Ontario Ontario is the southernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Located in Central Canada, Ontario is the Population of Canada by province and territory, country's most populous province. As of the 2021 Canadian census, it ...

is the most populous province in

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

with 14,223,942 residents as of

2021 Like the year 2020, 2021 was also heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, due to the emergence of multiple Variants of SARS-CoV-2, COVID-19 variants. The major global rollout of COVID-19 vaccines, which began at the end of 2020, continued ...

and is third-largest in land area at . Ontario's 444 municipalities cover only of the

province A province is an administrative division within a country or sovereign state, state. The term derives from the ancient Roman , which was the major territorial and administrative unit of the Roman Empire, Roman Empire's territorial possessions ou ...

's land mass yet are home to of its population. These municipalities provide local or regional municipal government services within either a single-tier or shared two-tier municipal structure. A municipality in Ontario is "a geographic area whose inhabitants are incorporated" according to the ''Municipal Act, 2001''. Ontario's three municipality types include upper and lower-tier municipalities within the two-tier structure, and single-tier municipalities (

unitary authorities A unitary authority is a type of local government, local authority in New Zealand and the United Kingdom. Unitary authorities are responsible for all local government functions within its area or performing additional functions that elsewhere are ...

) that are exempt from the two-tier structure. Single and lower-tier municipalities are grouped together as local municipalities. Of Ontario's 444 municipalities, 30 of them are upper-tier municipalities and 414 are local municipalities—241 lower-tier municipalities and 173 single-tier municipalities. The ''Municipal Act, 2001'' is the legislation that enables incorporation and stipulates governance of Ontario's municipalities, excluding the City of

Toronto Toronto ( , locally pronounced or ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most populous city in Canada. It is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a p ...

, which is subject to the ''City of Toronto Act, 2006''. The ''Municipal Act, 2001'' provides lower and single-tier municipalities with the authority to incorporate as

cities A city is a human settlement of a substantial size. The term "city" has different meanings around the world and in some places the settlement can be very small. Even where the term is limited to larger settlements, there is no universally agree ...

town A town is a type of a human settlement, generally larger than a village but smaller than a city. The criteria for distinguishing a town vary globally, often depending on factors such as population size, economic character, administrative stat ...

village A village is a human settlement or community, larger than a hamlet but smaller than a town with a population typically ranging from a few hundred to a few thousand. Although villages are often located in rural areas, the term urban v ...

township A township is a form of human settlement or administrative subdivision. Its exact definition varies among countries. Although the term is occasionally associated with an urban area, this tends to be an exception to the rule. In Australia, Canad ...

s, or generically as municipalities. There are no minimum population thresholds or other requirements for these municipal sub-types. A municipality can change its status to any of these so long as its resulting name is not being used by another municipality. For upper-tier municipalities, the act provides them with the authority to incorporate as counties, regions and district municipalities. A municipality's name may include terms like township, village, town, city, county, or region, but these terms do not define its municipal status. For example Oxford County and the District of Muskoka are both regional municipalities. Ontario's largest municipality by population is the City of Toronto with 2,794,356 residents, while the largest by land area is the City of

Greater Sudbury Sudbury, officially the City of Greater Sudbury, is the largest city in Northern Ontario by population, with a population of 166,004 at the 2021 Canadian Census. By land area, it is the largest in Ontario and the List of the largest cities and t ...

at . The City of

Ottawa Ottawa is the capital city of Canada. It is located in the southern Ontario, southern portion of the province of Ontario, at the confluence of the Ottawa River and the Rideau River. Ottawa borders Gatineau, Gatineau, Quebec, and forms the cor ...

, Canada's capital city, is the province's second-most populous municipality with 1,017,449 residents. Ontario's smallest municipality by population is the Township of Cockburn Island with 16 residents while the smallest by land area is the Village of Newbury at . The first community to incorporate as a municipality in Ontario was

Brockville Brockville is a city in Eastern Ontario, Canada, in the Thousand Islands region. Although it is the seat of the United Counties of Leeds and Grenville, it is politically Independent city, independent of the county. It is included with Leeds and ...

in 1832.

Upper-tier municipalities

Ontario's ''Municipal Act, 2001'' defines upper-municipality as "a municipality of which two or more lower-tier municipalities form part for municipal purposes". Ontario has 30 upper-tier municipalities that comprise multiple lower-tier municipalities, which have a total population of 7,090,079, a total land area of . These upper-tier municipalities include 19 counties, 3 united counties and 8 regional municipalities or regions, all of which represent 30 of Ontario's 49 census divisions. Regional governments are responsible for arterial roads, health services, policing, region-wide land use planning and development, sewer and water systems, social services, transit, and waste disposal, whereas county governments have the lesser responsibilities of arterial roads, county land use planning, health services, and social services.

Local municipalities

Ontario's ''Municipal Act, 2001'' defines local municipality as "a single-tier municipality or a lower-tier municipality". Combined, Ontario has 414 local municipalities comprising 173 single-tier municipalities and 241 lower-tier municipalities. The 414 local municipalities, which include 51 cities, 64 municipalities, 89 towns, 199 townships, and 11 villages, have a total population of 14,134,681, a total land area of . These totals represent of Ontario's population and of its land area.

