Peter Leon is a Canadian politician, who was appointed to Toronto City Council on October 10, 2013 to succeed Doug Holyday in Ward 3 (Etobicoke Centre) .
65-542: Toronto City Council is the governing body of the municipal government of Toronto , Ontario. Meeting at Toronto City Hall , it comprises 25 city councillors and the mayor of Toronto . The current term began on November 15, 2022. The current decision-making framework and committee structure at the City of Toronto was established by the City of Toronto Act, 2006 and came into force January 1, 2007. The decision-making process at
130-424: A balanced council, making sure that groups such as labour and Roman Catholics had representation on the council. Beyond these few exceptions, the slates of all the papers were largely made up of male, white, Conservative, Orangemen. Many candidates also appeared on the slates of several newspapers. With the exception of James Simpson , who became Toronto's first socialist mayor in 1935, the city's mayors were Tories in
195-440: A candidate in the next regular election, so that the appointed councillor does not gain an unfair incumbency advantage. Council cannot impose this restriction on appointees but nonetheless it usually factors into the debate. There have been instances in which appointed councillors have done so; most notably, Paul Ainslie did so in 2006 by running for re-election in a different ward than the one where he had been appointed, and after
260-701: A community council. Community councils report to City Council but they also have final decision-making power on certain items, such as front yard parking and appointments to local boards and Business Improvement Areas. The city is divided into four community councils. Their meeting locations are as follows: The current council term began on November 15, 2022. Chair, Toronto & East York Community Council Mayor's Small Business Champion Mayor's Economic Development & Culture Champion Chair, City-School Boards Advisory Committee Chair, Scarborough Community Council Mayor's Night Economy Champion Chair, Infrastructure & Environment Committee Vacancies in
325-468: A councillor's seat may be filled in one of two ways, either by the holding of a by-election or through direct appointment of an interim councillor chosen by the council in an internal vote. Normally the council is allowed to decide which process to follow in each individual case; however, if the vacancy occurs after March 31 in the year of a regularly scheduled municipal election, then the vacancy must be filled by direct appointment as provincial law prohibits
390-628: A deficit for its annual operating budget . The city's revenues include 33% from property tax, 6% from the land transfer tax, subsidies from the Canadian federal government and the Ontario provincial government , and the rest from other revenues and user fees. The council has set the limit of debt charges not to exceed 15% of the property tax revenues. The city has an AA credit rating from Standard & Poor's , and an Aa1 credit rating from Moody's . Toronto's debt stood at $ 3.9 billion at
455-538: A final vote. The full council can, however, reject the community council's recommendation and choose a different candidate instead; in 2013, for example, the city council passed over former member of Provincial Parliament (MPP) Chris Stockwell , the recommended candidate of the Etobicoke Community Council, in favour of Peter Leon . Usually, although there is no legal barrier to doing so, candidates for appointment are asked if they intend to run as
520-571: A former Member of Provincial Parliament , and Agnes Potts, a former member of Etobicoke's city council prior to the municipal amalgamation of Toronto in 1997. Leon has been in Etobicoke for 56 years and lives in Eatonville, Toronto in Ward 5 Etobicoke—Lakeshore . He completed his term in 2014 after announcing he would not run for re-election. This article about an Ontario politician
585-481: Is not barred from running in the next regular municipal election. In the event of a vacancy in the mayor's office, the deputy mayor is immediately elevated to acting mayor on an interim basis until the permanent new mayor is selected in a by-election. Unlike a city council seat, however, a by-election must always be held, unless the vacancy occurs less than 90 days before a regular municipal election. The situation does not trigger additional council vacancies, however;
650-407: Is responsible for providing politically neutral advice to council, and delivering services to the City's residents. As of March 2022, there were nearly 40,000 active employees. The city manager (formerly the chief administrative officer), who reports to the mayor and the council, is the administrative head of the City of Toronto. While the city manager and public service are ultimately accountable to
