Council to debate adding three new municipal wards

Toronto: A proposal to increase the number of municipal wards from 44 to 47 is up for debate today as the November meeting of council continues at city hall.
City staff studied a total of seven different options as part of a review of Toronto’s ward boundaries and recommended that council sign off on adding three new wards in time for the 2018 election.
According to the staff report, the move is “appropriate given the city’s growth” and the fact that ward boundaries have not been changed since 2000.
Mayor Tory, however, has been critical of the proposal, telling reporters last week that “we don’t need any more politicians at city hall.”
It should be noted that Tory’s executive committee did endorse the proposal 7-6, despite the mayor’s objections.
If approved by city council, three new wards would be created in the downtown core and one would be created in North York. Meanwhile, Ward 18 Davenport would be eliminated.
The cost of adding three new wards is estimated to be about $870,000 a year, according to the staff report.
Speaking with CP24 on Wednesday morning, Tory said he hopes council will find another way to address the difference in ward populations without increasing the size of council.
“I think there is a way in which you can deal with some of the wards that have grown a great deal without increasing the number of politicians,” he said.
The staff report looked at a variety of different ward configuration options, including one that would have reduced the size of council to 26 and another that would have increased it to 58.
Under the 47-ward option, the staff report says that councillors would represent an average of 61,000 constituents.
In addition to the ward boundary review, there are a total of 66 other items left on the agenda.