The ''City of Toronto Act'' is the name of a series of different acts of the

Legislative Assembly of Ontario The Legislative Assembly of Ontario (OLA, french: Assemblée législative de l'Ontario) is the legislative chamber of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. Its elected members are known as Member of Provincial ...

that have governed the organization and political powers of the city since

Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the anch ...

's original incorporation as a city in 1834.

''Incorporation of the City of Toronto'', 1834

The ''Incorporation of the City of Toronto'' on March 6, 1834, was a provincial legislative act creating the City of Toronto from the unincorporated town of

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

. 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 North America from 1841 to 1867. Its formation reflected recommendations made by John Lambton, 1st Earl of Durham, in the Report on the ...

in 1840 and

Ontario Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central Ca ...

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.

''Municipality of Metropolitan Toronto Act'', 1953

''An Act to provide for the Federation of the Municipalities in the Toronto Metropolitan Area for Certain Financial and Other Purposes'' 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 former administrative district and municipality within Toronto, Ontario, Canada. From 1967 to 1998, it was officially the Borough of East York, a semi-autonomous borough within the upper-tier municipality of Metropolitan Toron ...

Etobicoke Etobicoke (, ) is an administrative district of, and one of six municipalities amalgamated into, the city of Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Comprising the city's west-end, Etobicoke was first settled by Europeans in the 1790s, and the municipalit ...

, Forest Hill, Leaside, 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 an ...

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 indu ...

North York North York is one of the six administrative districts of Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is located directly north of York, Old Toronto and East York, between Etobicoke to the west and Scarborough to the east. As of the 2016 Census, it had a po ...

, Scarborough,

Swansea Swansea (; cy, Abertawe ) is a coastal city and the second-largest city of Wales Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the C ...

, 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 * ...

, and

were separated from York County and organized under a new regional federation, named the Municipality of Metropolitan Toronto (commonly known as "Metro Toronto"). The act went into effect on April 15, 1953 and the Metropolitan 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, 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 governing Progressive Conservatives government could 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 oth ...

after a 58–20 vote. This law permitted the Toronto government to enter into agreements with other governments and increased the scope for the city government to raise revenue.City of Toronto: Former Mayor David Miller 2003-2010 - Speech: Standing Committee on General Government Bill 53, Stronger City of Toronto for a Stronger Ontario Act
Toronto.ca. Retrieved on July 26, 2013. Tax powers in Canada are defined by the constitution and restrict certain powers of direct taxation only to the federal government.

References

External links

*
City of Toronto Act, 2006
Government of Ontario e-Laws site
Bill 53, 38th Legislature, Ontario
PDF)

{{Toronto Municipal government of Toronto Ontario provincial legislation