Ontario Premier Doug Ford’s government has appointed eight regional and district chairs to powerful upper-tier municipal roles, drawing swift pushback from opposition politicians who slammed the sweeping new authorities granted to the hand-picked leaders.
The appointments, announced Tuesday by Municipal Affairs and Housing Minister Rob Flack, include prominent figures across the political spectrum, such as Vaughan Mayor and former provincial Liberal leader Steven Del Duca and outgoing Conservative MP Scott Aitchison, thestar.com reported.
New Power Across Eight Regions
Under the Better Regional Governance Act passed earlier this year, the province gained expanded authority to hire and fire heads of council across eight jurisdictions. These newly filled regional chair positions carry so-called strong chair powers.
Similar to strong-mayor authorities introduced in other Ontario municipalities, these provisions allow regional chairs to streamline decision-making, veto certain bylaws, introduce upper-tier budgets, and hire or fire division heads and chief administrative officers. Flack defended the moves by arguing that stronger leadership at the regional level is critical to tackle housing and infrastructure priorities.
“Ontario stands at an important juncture. “As we face geopolitical challenges and create the conditions for growth, strong regional leadership is more important than ever,” Flack said in a statement.”
Candidates for the positions applied through the government’s Public Appointments Secretariat website between June 29 and July 13. While the government sought to project cross-partisan appeal by selecting figures from different political backgrounds, opposition critics rejected the process.
New Democrat MPP Jeff Burch blasted the appointments, telling thestar.com that Ontarians “do not want Doug Ford calling the shots in their communities.” Liberal MPP Rob Cerjanec similarly condemned what he called a heavy-handed approach to steamrolling local democracy.
Appointed Leaders Include Municipal Veterans and Federal Politicians
The roster of appointed leaders brings together municipal veterans and federal politicians stepping down from office. Aitchison, who has represented the riding of Parry Sound—Muskoka since 2019 and previously served as mayor of Huntsville, announced his impending departure from federal politics earlier this fall. He will begin his new role as Muskoka District chair on Dec. 1.
Del Duca, who led the Ontario Liberals from 2020 to 2022 and won re-election as Vaughan mayor last month, will take over as York Regional chair. Despite past clashes with Ford during the COVID-19 pandemic, Del Duca has emerged as a key municipal ally on housing and local development initiatives.
Other appointments span across the province’s key upper-tier municipalities. Pickering Mayor Kevin Ashe will serve as Durham Regional chair, while Welland Mayor Frank Campion takes the reins in Niagara Region, and outgoing Orillia Mayor Don McIsaac takes over Simcoe County.
Meanwhile, Nando Iannicca will continue in his current role as Peel Regional chair, and former Oakville mayor Ann Mulvale has been tapped to lead Halton Region. In Waterloo Region, Kitchener Ward 1 City Councillor Scott Davey was appointed to take over the chair from Karen Redman.
Mayors Will Not Receive Double Compensation for Regional Duties
Because several appointees already draw salaries as sitting lower-tier mayors, they will not receive double compensation for taking on regional duties. Municipalities will determine compensation structures, with total pay capped at the higher of the two salaries where applicable.
Mayors who assume the regional chair role will hold a single seat on the regional council as chair, prompting their lower-tier municipalities to appoint alternate representatives to the council table while the mayors continue fulfilling their local municipal duties.
