View source for Local government in Canada

{{Short description|Elected local authorities in Canada}}

{{Politics of Canada}}

'''Local government in Canada''' can be defined as all elected [[local government|local authorities]] which are legally empowered to make decisions on behalf of its electors, excluding the [[government of Canada|federal government]], [[provinces and territories of Canada|provincial and territorial governments]], and [[Assembly of First Nations|First Nations]], [[Métis#Métis settlements of Alberta|Métis]] and [[Inuit Nunangat|Inuit]] governments. This can include municipalities, [[school board]]s, [[health regions of Canada|health authorities]], and so on.<ref>{{cite web
 |title       = The Local Government Election Act
 |publisher   = [[The Queen's Printer]]
 |date        = 2012
 |url         = http://www.qp.gov.sk.ca/documents/English/Statutes/Statutes/L30-1.pdf
 |accessdate  = 2013-07-23
 |url-status     = dead
 |archiveurl  = https://web.archive.org/web/20141112175017/http://www.qp.gov.sk.ca/documents/English/Statutes/Statutes/L30-1.pdf
 |archivedate = 2014-11-12
}}
</ref><ref>{{cite web
  | title = Alberta.ca > Municipal Affairs > Municipalities & Communities> Education> Municipal Government for Students > Glossary
  | publisher = [[Alberta Municipal Affairs]] 
  | date = 2012
  | url = http://www.municipalaffairs.alberta.ca/edu_grade6_glossary.cfm#municipal_government
  | quote = "Municipal government is local government that is created by the province to provide essential and desired services to communities. Municipal government works within communities to represent the interests and goals of community members, provide services to citizens, and encourage them to make local decisions together."... "A First Nations reserve is not part of any municipality. The federal government takes responsibility for First Nations reserves."... "Local authorities are areas in Alberta that provide local government. A municipality is considered to be a local authority. Examples of local authorities are municipalities, improvement districts and special areas, as well as regional health authorities and school district authorities."}}</ref>

The most prominent form of local government in Canada is '''municipal government''', which is a local council authority which provides local services, facilities, safety and infrastructure for communities. Municipal governments are local general-purpose authorities which provide services to all residents within a defined geographic area called a municipality.

According to Section 92(8) of the ''[[Constitution Act, 1867]]'', ''"''In each Province the Legislature may exclusively make Laws in relation to … Municipal Institutions in the Province." There are about 3,700 municipal governments in Canada. Municipal governments are established under provincial/territorial authority.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://laws-lois.justice.gc.ca/eng/const/page-3.html#docCont|title=Constitution Act, 1867|first=Legislative Services|last=Justice Canada|website=laws-lois.justice.gc.ca|date=18 October 2024}}</ref> 

The powers granted to municipal governments are delegated by each of the [[provinces and territories of Canada]] according to governing legislation. Therefore, the legislation passed by municipalities has the status of subordinate legislation under provincial and territorial jurisdiction. However, rather than being "mere 'creatures of the provinces,'" municipal governments are "democratically elected by members of the general public and are accountable to their constituents in a manner analogous to that in which Parliament and the provincial legislatures are accountable to the electorates."<ref> "[[Godbout v Longueuil (City of)]]", [1997] 3 SCR 844, per LaForest J at para. 51</ref> Therefore, while municipalities do not have independent constitutional status, they are considered a separate level of government.<ref> See, “[[Toronto (City) v Ontario (Attorney General)]]”, 2021 SCC 34, at paras. 2 and 116, majority and dissenting opinions</ref>

==Municipal government==

The organisation of local government is complex. For instance, in some provinces there are several tiers of local government: regional governments, county governments and municipal governments. There are also special service districts in some unincorporated areas. Municipal local governments take various forms including cities, towns and villages. There are also innumerable specific purpose authorities.

In Ontario alone there are at least 2000 of these bodies, including 'police commissions, health units, conservation authorities, public utilities commissions, parks boards and school boards.’ Schools are usually provided locally by school boards, with the 'school trustees' being elected.<ref name=ausreport>[http://www.regional.gov.au/local/publications/reports/2002_2003/C7.aspx Chapter 7 : Special report: local government in Canada] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170515020838/http://regional.gov.au/local/publications/reports/2002_2003/C7.aspx |date=2017-05-15 }}. Government of Australia. Retrieved May 24, 2009.</ref>

===Regional municipalities===
In some provinces, several municipalities in a particular area are also part of an upper tier of municipal government, which provides more regionally oriented services. Depending on the province, this second tier may be called a [[county]], [[regional municipality]], [[regional district]] or [[regional county municipality]].