715-399: Is to set the City of Toronto's priorities, manage financial planning and budgeting, labour relations, human resources, and the operation of City Council. The committee existed in the old City of Toronto beginning in 1969. Before that Toronto had a Board of Control , as did former cities North York and Etobicoke . The executive committee makes recommendations to city council on: Following
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#1732771855678780-400: The City of Toronto Act . The powers of the City of Toronto are exercised by its legislative body , known as Toronto City Council , which is composed of 25 members and the mayor. The council passes municipal legislation (called by-laws ), approves spending, and has direct responsibility for the oversight of services delivered by the city and its agencies. The mayor of Toronto serves as
845-527: The City of Toronto Act, 1996 , which spelled the demise of the Metro Toronto federation. During 1997, the municipalities of Metro were placed under provincial trusteeship. On January 1, 1998, Metro and its constituent municipalities were dissolved, replaced by the single-tier "megacity" of Toronto, which is the successor of the previous City of Toronto. Mel Lastman , the long-time mayor of North York before
910-525: The High Park area, then resold them to a developer. Grys then helped get rezoning for the area to allow developers to increase the number of units they could build, without disclosing his interest. Alderman John Sewell learned of the Grys purchases through a resident of the area. Grys launched a lawsuit against Sewell but it was dropped. Grys was defeated in 1972, the same election that Reformer David Crombie
975-741: The Toronto Transit Commission and $ 4 billion on emergency service agencies, such as the Toronto Police Service , Fire Services and Paramedic Services . As the City of Toronto is constituted by, and derives its powers from, the province of Ontario, it is a "creature of the province" and is legally bound by various regulations and legislation of the Ontario Legislature , such as the City of Toronto Act , Municipal Elections Act , Planning Act , and others. The City of Toronto Act lays down
1040-519: The chief executive officer and head of council. The day-to-day operation of the municipal government is managed by the city manager who is a public servant and head of the Toronto Public Service – under the direction of the mayor and the council. The government employs over 38,000 public servants directly, as well as affiliated agencies. Its operating budget was CA$ 20.53 billion in 2023, including over $ 5.1 billion for
1105-494: The 1930s and 1940s were the communists. There was considerable communist support in the downtown areas covered by Ward 4 and Ward 5, especially in the heavily Jewish areas of Kensington Market and the Garment District around Spadina Avenue and further west along College and up to Christie Pits including what is now Little Italy . The peak of communist influence was in the 1946 election when leader Stewart Smith
1170-475: The 1954 election. Nathan Phillips , a long-serving Jewish alderman, was elected mayor. He was a staunch Tory. His religion was an important issue in the election, in which his opponent proclaimed himself to be running as " Leslie Saunders , Protestant". The Orange Order influence dropped sharply. Only seven of 23 councillors elected that year were members of the Orange Order. Phillips was dubbed "Mayor of all
1235-554: The Canadian Criminal Code within its borders. It also forms several committees, including the Board of Health and "Community Councils", which hear matters relating to narrower, district issues, such as building permits and developments requiring changes to zoning by-laws. Community Council decisions, as well as those of the mayor, must be approved by the city council at regular sessions. The Toronto Public Service
1300-427: The City of Toronto involves committees that report to City Council. Committees propose, review and debate policies and recommendations before their arrival at City Council for debate. Citizens and residents can only make deputations on policy at committees, citizens cannot make public presentations to City Council. The mayor is a member of all committees and is entitled to one vote. There are three types of committees at
1365-414: The City of Toronto: the executive committee, four other standing committees, and special committees of council. The executive committee is an advisory body chaired by the mayor. The executive committee is composed of the mayor, deputy mayor, and the chairs of the four standing committees who are appointed by the mayor and three "at-large" members appointed by City Council. The role of the executive committee
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#17327718556781430-492: The Clerk's office: City clerk staff are seated in the diamond shaped table located in front of the speaker's podium in the council chambers. City Council has a sergeant-at-arms , who is present at each council and committee meeting as per Toronto Municipal Code Chapter 27-50 to ensure order and safety of all members. In 2014 a second post was created to have two sergeants-at-arms present during council meetings. They are posted on
