Strong mayor powers coming to Mississauga and Brampton

Strong mayor powers could soon be coming to Mississauga, Brampton and Caledon.

In a whirlwind day focused on the separation of Mississauga, Brampton and Caledon, Steve Clark, Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing, also suggested strong mayor powers would be coming soon.

Strong mayors, now in Toronto and Ottawa have expanded authority over city budgets and the hiring and firing of senior city staff.

Only a two-thirds vote of city council can overrule strong mayors on decisions regarding affordable housing projects, public transit, highways and other infrastructure projects.

In November, Premier Doug Ford announced he was looking at adding Mississauga and Brampton to the cities with strong mayor powers.

But today (May 18), Clark hinted the powers are coming soon to not only Mississauga and Brampton but also Caledon.

“We made a decision on strong mayors. These three mayors, I think we can all agree, they are strong mayors and we want to give them strong mayor powers like we did in Toronto and Ottawa,” Clark said.

He indicated strong powers will be needed to achieve housing targets.

Under the More Homes Built Faster Act, Mississauga has a target to build 120,000 housing units in 10 years. Brampton’s goal is 113,000, and Caledon should build 13,000.

“This is the model that all of our work to try to build that 1.5 million homes and try to give the mayor’s the tools they need for success,” Clark said. “This is always where the conversation ends. This is why the bill was tabled today”