In [[Nova Scotia]], three municipalities are designated as "regional municipalities".<ref>{{cite web | title = Service Nova Scotia - Municipal Services | publisher = Province of Nova Scotia | url = http://www.gov.ns.ca/snsmr/muns/contact/ | access-date = 2011-09-29 | url-status = dead | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20110514101844/http://www.gov.ns.ca/snsmr/muns/contact/ | archive-date = 2011-05-14 }}</ref> A regional municipality is a single municipal government covering an entire historical county including all formerly incorporated towns and cities within the county.{{citation needed|date=September 2011}} Within the three regional municipalities, designations such as "city" and "town" exist only as informal signifiers for historically chartered towns and cities that used to exist prior to the establishment of the regional municipality.{{citation needed|date=September 2011}}

===Local municipalities===
In Canada, the types of municipal government vary between provinces, although they all perform the same functions. The general hierarchy was established in 1849 with the passing of the Municipal Corporations Act in [[United Canada]]. The largest municipalities are usually called [[city|cities]], and their governments, city councils. Smaller governments are commonly called [[town]]s, [[village]]s, [[Parish (administrative division)|parishes]], [[rural municipality|rural municipalities]], [[township]]s or [[Hamlet (place)|hamlets]]. Some may also be directly designated as [[municipality|municipalities]] rather than as a particular type of municipality, but this term is still considered inclusive of all local governments regardless of their status.

The term "borough" was previously used in [[Metropolitan Toronto]], [[Ontario]], to denote suburban municipalities. The Borough of [[East York]] was the last municipality to hold this status, relinquishing it upon [[Amalgamation of Toronto|becoming part of the City of Toronto on January 1, 1998]].

In [[Quebec]], there is no legal distinction between cities and towns – although an informal and subjective distinction may be observed by English speakers, legally all "cities" and "towns" in Quebec have the same status of ''[[Ville#Usage in Canada|ville]]''.

===Sublocal divisions===
In [[Quebec]], the term [[borough]] is generally used as the English translation of [[arrondissement]], referring to an administrative division of a municipality. Only eight municipalities in Quebec are divided into boroughs. (See [[List of boroughs in Quebec]].)

===Unincorporated areas===
Some areas in Canada are [[unincorporated area|unincorporated]], meaning that they do not have a municipal government at all. Any government services in an unincorporated area are provided either by a local agency, such as a [[Local services board]] or [[Local service district (disambiguation)|local service district]], or by the province itself.<ref name=ausreport />

==Powers and functions==
While many municipal governments have different functions to others (urban vs. rural, etc.), and vary from province to province, most of the services and functions they perform are effectively the same. Functions of municipal governments can include:
* Management of the local policing and firefighting stations. Whilst this sometimes comes under the jurisdiction of the provincial government, there is often municipal police and fire services.
* Transportation. Whilst municipal governments may not be responsible for provincial and federally designated highways, roads may come under their control. Additionally, municipal governments may operate local transit services.
* Education management or funding school boards. In many municipalities, the school board is voted by the people and funded by the municipal government itself from the taxes it collects.
* Planning and development. Municipal  government is responsible for local planning and approvals based on legislative requirements. They are also responsible for enforcing compliance with local requirements.
* Finance and collecting municipality taxes. Most municipalities (with the exception of some rural ones) have the power to collect taxes in order to provide the services mentioned in this list. Almost 10% of the national [[Gross Domestic Product|GDP]] is spent on municipal government services,<ref name=mayors>[http://www.citymayors.com/canada/canada_locgov.html Canada offers its people an array of local governments], Nick Swift. Retrieved May 24, 2009.</ref> and when the government is not funded by the provincial government, taxes need to be imposed.
* Public utilities and other services. Usually, parks are taken care of by the municipal government and occasionally sewerage, water, etc.
* In Quebec, Ontario and Alberta the range of local government services is broadened to include electricity, telephone and gas services.<ref name=ausreport /><ref name=cagovt>[http://www.canadianencyclopedia.ca/index.cfm?PgNm=TCE&Params=A1ARTA0004737 Local Government]: The Canadian Encyclopedia. Retrieved May 24, 2009.</ref><ref name=mlw>[http://www.mapleleafweb.com/features/local-government-canada-organization-amp-basic-institutions#introduction Local Government in Canada]: MapleLeafWeb. Retrieved May 24, 2009.</ref>

