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Community councils were established under the City of Toronto Act, 1997. They are committees of City Council that consider the City's business of a local nature at the community level, and provide a forum for local input into Council's decision-making process. Their responsibilities generally include making recommendations to City Council on local planning and development matters, as well as neighbourhood matters including traffic plans, parking regulations and exemptions to certain City bylaws (i.e., sign, fence, ravine and tree-by-laws).
The City of Toronto's community council structure changed on December 1, 2000 to reflect the 44 wards established by the province in The Fewer Municipal Politicians Act of 1999. The new ward boundaries were significantly different from those of the 28 City wards that existed prior to the November 11, 2000 municipal election. As a result, the boundaries of the six community councilshad to be realigned.
Toronto City Council established the six new community councils at its October 3, 2000 meeting. Each council represents several electoral wards and between 300,000 to 600,000 residents. Council adopted new names for the City's six community councils on June 1, 2001. The names replace interim names established for the new community council structure.
| Interim Name |
New Permanent Names |
Composite Wards |
| East Community Council |
Scarborough Community Council |
35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40, 41, 42, 43, 44 |
| Downtown Community Council |
Toronto East York Community Council |
19, 20, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32 |
| Midtown Community Council |
Midtown Community Council |
16, 21, 22, 25, 26, 34 |
| North Community Council |
North York Community Council |
7, 8, 9, 10, 23, 24, 33 |
| Southwest Community Council |
Humber York Community Council |
11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 17, 18 |
| West Community Council |
Etobicoke Community Council |
1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 |
The process to establish new community councils
City Council adopted eight principles to guide the consideration of the new community council boundaries. The process included a series of public meetings hosted by city staff.
The Council-adopted process and principles to establish new community council boundaries is summarised below.
| Phase 1 Approval of Project Principles and Process |
- Administration Committee meeting to consider staff report recommending process
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March 2, 2000 |
- City Council meeting to consider Administration Committee recommendations on process
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April 11, 12 and 13, 2000 |
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| Phase 2 Consultations |
- Notification to resident and ratepayers groups, BIA's, historical boards and societies and others
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April 17 - 21, 2000 |
- Public and councillors consultation window for input prior to developing options
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April 19 - May 19, 2000 |
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May 1, 4, 8 and 15, 2000 |
- Deadline for submission of public comment forms
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May 19, 2000 |
| Phase 3 Community Council Options |
- Staff analysis and preparation of options
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May 15 - May 26, 2000 |
- Release of community council boundary options
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May 29, 2000 |
| Phase 4 Decision-making Process to Facilitate a City Council Decision |
- Administration Committee meeting to consider options and public deputations
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June 13, 2000 |
- City Council meeting to make decision on new boundaries
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July 4, 5, and 6, 2000 |
Council adopted principles for the re-establishment of Community Councils
- All wards must be represented by a community council
- A ward can only be located in one community council
- Community councils must be made up of groups of adjacent wards
- Community councils should be made up of a minimum of 5 wards and no more than 12 wards
- Community councils should generally have the same number of wards, if not, the difference in the number of wards between the community councils should not exceed 4 wards
- Community councils should ensure a relatively equal workload distribution
- Community councils should reflect local physical (natural or constructed) boundaries, neighbourhood boundaries, and communities of interest
- Community councils should reflect their mandate established by City Council to focus on local matters of common interest
More historical information on process
Back to current Community Councils effective December 1, 2003
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