1495-573: The Ontario courts of the act's constitutionality. Its constitutionality was upheld and the reduced number of councillors was elected. In 2022, the Ford government passed the Strong Mayors, Building Homes Act , which redefined the powers of the mayor of Toronto. Under the act, the mayor could overrule a motion of City Council that had less than a 66 percent plurality. Ostensibly introduced to allow
1560-488: The Ontario government of Doug Ford passed the Better Local Government Act , which redefined the number and representation of Toronto City Council. The number of councillors was reduced to 25, and council districts were defined that matched provincial electoral districts. The passage took place during the ongoing election campaign and spurred a number of lawsuits by potential candidates and a referral to
1625-411: The Orange Order to be a Toronto mayor. In the late 1960s and 1970s, a new division arose on city council between two groups that became known as the "Reformers" and the "Old Guard". Both groups crossed party lines and were divided by their approach to urban issues. The Reform faction arose in opposition to the urban renewal schemes that had been in favour in the previous decades. Two key battles were over
1690-508: The People" and governed in a non-partisan manner. During his term, Phillips enraged the Order by accepting funding from O'Keefe Brewing for the new O'Keefe Centre auditorium. In 1956, Phillips initiated the international architectural competition for a new City Hall. In 1966, former CCF Member of Provincial Parliament William Dennison was elected mayor. He was an Orangeman and the last member of
1755-507: The Toronto tax base was now available to support the suburban growth. The new regional government built highways, water systems and public transit, while the thirteen townships, villages, towns, and cities continued to provide some local services to their residents. To manage the yearly upkeep of the new infrastructure, the new regional government levied its own property tax, collected by the local municipalities. On January 1, 1967, several of
1820-446: The amalgamation, became the first mayor (62nd overall) of the new megacity. Existing by-laws of the individual municipalities were retained until new citywide by-laws could be written and enacted. New citywide by-laws have since been enacted, although many of the individual differences were continued, applying only to the districts where the by-laws applied, such as winter sidewalk clearing and garbage pickup. The existing city halls of
1885-401: The appointment process is seen as less expensive for the city to undertake. When the appointment process is followed, people who are interested in the appointment are asked to submit their names to the local community council for the area where the vacant seat is located; the community council then evaluates and interviews the applicants, and submits a recommendation to the full city council for
1950-522: The city approved a re-organization to Council changing the number of wards to six; each ward was known by a number. Each ward elected four aldermen. Over the next three decades three new wards were added, one each in the north, east, and west, as new areas were annexed to the City of Toronto. In 1896, the Board of Control executive branch of Council was established to handle all daily council business and report to Council. Mayor Robert John Fleming presided over
2015-509: The city council through the city manager), agencies (responsible through their relevant boards), and corporations (municipally owned through the city council) administer programs and services as directed by the city council. Peter Leon A former building material salesman, Leon once served in the Etobicoke Library Board and as chair of Etobicoke Hydro. Leon was selected by the city council over Chris Stockwell ,
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2080-428: The city the other for Metro. In the next election, a separate set of wards was established for Metro councillors. Each Metro ward consisted of two city wards, each electing only one councillor. With the amalgamation of the City of Toronto with the suburban municipalities of Metro in 1997, the councils of the six former cities were abolished. The new council for the "megacity" kept the ward map of Metro Toronto but doubled
2145-399: The city, and its members had considerably more power than the city councillors. In 1969, the Board of Control was abolished and the four controllers were replaced by four new councillors from two new wards. The ward map was rebalanced to give more equitable representation. In 1985, the system of electing Metro councillors was changed so that two separate ballots were held in each ward, one for
2210-423: The council, the council may not give specific direction to public servants, and members of the council do not manage the day-to-day operations of the city. The following senior staff report to the city manager: City officials reporting directly to the council: The following officials report to the council for statutory purposes, but to the city manager for administrative purposes: The City of Toronto represents
