Who’s Really in Charge of Ontario’s Cities?

What does Ontario's Better Regional Governance Act, 2026 actually change, and who ends up with more power at the local level? TVO Today columnist and cohost John Michael McGrath breaks down what's in the legislation and what it is meant to fix. We then turn to the government's claim that strong mayor powers are speeding up housing construction, examining what the evidence shows so far and whether it has come with democratic tradeoffs. Joining the conversation are David Arbuckle of the Association of Municipal Managers, Clerks and Treasurers of Ontario, Lindsay Jones of the Association of Municipalities of Ontario, and Natasha Salonen, mayor of the Township of Wilmot.

You can listen to Who’s Really in Charge of Ontario’s Cities? online on Radio and Podcast. Open the player on this page to stream the available audio.

Who’s Really in Charge of Ontario’s Cities? is an episode from The Agenda with Steve Paikin (Audio) by TVO.

This episode is 28:50 long.

This episode was published on Apr 28, 2026.

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