Strong Mayor Powers

Effective May 1, 2025, the Province announced that Strong Mayor Powers would be awarded to the Municipality of Kincardine and 169 other Municipalities Province wide. These changes are being put in place to help deliver on provincial priorities, such as building more homes, transit and other infrastructure across Ontario.

Strong Mayor Powers and Duties

The Mayor has special powers and duties under Part VI.1 of the Municipal Act, 2001, which took effect in May 1, 2025. These include powers to:

Choosing to appoint the Municipality’s chief administrative officer.*
Hiring certain municipal department heads and establishing and re-organizing departments.*
Creating committees of Council, assigning their functions and appointing the chairs and vice-chairs of committees of Council.*
Proposing the municipal budget, which would be subject to Council amendments and a separate head of council veto and Council override process.
Proposing certain municipal by-laws if the mayor is of the opinion that the proposed by-law could potentially advance a provincial priority identified in regulation. Council can pass these by-laws if more than one-third of all council members vote in favour.
Vetoing certain by-laws if the head of Council is of the opinion that all or part of the by-law could potentially interfere with a provincial priority.
Bringing forward matters for Council consideration if the head of Council is of the opinion that considering the matter could potentially advance a provincial priority.

The Mayor must exercise these powers in writing and make them available to the public, subject to the Municipal Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act.

*The Mayor may choose to delegate these specific powers and duties.