Should the province pick your regional chair?

Most people in the 905 pay a regional tax, drink regional water, call regional police and could not name the chair of the council that runs all three. That job is about to change hands in a new way.

The Better Regional Governance Act, 2026, gives the Minister of Municipal Affairs the power to appoint the heads of council of Durham, Halton, Peel, York and four other regions, and to give them strong-chair powers mirroring the strong-mayor ones: budgets, appointments, vetoes. Until now Durham and Halton elected their chairs directly; York and Peel had theirs chosen by council or, for the current term, by the minister. The act makes the appointments permanent and extends them. Every region except Niagara must also review its council composition after the October election.

The province’s argument is that regions exist to deliver provincial priorities (housing, transit, water) and should be led by someone accountable for delivering them. The other argument is that a chair appointed by Queen’s Park, with veto powers over an elected council, is a provincial administrator, and the two-tier system has become one tier with extra steps.

Sources: AMO, the regional governance changes · The Regional, concerns over local representation · Ontario, the regional government review