The Mayor has special powers and duties under Part Vl.1 of the Municipal Act, 2001. These include powers to:
- Appoint and dismiss the Chief Administrative Officer; *
- Hire and dismiss certain municipal department heads, and establishing and reorganizing 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, a Mayoral veto and a 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;
- Bring forward matters for Council consideration, if the Mayor is of the opinion that considering the matter could potentially advance a provincial priority;
- Direct municipal staff in writing to undertake research, provide advice, or carry out duties related to the Mayoral special powers.
* The Mayor may choose to delegate these specific powers and duties.
The Mayor is required to exercise these powers in writing, give notice to the City Clerk, and make decisions and directives available to the public, subject to the Municipal Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act.
Mayoral decision and directives to date are listed below the Legislative Framework
The following provides a more detailed overview of the legislative framework governing the Mayor's special powers and duties under Part Vl.1 of the Municipal Act, 2001.
Bill 3, the Strong Mayors, Building Homes Act, 2022, received Royal Assent on September 8, 2022, and came into force on November 23, 2022.
This legislation and associated regulations (O. Reg. 530/22 and O. Reg. 580/22 provide the Mayor with additional powers beyond those previously set out in the Municipal Act, 2001.
On June 16, 2023, the Ontario Government announced that the mayoral special powers and duties, as outlined in the Municipal Act, 2001, would be expanded to Mayors in 26 municipalities, effective July 1, 2023.
In August 2023, Premier Ford announced that 21 additional municipalities, were to be given Strong Mayor powers, if their Mayors committed in writing, to meet their provincially assigned housing target.
On April 9, 2025, Ontario proposed to expand Strong Mayor Powers to 169 additional Municipalities, including the Municipality of Sioux Lookout.
Effective May 1, 2025, the Province announced that Strong Mayor Powers and duties were officially assigned to the Mayor of the Municipality of Sioux Lookout.