Single-tier municipalities

Ontario's ''Municipal Act, 2001'' defines a single-tier municipality as "a municipality, other than an upper-tier municipality, that does not form part of an upper-tier municipality for municipal purposes". In

southern Ontario Southern Ontario is a Region, primary region of the Canadian Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Ontario. It is the most densely populated and southernmost region in Canada, with approximately 13.5 million people, approximately 36% o ...

, single-tier municipalities are either politically separate from but geographically within neighbouring counties or were formed through the amalgamation of upper-tier and lower-tier municipalities. All municipalities in

northern Ontario Northern Ontario is a primary geographic and quasi-administrative region of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario, the other primary region being Southern Ontario. Most of the core geographic region is located on p ...

are single-tier municipalities as upper-tier municipalities are not present. Single-tier municipalities provide for all local government services. Ontario has 173 single-tier municipalities comprising 32 cities, 23 municipalities, 28 towns, 85 townships, and 5 villages.

Lower-tier municipalities

Ontario's ''Municipal Act, 2001'' defines a lower-tier municipality as "a municipality that forms part of an upper-tier municipality for municipal purposes". Ontario has 241 lower-tier municipalities comprising 19 cities, 41 municipalities, 61 towns, 114 townships and 6 villages. Within regions, they are responsible for providing certain local services that are not provided by the regional municipality. Within counties, they are responsible for providing a wider range of local services since counties as upper-tier municipalities provide fewer local services than regions.

List of local municipalities

Toronto skyline toronto islands b.JPG, alt=Skyline of Toronto,

is Ontario's provincial capital and most populous municipality Centre Block - Parliament Hill.jpg, alt=Parliament Hill in Ottawa,

is the capital of

and Ontario's second-most populous municipality Downtown Mississauga.jpg, alt=Skyline of Mississauga, Skyline of

Mississauga Mississauga is a Canadian city in the province of Ontario. Situated on the north-western shore of Lake Ontario in the Regional Municipality of Peel, it borders Toronto (Etobicoke) to the east, Brampton to the north, Milton to the northwest, ...

, Ontario's third largest municipality by population and suburb of Toronto Brampton Dominion Building.jpg, alt=Downtown Brampton Street Level, Downtown

Brampton Brampton is a city in the Canadian Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Ontario, and the regional seat of the Regional Municipality of Peel. It is part of the Greater Toronto Area (GTA) and is a List of municipalities in Ontario#L ...

, Ontario's fourth largest municipality by population and suburb of Toronto HamiltonOntarioSkylineC.JPG, Skyline of downtown

Hamilton Hamilton may refer to: * Alexander Hamilton (1755/1757–1804), first U.S. Secretary of the Treasury and one of the Founding Fathers of the United States * ''Hamilton'' (musical), a 2015 Broadway musical by Lin-Manuel Miranda ** ''Hamilton'' (al ...

, Ontario's fifth largest municipality by population London, Ontario, Canada- The Forest City from above.jpg, alt=Skyline of London, Ontario, Skyline of downtown

London, Ontario London is a city in southwestern Ontario, Canada, along the Quebec City–Windsor Corridor. The city had a population of 422,324 according to the 2021 Canadian census. London is at the confluence of the Thames River (Ontario), Thames River and N ...

, the largest city in

southwestern Ontario Southwestern Ontario (census population 2,796,367 in 2021) is a secondary region of Southern Ontario in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. It occupies most of the Ontario Peninsula, bounded by Lake Huron (includ ...

by population Markham-suburbs aerial-edit2.jpg, alt=Suburban Markham, Suburban tract housing in Markham, Ontario's seventh largest municipality by population and suburb of Toronto View from the top of Behemoth (Canada's Wonderland).jpg, alt=Vaughan seen from Canada's Wonderland,

Vaughan Vaughan ( ) (2022 population 344,412) is a city in Ontario, Canada. It is located in the Regional Municipality of York, just north of Toronto. Vaughan was the fastest-growing municipality in Canada between 1996 and 2006 with its population increa ...

as viewed from

Canada's Wonderland Canada's Wonderland, formerly known as Paramount Canada's Wonderland, is a amusement park located in Vaughan, Ontario, a municipality within the Greater Toronto Area. Opened in 1981 by the Taft Broadcasting, Taft Broadcasting Company and the Gr ...

Arial photo of downtown Kitchener Ontario.JPG, alt=Aerial view of Kitchener-Waterloo, Downtown Kitchener Windsor Ontario skyline.jpg, alt=Skyline of Windsor seen from Detroit, Skyline of downtown Windsor seen from

Detroit, Michigan Detroit ( , ) is the List of municipalities in Michigan, most populous city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is situated on the bank of the Detroit River across from Windsor, Ontario. It had a population of 639,111 at the 2020 United State ...

Notes

References

External links

Ministry of Municipal Affairs and HousingMunicipal Restructuring Activity Summary Table
{{Navboxes , title = Articles related to municipalities in Ontario , state = expanded , list1 = {{Subdivisions of Ontario {{Canada topic, List of municipalities in *

Municipalities A municipality is usually a single administrative division having municipal corporation, corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality' ...