Council Proceedings

Council proceedings are the official, legal record of the decisions Council makes.

Proceedings include:

  • minutes
  • committee reports to Council
  • by-laws
  • miscellaneous additional information, such as speeches

Most proceedings are in hard copy only. You must visit the Archives to see them.

Tips on Using the Council Proceedings:

  • Minutes tell briefly what happened at a Council meeting. Committee reports offer much more detail about an issue, sometimes including maps, letters, historical overviews, budgets, and other information.
  • Volumes of proceedings usually contain indexes. The subjects used in the index are not the same from year to year.
    • If you cannot find the topic you are looking for, try:
    • using a different word (e.g., “social services” instead of “welfare”)using a broader term (e.g., “TTC” instead of “Bloor subway line”)
    • including the name of the municipality (e.g., “Toronto Works Department” instead of just “Works Department”).
  • Proceedings are not a word-for-word transcription of the meeting (such a transcription does not exist).
  • The Archives also has DVDs, videotapes, and audiotapes of some Council meetings. Please ask Archives staff to help you find these in the Archives database.

Council Proceedings Online:

Council Proceedings at the Archives

The following is a list of council proceedings, by municipality, held at the City of Toronto Archives. The links in the list take you into the Archives online database, where you can read more details about each collection.