating that they do not intend to use the new powers, some indicating that they do, and others who have delegated or are preparing to delegate some powers (in particular, those relating to the administrative, organizational and political structure of the Municipality) to the CAO or Council,” staff advised in their report to council.
It was clear throughout the discussion that Meaford’s council has no interest in exercising strong mayor powers.
“This could really be a quagmire, this could really be the worst thing that has happened to the democratic process,” suggested Councillor Steve Bartley.
“There may be significant public confusion as to how some decisions are made if notice provisions are not required to be met by the Mayor. There is also the potential for significant delays if vetoes and overrides are utilized which then holds administration from completing the associated work until the final decision is made. Staff are continually working to ensure as much transparency and communications as possible through the introduction of new systems,” staff advised in their report. “Although municipalities have extensively discussed the legislation and questioned whether the strong mayor powers will be exercised, the Mayor will, by necessity, need to utilize them to some extent. For instance, even the delegation of certain authorities requires the issuance of a Mayoral Decision. While the legislation may lead to some unintended consequences, its primary intent is to support timely growth and development currently. By focusing the application of these powers on this specific goal, the overall impact and scope of change that must be managed can be minimized.”
Mayor Ross Kentner expressed his opposition to the strong mayor powers throughout the discussion.
“It seems these strong mayor powers aren’t something you can just brush off your coat, they seem to stick,” Kentner noted.
During council’s discussions of the issue at their April 28 meeting, Mayor Kentner made clear that he intends to delegate these powers back to the elected Council and the CAO wherever permitted by the legislation.
While the current mayor might be opposed to the use of strong mayor powers, a future mayor might opt to embrace them.
“It should be noted that the Mayor has the sole discretion in determining whether to exercise the powers under this part of the Act. As long as the decisions made by the Mayor or any powers exercised by the Mayor, including the veto power, are exercised legally and in good faith, the decision or power cannot be quashed or open to any review by a court, even if they may be considered unreasonable,” staff advised in their report.
The report to council included a number of actions to be taken by council and staff in the weeks and months to come.
“As staff continue to understand the impacts of this legislation, future updates to by-laws and governing documents may be necessary and would come forward for Council discussion as needed as well as report to Council on any further details or clarification as requested,” staff noted in their report to council. “The introduction of the Strong Mayor Powers leads to significant changes to the administrative process and adjustments to work time-lines. As previously mentioned, there may be delays related to matters subject to veto and override that prevent timely progression. Staff are working diligently to understand how to operationalize the legislative requirements and recognize it will (take) significant efforts to transition to Strong Mayor Powers. It is important that these changes be implemented thoughtfully.”
Mayor Kentner noted that working around the strong mayor powers could be a challenge.
“I had no idea that this really is not something that we can just fluff off; it is draconian in my mind,” Kentner told council. “It’s quite complex to say the least.”
The full report to council is available on the municipal website (meaford.ca).
