Strong Mayor Powers

As of November 1, 2023, the Ontario government has expanded strong Mayor powers to the Town of Halton Hills as per O.Reg. 530/22. Strong Mayor powers offer resources to heads of Council to accelerate the implementation of key shared municipal-provincial priorities such as housing, transit, and infrastructure. 

What are strong Mayor powers?

The Mayor has special powers and duties under Part VI.1 of the Municipal Act, 2001. These include powers to:

• Appoint the municipality’s Chief Administrative Officer;*

• Hire certain municipal department heads and establish and reorganize departments;*

• Create committees of Council, assign their functions and appoint the chairs and vice-chairs of committees of Council;*

• Propose the municipal budget, which would be subject to Council amendments and a Mayoral veto and Council override process;

• Veto certain by-laws if the Mayor is of the opinion that all or part of the by-law could potentially interfere with a provincial priority; and

• Bring forward matters for Council consideration if the Mayor is of the opinion that consideration of the matter could potentially advance a provincial priority.

*The Mayor may choose to delegate these specific powers and duties.

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 (MFIPPA). Mayoral decisions are available for viewing in the table below.