Strong Mayor Powers

The Province of Ontario extended Strong Mayor Powers to 169 additional municipalities—the Town of Midland included—effective May 1, 2025. The Town of Midland Mayor has special powers and duties under Part VI.1 of the Municipal Act, 2001. These include powers and duties to:

  • Appoint and dismiss the Chief Administrative Officer (CAO); 
  • Hire and dismiss various Division/Department Heads (excluding the prescribed list as set out in Part VI.1 of the Municipal Act, 2001); and restructure divisions/departments unilaterally;
  • 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 Town’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;
  • Veto certain By-laws if the Mayor believes all or part of the By-law could interfere with a Provincial Priority
  • Submit matters for Council’s consideration, if the Mayor believes it will advance a prescribed Provincial Priority; and
  • Direct Town Staff in writing.

The Mayor is required to exercise these powers in writing and give notice to the Town Clerk and/or Chief Administrative Officer.  These decisions are made available to the public, subject to the Municipal Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act (MFIPPA). A public listing of Mayoral Decisions and Directions will be available on this page as Decisions and Directions are made.

The powers and duties of the mayor are further described in O. Reg. 530/22 and O. Reg. 580/22. The mayor may choose to delegate certain powers and duties.

View the Powers and Duties of the Mayor

Mayoral Decisions & Directions

Decision Number Purpose
MDE-2026-01 To give written approval of the By-law(s) passed at the Special Meeting of Council – Closed Session held on January 14, 2026.
MDE-2025-19 To give written notice to Members of Council and the Municipal Clerk to shorten the 10-day period where the Mayor can veto a Budget amendment.
MDE-2025-18 To give written approval of the By-law(s) passed at the Special Meeting of Council held on December 9, 2025.
MDE-2025-17 To give written approval to direct Staff to prepare the 2026 Operating and Capital Budget.
MDE-2025-16 To give written approval of By-law(s) passed at the Regular Meeting of Council on December 3, 2025.
MDE-2025-15 To give written approval of By-law(s) passed at the Special Meeting of Council on November 26, 2025.
MDE-2025-14 To give written approval of By-law(s) passed at the Regular Meeting of Council on November 5, 2025.
MDE-2025-13 To give written approval of the By-law(s) passed at the Special Meeting of Council - Closed Session held on October 29, 2025.
MDE-2025-12 To give written approval of By-law(s) passed at the Regular Meeting of Council with Closed Session on October 15, 2025.
MDE-2025-11 To give written approval of By-law(s) passed at the Regular Meeting of Council on September 24, 2025.
MDE-2025-10 To give written approval of the By-law(s) passed at the Special Meeting of Council - Closed Session held on September 23, 2025.
MDE-2025-09 To give written approval of By-law(s) passed at the Regular Meeting of Council with Closed Session on September 3, 2025.
MDE-2025-08 To give written approval of the By-law(s) passed at the Special Meeting of Council - Closed Session held on July 9, 2025.
MDE-2025-07 To give written approval of the By-law(s) passed at the Special Meeting of Council - Closed Session held on June 20, 2025.
MDE-2025-06 To give written approval of By-law(s) passed at the Special Meeting of Council - Closed Session on June 16, 2025. 
 MDE-2025-05 To give written approval of By-law(s) passed at the Regular Meeting of Council on June 11, 2025. 
 MDE-2025-04 To give written approval of By-law(s) passed at the Special Meeting of Council - Closed Session on June 6, 2025. 
MDE-2025-03 To give written approval of By-law(s) passed at the Regular Meeting of Council with Closed Session on May 21, 2025.
MDE-2025-02 Decision to Delegate certain Strong Mayor Powers.
MDE-2025-01  To give written approval of By-law(s) passed at the Special Meeting of Council on May 14, 2025.

Strong Mayor Legislation

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.

To supplement the strong-mayor authorities in Bill 3, the Province introduced Bill 39, the Better Municipal Governance Act, 2022, which also amends the Municipal Act, 2001 and the City of Toronto Act, 2006. 

Regarding Mayoral powers, Bill 39 amends the Municipal Act, 2001, to allow the Mayor to propose a By-law, and requires the Council to consider and vote on it if it could advance a Provincial priority (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.