On May 1, 2025, the Ontario Government is extending ‘strong mayor’ powers to the heads of council in an additional 169 municipalities in Ontario. These powers were originally introduced in Toronto and Ottawa in 2022 and extended to 45 additional municipalities in 2023. By May 2025, almost half of Ontario’s municipalities - and the vast majority of the province’s population - will live in communities with ‘strong mayors’ (see list of municipalities here).
What does this mean, and how will it impact Ontario public libraries?
The purpose of this survey is to collect early perceptions about strong mayor powers from Ontario public library leaders.
The survey was developed by Dr. Kate Graham (Huron University) and the Ontario Library Service (OLS) to inform future research and programming.
All responses will be kept anonymous. There is an optional question to share your contact information if you wish to receive a summary of the survey results. If you share your contact information, your responses will still be kept anonymous.
If you have any questions about the survey, please contact:
Kate Graham: kgraha@uwo.ca
Bailey Urso-Mahy: burso-mahy@olservice.ca
Thank you for your time and sharing your insights!