Strong mayor powers come into effect today for 169 more municipalities across Ontario, but not every community is welcoming them.
From Temiskaming Shores to Hearst, some Northern Ontario mayors are raising concerns about what the expanded authority could mean for small-town governance. There are concerns about giving so much power to one person, and that the province is not offering the support municipalities need.
Hearst Mayor Roger Sigouin is among those who are not on board.
“I don't believe in it. If you don't use your council to make decisions and try to do that all by yourself, I don't think anybody's going to be interested in running as a councillor in the future,” he said.
“It's a vote and the majority wins. And I think that's the way it should be.”
Strong mayor powers allow designated heads of council to unilaterally set budgets, veto bylaws, hire or fire senior staff, and reorganize departments.
The Ford government has said the move is meant to accelerate housing construction and align local governments with provincial priorities.
First introduced in 2022, 47 municipalities currently have the powers. Today, the measures now extend to the City of Timmins, Black River-Matheson, Cobalt, Cochrane, Englehart, Hearst, Iroquois Falls, Kapuskasing, Kirkland Lake, and Temiskaming Shores.
In Cobalt, Mayor Angela Adshead led the charge to have the town removed from the list entirely. At its regular meeting on April 29, council unanimously passed a motion to oppose the legislation.
“There was no hesitation,” she told TimminsToday. “They all voted to support the resolution. I didn’t hear any negative feedback from any of them.”
On Tuesday, the City of Timmins passed a similar motion opposing the powers.
Adshead’s opposition runs deep, grounded in both her personal experience in human resources and payroll, and her concern for the future of municipal democracy.
“In small municipalities, everybody knows everybody. Grudges can run deep and long. That’s one part of it,” she said.
“The other part is, I’ve worked in employment law. Not every mayor has. If they terminate staff incorrectly, it can cost a municipality a lot of money. And small towns can’t afford that.”
She said the strong mayor model fundamentally undermines the role of councils, replacing collaboration with unilateral decision-making.
“We have a council. Everybody gets a voice around the table. You give one person basically unlimited power, that doesn’t bode well,” she said.
“If past mayors in Cobalt had that power, it would’ve been a nightmare. It would have cost the town a lot, and, in turn, our ratepayers.”
The change came with little to no consultation, Adshead added. She received the province’s notice on April 9 and responded the same day, laying out her opposition. She never heard back.
“Why no collaboration? No working group? No discussion beforehand?” she said.
“They just unilaterally made this decision with no real rationale.”
Temiskaming Shores Mayor Jeff Laferriere said he doesn’t see the added powers addressing the real barriers to building housing.
“It’s not red tape that’s preventing us from building homes, it’s really financial support,” he said, adding that the province helped them move forward with a 210-unit housing development.
“I think we can accomplish provincial priorities without these additional powers.”
Laferriere said his council is considering passing a motion opposing the legislation.
“We're going to be at FONOM (Federation of Northern Ontario Municipalities) next week, and we’re hoping that a lot of the municipalities will pass motions to really ask the province to reconsider their decision here,” he said.
“I know they did receive feedback from a number of municipalities and our hope is that they do decide to rescind that decision … It’s the ratepayers who will pay the price if these powers are abused.”
In Black River-Matheson, Mayor Dave Dyment said while he understands the concerns, the ability to act quickly could benefit communities looking to grow.
“It can be abused, if the wrong people use it in the wrong way. It can be detrimental,” he said.
“But in our case, I think it'll be good … We’re an aggressive council. We want to make stuff happen.”
After the expansion was introduced, Kirkland Lake Mayor Stacy Wight said she has no plans to use them, and Cochrane Mayor Peter Politis voiced support for the legislation.
SEE: Mixed reactions from Northern leaders on strong mayor powers
“The only reason I can see supporting it is if somebody wants the ego boost,” said Adshead. “I’m not about ego. I’m about doing things for the ratepayers."
