In February 2025, through 2025.EX20.13, Toronto City Council requested the City Manager to create a Program Advisory Body (PAB) to advise and inform the City Manager and Council on matters related to municipal autonomy and effective local governance. The City Manager approved the following Terms of Reference for the Municipal Autonomy & Effective Local Governance Program Advisory Body (MAPAB) in August 2025. The Terms of Reference outline the mandate, membership, and other aspects of the MAPAB’s operations.
Toronto, among municipalities in Ontario, has a unique legislative context with its own enabling legislation, the City of Toronto Act, 2006 (COTA). COTA provides a foundation for Toronto’s intergovernmental relationships with both the provincial and federal governments and grants Toronto unique powers for taxation and other matters. While COTA enshrines a consultative relationship between the Province of Ontario and the City of Toronto, changes made to COTA are solely within provincial jurisdiction and do not require consultation with the City.
A city charter provides Toronto with an opportunity to update the division of roles and responsibilities between the City and other orders of government, recognizing the evolving role of cities, while also ensuring these distinctions are more transparent and therefore accountable to the public. A federal and provincial constitutional change, along with legislative requirements, may be required for the effective creation of a city charter. A program advisory body is the first step in the pathway to both create a better understanding of how greater autonomy, authority and financing tools for the City of Toronto could be structured, and to help inform discussions among Torontonians, other municipalities, and the provincial and federal governments regarding the benefits and drawbacks of such changes.
Per the Terms of Reference, the mandate of the MAPAB is to provide advice to the City Manager and City Council on how to achieve greater municipal autonomy and effective local governance for the City of Toronto, and recommendations for the establishment of a city charter for Toronto. The mandate for the PAB includes:
The PAB will provide its summary advice through a report to the City Manager no later than the end of May 2026. The City Manager will share the report with City Divisions and City Council for information and consideration as appropriate.
The MAPAB is composed of 12 members of the public, as per the terms of reference. Recruitment for members was undertaken in September 2025 and the following individuals were appointed as members by the City Manager.