2275-486: The deputy mayor is not deemed to have vacated their council seat during the acting period, and a sitting councillor who runs in the mayoral by-election does not have to resign their council seat unless they win the election. Three vacancies occurred during the 2010-14 council term. Doug Holyday resigned from council in 2013 after winning election to the Legislative Assembly of Ontario in a byelection, and
2340-453: The division of powers, responsibilities and required duties of the corporation. It provides that if the City appoints a chief administrative officer (the city manager), then that person shall be responsible for the administrative management and operation of the City. The Toronto Public Service By-law (TPS By-law), Chapter 192 of Toronto's municipal code, further strengthens the separation of the administrative components (the public service) and
2405-411: The end of 2016. Capital expenditures are 39% funded from debt. The City of Toronto was incorporated in 1834, succeeding York , which was administered directly by the then-province of Upper Canada . The new city was administered by an elected council, which served a one-year term. The first mayor, chosen by the elected councillors, was William Lyon Mackenzie . The first by-law passed was An Act for
2470-416: The federal ridings (electoral districts) that covered Toronto. Each riding was split in half to create a 44-ward system. The current ward names are based on the federal and provincial electoral districts, but some no longer shared the same name as those district names have changed since 2000. When the City of Toronto was incorporated in 1834, a city council was created. It provided direct representation in
2535-486: The fifth-largest municipal government in North America. It has two budgets: the operating budget, which is the cost of operating programs, services, and the cost of governing; and the capital budget, which covers the cost of building and the upkeep of infrastructure. The City's capital budget and plan for 2019–2028 is CA$ 40.67 billion . Under the City of Toronto Act , the Toronto government cannot run
2600-425: The first Board of Control. Eventually, the numbers of aldermen was reduced to two aldermen per ward as the number of wards was increased. When a higher level of municipal government, Metro Toronto , was introduced in 1953, the alderman with the most votes of the two elected councillors from each ward was also a member of Metro Council. Until 1955 municipal elections were held annually, either on New Year's Day or on
2665-456: The first Monday in December. In 1955 council moved to two-year terms, and in 1982 three-year terms were introduced. Along with the other municipalities of Ontario, Toronto moved to a four-year municipal term in 2006. Starting in 1904 the Board of Control was elected directly. Until 1969 there was a four-person Board of Control in addition to city council. The board was elected at large across
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2730-562: The first half of the 20th century. The character of Toronto politics began to change in the 1950s and 1960s as the Anglo Tory lock on power faded in the increasingly diverse city. In 1952, Orangeman Allan Lamport became the first Liberal elected mayor in over 40 years. He resigned to become TTC chair and his administration was implicated in a municipal corruption scandal. In 1954, Leslie Saunders , another Orangeman became interim mayor. His staunch defence of Protestantism became an issue in
2795-752: The floor or near the entrances beside the speaker's desk. Toronto was divided into a group of wards, each named after a Christian saint. In 1834, the city had five wards and the number of wards would expand to nine by 1891. While out of use for over a century, these ward names continue to appear in neighbourhood names and subway stations and, until the 1990s, provincial electoral districts. The old wards and their boundaries in their final form, used from 1871 to 1891, were: By 1891, there were 13 wards, with three aldermen elected per ward: St. Alban's, St. Andrew's, St. David's, St. George's, St. James's, St. John's, St. Lawrence's, St. Mark's, St. Matthew's, St. Patrick's, St. Paul's, St. Stephen's, and St. Thomas's. When Yorkville
2860-548: The government of Toronto to the population. The Town of York had been governed by the then-province of Upper Canada , with electoral representation in the Upper Canada assembly. The first councils were elected yearly. Each of the five wards elected two aldermen and two common councillors by the votes of male householders. The first councils were dominated by two factions: the Family Compact and its loyalists; and
