The ''City of Toronto Act'' is a

city charter A city charter or town charter (generically, municipal charter) is a legal document (''charter'') establishing a municipality such as a city or town. The concept developed in Europe during the Middle Ages. Traditionally, the granting of a charter ...

–type statute which governs the organization and political powers 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 ...

. There have been other acts governing the city passed by the

Legislative Assembly of Ontario The Legislative Assembly of Ontario (OLA; ) is the legislative chamber of the Canadian province of Ontario. Its elected members are known as Members of Provincial Parliament (MPPs). Bills passed by the Legislative Assembly are given royal as ...

since Toronto's original incorporation as a city in 1834, although they have since been consolidated and repealed as the city matured over time. Toronto's governing document is the ''City of Toronto Act, 2006''.

1834 incorporation

On March 6, 1834, the provincial legislature passed an act which created the City of Toronto from the unincorporated town of

York York is a cathedral city in North Yorkshire, England, with Roman Britain, Roman origins, sited at the confluence of the rivers River Ouse, Yorkshire, Ouse and River Foss, Foss. It has many historic buildings and other structures, such as a Yor ...

. The act severed Toronto from York County. This allowed for the creation of the local government or city council. The act was transferred to the succeeding governments of

Canada West The Province of Canada (or the United Province of Canada or the United Canadas) was a British colony in British North America from 1841 to 1867. Its formation reflected recommendations made by John Lambton, 1st Earl of Durham, in the Report ...

in 1840 and

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 ...

in 1867. The incorporation remained in effect throughout Toronto's mergers with other cities and towns of York County until the creation of

Metropolitan Toronto The Municipality of Metropolitan Toronto was an upper-tier level of municipal government in Ontario, Canada, from 1953 to 1998. It was made up of the old city of Toronto and numerous townships, towns and villages that surrounded Toronto, whic ...

in 1954.

''The Municipality of Metropolitan Toronto Act, 1953''

''The Municipality of Metropolitan Toronto Act, 1953'' was a provincial act passed on April 2, 1953, to coordinate the services in the various municipalities of southern York County. The southern municipalities

East York East York is a district and former municipality within Toronto, Ontario, Canada. From 1967 to 1998, it was officially the Borough of East York, a borough within the upper-tier municipality of Metropolitan Toronto. The borough was dissolved ...

Etobicoke Etobicoke (, ) is an administrative district and former city within Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Comprising the city's west end, Etobicoke is bordered on the south by Lake Ontario, on the east by the Humber River (Ontario), Humber River, on the ...

, Forest Hill,

Leaside Leaside (/'liːˌsaɪd/) is a neighbourhood in Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is located northeast of Downtown Toronto, in the vicinity of Eglinton Avenue East and Bayview Avenue. It is one of the most expensive and exclusive neighbourhoo ...

, Long Branch,

Mimico Mimico (, ) is a neighbourhood (and a former municipality) in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, being located in the south-west area of Toronto on Lake Ontario. It is in the south-east corner of the former Township (and later, City) of Etobicoke, and was ...

New Toronto New Toronto is a neighbourhood and former municipality in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is located in the south-west area of Toronto, along Lake Ontario. The Town of New Toronto was established in 1890, and was designed and planned as an industr ...

North York North York is a former township and city and is now one of the six administrative districts of Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is located in the northern area of Toronto, centred around Yonge Street, north of Ontario Highway 401. It is bounded by ...

Scarborough Scarborough or Scarboro may refer to: People * Scarborough (surname) * Earl of Scarbrough Places Australia * Scarborough, Western Australia, suburb of Perth * Scarborough, New South Wales, suburb of Wollongong * Scarborough, Queensland, sub ...

Swansea Swansea ( ; ) is a coastal City status in the United Kingdom, city and the List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, second-largest city of Wales. It forms a Principal areas of Wales, principal area, officially known as the City and County of ...

, Toronto,

Weston Weston may refer to: Places Australia * Weston, Australian Capital Territory, a suburb of Canberra * Weston, New South Wales * Weston Creek, a residential district of Canberra * Weston Park, Canberra, a park Canada * Weston, Nova Scotia * W ...

, and

were separated from York County and organized under a new regional federation, named the Municipality of

(commonly known as "Metro Toronto"). The act went into effect on April 15, 1953, and the Metro Toronto council met thereafter. The federation's taxation and legislative powers took effect on January 1, 1954. The federation was governed by a council made up of representatives of the member municipalities and a chairman to oversee the council. The first chairman was

Fred Gardiner Frederick Goldwin Gardiner, (January 21, 1895 – August 21, 1983) was a Canadian politician, lawyer and businessman. He was the first chairman of Metropolitan Toronto council, the governing body for the Municipality of Metropolitan Toronto, ...

, appointed by the Ontario provincial government. Subsequent chairmen were selected by the council itself and later directly elected. On January 1, 1967, seven of the thirteen municipalities were absorbed into the remaining six federation members: Toronto, Etobicoke, North York, East York, York, and Scarborough. The ''Metropolitan Toronto Act'' was revised in 1990 and finally repealed in 1997 with the amalgamation of the Metro Toronto government and the governments of the municipalities within.

''City of Toronto Act, 1997'' (Bill 103)

In 1997, the

enacted a law to amalgamate the Metro Toronto government and the six municipalities within the Metro Toronto boundaries into an enlarged City of Toronto. A referendum in the six constituent municipalities showed residents opposed the merger by a ratio of more than three to one. However, municipal governments in Canada are subject to their respective provincial governments; thus, the Progressive Conservative government was able to move forward with the merger despite the referendum, which they did. The act took effect on January 1, 1998.

''Stronger City of Toronto for a Stronger Ontario Act, 2006'' (Bill 53)

On December 14, 2005, the first reading of Bill 53 was given in the Legislative Assembly of Ontario. Also known as the ''Stronger City of Toronto for a Stronger Ontario Act, 2006'', it enacted the new ''City of Toronto Act, 2006'', as well as amended and repealed various public acts related to Toronto, and repealed various private acts also related to the city. The bill received its second reading on April 10, 2006, and was referred to the Standing Committee on General Government, which returned it to the legislature on May 30, 2006. On June 12, 2006, the bill received its third reading and

royal assent Royal assent is the method by which a monarch formally approves an act of the legislature, either directly or through an official acting on the monarch's behalf. In some jurisdictions, royal assent is equivalent to promulgation, while in othe ...

after a 58–20 vote.

''City of Toronto Act, 2006'' (Schedule A)

The ''City of Toronto Act, 2006'' () functions as a consolidated

and grants unique powers to the municipal government of Toronto. Namely, this law permitted the Toronto government to enter into agreements with other governments and increased the scope for the city government to raise revenue. Tax powers in Canada are defined by the constitution and restrict certain powers of direct taxation only to the federal government. Unlike all other municipalities in Ontario, Toronto's municipal structure derives almost entirely from its own statute and is generally not affected by the ''Municipal Act, 2001''. As such, whenever general changes are made to municipal governance in Ontario, both the ''Municipal Act, 2001'' and the ''City of Toronto Act, 2006'' are amended.

Notes

References

External links

1834 Toronto Incorporation Act
*
City of Toronto Act, 2006
Government of Ontario e-Laws site
Former City of Toronto RecordsMetropolitan Toronto RecordsCity of Toronto Act, 1997City of Toronto Act, 1997 (No. 2)Bill 53, 38th Legislature, Ontario
{{Toronto Municipal government of Toronto Ontario provincial legislation