==Structure and funding==
[[File:MunicipalGovernmentFunding.jpg|thumb|200px|left|Municipal government funding sources, 2005]]
Most local governments are formed by a [[municipal charter|charter]] or [[Act of Parliament|act]] granted by the [[Provinces and territories of Canada|province or territory]]. Local governments are not mentioned in the [[Canadian Constitution]] other than to say they are the responsibility of the provinces. Consequently, municipalities can be created, [[Amalgamation (politics)|amalgamated]], or disbanded by the provincial government. Mayors frequently interact with their federal and provincial counterparts over areas of shared responsibility. The federal government does fund quite a few projects in many cities, like major transit and roads. These funds come from a variety of federal programs like P3 Canada,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.p3canada.ca/|title=PPP Canada|website=www.p3canada.ca}}</ref> where a private company/consortia does a percentage of a project, construction, operations, maintenance, financing and designing, the Building Canada Fund,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.infrastructure.gc.ca/prog/bcf-fcc-eng.html|title=Infrastructure Canada - Building Canada Fund|first=Government of Canada, Infrastructure|last=Canada|website=www.infrastructure.gc.ca|date=26 October 2011}}</ref> where major projects can receive federal funds for a project. Unlike many US projects and cities, most projects only get approximately a quarter of their funds from the federal government, and they are not obligated<ref>[[Buy American Act]]</ref> to have a certain amount of the work done by Canadians or Canadian companies.

Since each province is responsible for creating local governments in its own territory, the names, functions, and powers of local bodies vary widely across the country. Local governments generally have limited powers, namely creating local [[by-laws]] and taxation ([[property tax]]).

Typically, a municipal government is made up of one [[Mayor#Canada|''mayor'']] (occasionally ''reeve'' or ''warden'') and a set number of [[councillor|''councillors'']] (occasionally ''[[alderman]]''). There are usually 10−20 councillors in one council; however, an exception to this is [[Montreal]], with over 50 councillors. The councillors may represent districts called [[Ward (country subdivision)|''wards'']].<ref name=affadavit /><ref name=woodbuffalo>[http://www.woodbuffalo.ab.ca/municipal_government/index.asp Regional Municipality of Wood Buffalo]. Example of council structure. Retrieved May 24, 2009.</ref>

In Canada, 83% of the municipal government revenue is raised through their own sources, and legally their accounts cannot go into deficit, safeguarding the provinces from unintentionally guaranteeing their municipal governments' debts. The majority of funding for Canadian municipal governments comes from [[property tax]]es. Additional funding sources include the sale of goods and services, fines and [[tax transfer]]s from the provincial government.<ref name=statscanada>[http://www40.statcan.ca/l01/cst01/govt46a-eng.htm Local general government revenue and expenditures, by province and territory] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090626140104/http://www40.statcan.ca/l01/cst01/govt46a-eng.htm |date=2009-06-26 }}. [[Statistics Canada]]. Retrieved May 24, 2009.</ref>

==Elections==
{{Main|Municipal elections in Canada}}
Due to the control that the provinces have over their municipal governments, terms that councillors serve vary from province to province. Unlike most provincial elections, municipal elections are usually held on a fixed date.

===Dates of elections by province and territory===
{{:Municipal elections in Canada}}

==History==
Like many Canadian political institutions, the municipal government has its roots in the medieval system of government in England. Famously, the city of [[Winchester]] was given its charter in 1185, and the granting of freedoms became endorsed in [[Magna Carta]], which was signed in 1215. The first formal municipality in Canada was the city of [[Saint John, New Brunswick|Saint John]] in [[New Brunswick]], which received royal approval in 1785. For municipal government, this began an almost 50-year hiatus of receiving approval from the government, ending in the 1830s when the issue was placed on the agenda once again. In 1835, the British parliament passed the [[Municipal Corporations Act 1835|Municipal Corporations Act]], which specified how municipalities were to function and be elected. The ideas from this law were transferred to Canada by Lord Durham, who submitted a report to then-[[Governor General of Canada|Governor General]], [[Charles Poulett Thomson, 1st Baron Sydenham|Lord Sydenham]]. In late 1840 to early 1841, the governments of what was Canada at the time enacted various acts which established municipal government in all areas of the country.<ref name=affadavit>[http://www.localgovernment.ca/show_library.cfm?id=56 Canadian municipal history] - Andrew Sancton, Professor, University of Western Ontario.</ref>