2925-422: The holding of a by-election in the final six months of a council term. Vacancies in the office of mayor must be filled by by-election unless the vacancy occurs after March 31 in an election year, in which case council appoints. There is no appointment option for mayoral vacancies before that time. The process often results in public debate, however. The by-election process is widely seen as more democratic, while
2990-724: The legal structure came in 1954, with the creation of the Municipality of Metropolitan Toronto (known more popularly as "Metro") in 1954. This new regional government, which encompassed Toronto and the smaller communities of East York , Etobicoke , Forest Hill , Leaside , Long Branch , Mimico , New Toronto , North York , Scarborough , Swansea , Weston and York , was created by the Government of Ontario to support suburban growth. This new municipality could borrow money on its own for capital projects and it received taxes from all municipalities including Toronto, which meant that
3055-481: The mayor. Elections are held every four years, in October, with the mayor and councillors being elected by Canadian citizens who live or own property in Toronto. The mayor of Toronto serves as the political head of the City of Toronto. The council is the only power able to enact Toronto laws, known as by-laws, which govern the actions of the corporation and/or matters within its jurisdiction, such as administration of
3120-938: The next century, the Tories dominated Toronto municipal politics, as they did the other levels in "Tory Toronto". The Tories were associated with staunch Protestantism, shown through membership in the Orange Order , and support for the Lord's Day Act . In the 1930s, various forms of left-wing opposition arose to the Tory-dominated council. The Co-operative Commonwealth Federation (CCF) was founded in 1932. The pro-labour social democratic party found support in various working-class areas of Toronto and several of its members were elected to city council. Unaffiliated anti-poverty activists like May Birchard also were elected to Council in this era. An important faction in Toronto politics in
3185-413: The number of councillors by adopting the system of electing two councillors from each ward. East York had only one ward and was thus greatly underrepresented. Former East York mayor Michael Prue lobbied successfully for a third councillor to be elected from that ward, and this was implemented mid-term. This system was only used for the first megacity election. In 2000 a new ward map was devised based on
3250-419: The passage of bylaws that would increase the supply of housing in Toronto, the act received considerable criticism as anti-democratic. The mayor at the time, John Tory, supported the law and pledged to continue to act by consensus. Toronto City Council is the primary decision making body defined in the City of Toronto Act . A number of divisions (core public service, or "Toronto Public Service"; responsible to
3315-402: The political components (mayor and council) of the City of Toronto. In general, the council determines the services provided to residents and develops programs and policies, while the public service implements the council's decisions. The council is the legislative body of the City of Toronto. It is composed of 25 city councillors (each representing a ward of around 96,800 people), along with
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#17327718556783380-891: The preventing & extinguishing of Fires . The first mayor directly elected to the post was Adam Wilson , elected in 1859. Through 1955 the term of office for the mayor and the council was one year; it then varied between two and three years until a four-year term was adopted starting in 2006. (See List of Toronto municipal elections .) To finance operations, the municipality levied property taxes. In 1850, Toronto also started levying income taxes. Toronto levied personal income taxes until 1936, and corporate income taxes until 1944. Until 1914, Toronto grew by annexing neighbouring municipalities such as Parkdale and Seaton Village . After 1914, Toronto stopped annexing bordering municipalities, although some municipalities overwhelmed by growth requested it. After World War II, an extensive group of suburban villages and townships surrounded Toronto. Change to
3445-533: The proposal for the Spadina Expressway and the replacement of the Trefann Court neighbourhood with a housing project. The Reformers opposed the destruction of existing neighbourhoods and followed the urban theories of recent Toronto arrival Jane Jacobs . The Old Guard supported new highways and housing projects, in part because of their close ties to the development industry. The debate between
3510-514: The reformers under the leadership of William Lyon Mackenzie , Member of Parliament for York. Mackenzie won election to Council and was elected by Council as the city's first mayor, but was defeated in the next election, after proposing increased taxation. After the defeat of the Upper Canada Rebellion in 1837, the reformers were marginalized, as several were executed for treason, and others, such as Mackenzie, went into exile. For
