Ontario’s new premier says he will significantly reduce the number of Toronto city councillors just months before the fall municipal election.
Doug Ford says his government will introduce legislation next week to cut the number of seats from 47 to 25.
The deadline for candidates to register for the municipal election is this afternoon but the government says it will extend the deadline to September.
Ford says having fewer city councillors “will dramatically improve the decision-making process at Toronto city hall” and save taxpayers $25 million.
The move was preemptively panned by Toronto Mayor John Tory, who said in a news conference earlier this morning that the process around the plan is “absolutely not right.”
Tory said he’ll propose a referendum on the issue.
Ford also says he will cancel planned elections for regional chair positions in more than two Greater Toronto Area communities, including Peel Region and York Region.
Former Ontario Progressive Conservative leader Patrick Brown, whose resignation this winter paved the way for Ford to take over the party, is running for the Peel seat, while former Liberal cabinet minister Steven Del Duca is a candidate in York.
More to come.
NewsAlert: Premier Ford to slash Toronto city council nearly by half
