Strong Mayor's Act

Effective July 1, 2023, the Province announced that Strong Mayor Powers will be extended beyond Toronto and Ottawa to 26 additional municipalities – Clarington included. These changes are being put in place to support the Province’s priority and commitment to increasing the housing supply by 1.5 million homes by December 31, 2031. These tools will also help cut red tape and speed up the delivery of key shared municipal-provincial priorities such as transit and infrastructure.

• Press Release: Mayor Foster issues statement on Strong Mayor powers

Mayoral decisions pursuant to the Municipal Act, 2001

• Powers and Duties of the Mayor: A Summary (PDF)

Strong Mayors, Building Homes Act, 2022

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

These include powers to:

• Appoint and dismiss the Chief Administrative Officer;
• Hire and dismiss various division heads (excluding the prescribed list);
• Establish prescribed committees of Council, assign their functions, and appoint the Chairs and Vice Chairs of committees of Council;
  • A prescribed committee consists solely of members of Council;
• Propose the Municipality’s annual budget subject to Council amendments, a Mayoral veto, and a Council override process;
  • Budget shall be prepared on or before February 1. If not, Council shall prepare and adopt the budget;
• Submit matters for Council’s consideration, or veto by-laws, if the Mayor believes it will advance a prescribed Provincial Priority; and
• Direct Municipal Staff in writing.

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. Mayoral decisions are available online.

The powers and duties of the Mayor are further described in O. Reg. 530/22 and O. Reg. 580/22.

Better Municipal Governance Act, 2022

The Better Municipal Governance Act, 2022, received Royal Assent on December 8, 2022. Regarding Mayoral powers, this legislation amends the Municipal Act, 2001, to allow the Mayor to propose, and require Council to consider and vote on, certain by-laws related to prescribed Provincial Priorities (O. Reg. 580/22: Provincial Priorities). The by-law is considered passed if more than one-third of the Members of Council vote in favour of the by-law.