3575-402: The right-wing Toronto Telegram and the more left-leaning Toronto Daily Star . In the early parts of the century, the duelling papers ran the communications portion of the campaign of the candidates they supported, using yellow journalism to extol those they supported and denigrate those they opposed. The newspaper slates did not have a unified ideology: all the papers claimed to be seeking
3640-490: The salary of the mayor and city councillors and is annually adjusted to the Consumer Price Index (CPI). In 2022, the salary of a councillor is $ 120,502.20 and the salary of the mayor is $ 202,948.20. The city clerk is the senior administrative officer of the municipal government of Toronto . The city clerk is charged with building public trust and confidence in the city government. There are five divisions in
3705-454: The smaller municipalities were amalgamated with larger ones, reducing their number to six. Forest Hill and Swansea became part of Toronto; Long Branch, Mimico, and New Toronto joined Etobicoke; Weston merged with York, and Leaside amalgamated with East York. This arrangement lasted until 1998. Although a referendum of the Metro municipalities showed broad opposition, the Ontario government passed
3770-439: The sudden decision by the provincial government to reduce the size of City Council in summer 2018, the committee structure went under review. Before December 1, 2018, there were eleven other committees that reported to Toronto City Council. As of the 2022-2026 term, the four standing policy committees are: There are five other committees that report to Council: Source: City of Toronto All members of Toronto City Council serve on
3835-566: The two groups became the central issue of the 1969 municipal election with mayoral candidate Margaret Campbell running on an explicit reform platform. Campbell lost the mayoralty, but on City Council, six veteran members of the Old Guard were defeated. One example of the close ties was revealed in 1971; a conflict of interest case of alderman Ben Grys, who chaired the Buildings and Development Committee. His wife Gladys, bought properties in
3900-501: The various municipalities were retained by the new corporation for various purposes. The City of York's civic centre became a court office. The existing 1965 City Hall of Toronto became the city hall of the new megacity, while Metro Hall, the "city hall" of the Metro government, is used as municipal office space. The community councils of Etobicoke–York, North York and Scarborough meet in their respective pre-existing municipal buildings. In 2018, just before that year's provincial election ,
3965-414: The ward boundaries were adjusted in 2018, former ward 28 councillor Lucy Troisi ran in the new ward 13 against the former ward 27's elected incumbent Kristyn Wong-Tam . Peter Leon considered registering as a candidate in the 2014 election following his appointment as an interim councillor in 2013, but ultimately did not do so. If a full byelection is pursued, however, then the winner of that by-election
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#17327718556784030-555: Was annexed in 1883, it became St. Paul's Ward (named for Paul the Apostle or Saint Paul). When Riverdale was annexed in 1884, it became St. Matthew's Ward (named for Matthew the Apostle or Saint Matthew). Brockton was also annexed in 1884, and it became the ward of St. Mark's (named for Mark the Evangelist or Saint Mark). When Parkdale was annexed in 1889, it became St. Alban's Ward (named for Saint Alban ). In June 1891,
4095-469: Was elected mayor. Crombie was mayor until 1978 and during his term, the city enacted a holding by-law to curb the development industry. In 1978, Crombie was succeeded by Sewell as mayor. Municipal government of Toronto The municipal government of Toronto ( incorporated as the City of Toronto) is the local government responsible for administering the city of Toronto in the Canadian province of Ontario . Its structure and powers are set out in
4160-520: Was elected to the Board of Control and three other communists won seats on city council. With the beginning of the Cold War and staunch opposition from the other political groups, the communist presence quickly disappeared. The last communist alderman lost his seat in 1950. The first part of the 20th century was the era of the newspaper slates . Each of the daily newspapers would endorse a full slate of candidates for office. The two most influential were
4225-591: Was succeeded by Peter Leon. Adam Vaughan resigned from council in 2014 to contest a federal byelection for the House of Commons , and was succeeded by Ceta Ramkhalawansingh . Peter Milczyn resigned in 2014 after winning election to the Legislative Assembly of Ontario in the 2014 election and was succeeded by James Maloney . Since amalgamation there are five instances that a councillor died while in office: The Toronto Municipal Code, Chapter 223 sets
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