In 1849, the [[Legislative Assembly of the Province of Canada]] approved a Canadian version of the Municipal Corporations Act, often referred to as the Baldwin Act in honour of its creator, [[Robert Baldwin]]. It [[delegated legislation|delegated authority]] to the municipal governments so they could raise taxes and enact [[by-law]]s. It also established a hierarchy of types of municipal governments, starting at the top with cities and continued down past towns, villages and finally townships. Changes to the boundaries of these new governments could be made by petitioning the provincial Municipal Board or by requesting a change through the legislature.<ref name=affadavit />

By the early 20th century, Canada was deeply involved in a period of municipal reform. An attempt to distinguish municipal government from the provincial legislature occurred, and the municipal governments were compared with a [[board of directors]] – this form of government was not for advancing a certain political party's view, it was for sitting down and running it 'like a business'. As such, the idea that a larger municipality should have more councillors was the same as having a large board of directors for a larger company, i.e., not functionally possible.<ref name=affadavit />

Between the 1920s and the 1960s, the municipalities received increased funding from their provincial government parents. This was partly due to the [[Great Depression]], but further discussion about reform reared its head in the 1970s. In many cities, the system of having a few very large wards encompassing many different walks of life was replaced with one ward for every area with different demographics; this was to ensure that councillors would not have conflicting interests between the well-off and those not so. The arguments over municipal government reform continue, seen in the recent ''[[City of Toronto Act]]'' 1997 dispute.<ref name=affadavit />

==See also==
{{Portal|Canada|Politics}}
* [[Government of Canada]]
* [[History of cities in Canada]]
* [[List of governments in Canada by annual expenditures]]
* [[List of municipalities in Canada]]
** [[List of cities in Canada]]
** [[List of towns in Canada]]
* [[Provinces and territories of Canada]]

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==Further reading==
* {{cite book |last1=Graham |first1=Katherine A. |last2=Phillips |first2=Susan D. |last3=Masiove |first3=Allan M. |title=Urban governance in Canada : representation, resources, and restructuring |date=1998 |publisher=Fort Worth : Harcourt Brace Canada |location=Toronto |isbn=978-0-7747-3392-2 |url=https://archive.org/details/urbangovernancei0000grah |url-access=registration}}
* {{cite book |last1=Sancton |first1=Andrew |title=Canadian local government: an urban perspective |date=2011 |publisher=Oxford University Press |location=Don Mills, Ont. |isbn=978-0-19-542756-1 |url=https://archive.org/details/canadianlocalgov0000sanc |url-access=registration}}
* {{cite book |editor1-last=Sancton |editor1-first=Andrew |editor2-last=Young |editor2-first=Robert |title=Foundations of governance : municipal government in Canada's provinces |date=2009 |publisher=University of Toronto Press |location=Toronto |isbn=978-1-4426-9724-9 |url=https://archive.org/details/foundationsofgov0000unse|url-access=registration}}
* {{cite book |last1=Tindal |first1=C. Richard |last2=Tindal |first2=Susan Nobes |title=Local Government in Canada |date=2009 |publisher=Nelson Education |location=Toronto |isbn=978-0-17-610394-1 |url=https://archive.org/details/isbn_2900176103940 |url-access=registration}}

;Historical
* {{cite book |last1=Higgins |first1=Donald J. H. |title=Urban Canada: its government and politics |date=1977 |publisher=Gage |location=Toronto |isbn=978-0-7715-5686-9 |url=https://archive.org/details/urbancanadaitsgo0000higg}}

==External links==
*[http://www.mapleleafweb.com/features/local-government-canada-organization-amp-basic-institutions Local Government in Canada: Organization & Basic Institutions | Mapleleafweb.com]
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20100811084209/http://www.cd.gov.bc.ca/lgd/history/index.htm Local government history in British Columbia]

{{Canada topic|Local government in}}
{{North America topic|Local government in}}

[[Category:Local government in Canada| ]]