Transit, housing, libraries, public health, arts and culture, and community centres are vital parts of Toronto’s neighbourhoods. The City of Toronto supports programs and services like these through the work of numerous boards, committees and tribunals, each made up of residents appointed by City Council to play a part in local decision making and help shape their city.
Do you want to lend your voice to this important work? Do you have skills and experience you can share? Would you like to give back to your community and get involved with local government?
Search for an opportunity that interests you and apply now.
The City of Toronto delivers some of its key services through boards, committees and tribunals. The opportunity to contribute to this work ranges from local community centres to quasi-judicial tribunals to boards which oversee programs and services that impact people across Toronto on a daily basis. Each of these boards, committees, and tribunals includes members of the public who apply to join and can be appointed by City Council to help shape their city.
Generally a four year commitment, each opportunity is a great way to contribute valuable, diverse perspectives to the decision making process, give back to your community, and get involved with local government. Some opportunities also include remuneration.
To learn more about what opportunities are available, search our website, contact our office, or join our e-updates list to stay informed about upcoming deadlines. Please let us know if you require any supports or accommodations at any stage of the application process.
The City of Toronto values equity, diversity, inclusion, and reconciliation and encourages the participation of members of equity-deserving communities in the public appointments process. In addition, City Council recognizes that the City of Toronto is best served by boards, committees, and tribunals which reflect the diversity of our communities.
A voluntary and confidential diversity survey which all applicants are encouraged to complete is included at the end of each application. The information gathered in these surveys is used to help the City understand if it is achieving its objectives for access, equity, diversity, and reconciliation and if there is more staff can do to engage residents from across the City and remove any barriers to participation.
The data from these surveys is reported on a quarterly basis on our Diversity Dashboard, with the identities of individual applicants remaining confidential.
To be eligible for appointment to a City board, you must be:
Each opportunity may also have additional eligibility requirements listed on its application page.
City staff or employees of City agencies and corporations, and relatives of current Members of Council are not eligible for appointment. To support engagement with as many residents as possible, members of the public can generally only serve on one City board, committee, or tribunal at a time.
Further details on eligibility requirements and restrictions are listed in the Public Appointments Policy.
To apply for a position, you need to complete a secure, online application.
The application is your opportunity to share why you are a strong candidate for a position and it will be used to determine whether you are selected for an interview. Your responses should demonstrate how your skills and experience fit with the mandate and qualifications of the board, committee, or tribunal to which you are applying.
If you need assistance with the online application or prefer a paper copy of the application, please contact us at 416-397-0088 or appoint@toronto.ca.
The Public Appointments Secretariat in the City Clerk’s Office coordinates the appointment process and is the main point of contact for applicants. Candidates are shortlisted, interviewed, and nominated by various committees and panels including:
City Council considers all recommendations from these committees and panels and ultimately decides who will be appointed.
When there are current vacancies, the process can often move quickly between the application deadline and the shortlisting of candidates. If you apply for a position when there is no vacancy, you will likely not hear from us until a vacancy occurs, which could be weeks or months.
The time it takes is based on a number of factors, including the amount of time required to review the applications, how quickly panel meetings can be arranged, and how many other vacancies are being filled at the same time. Contact our office for any updates.
To help prepare for an interview, you are encouraged to:
If you are selected for an interview, the nominating panel may request staff to conduct reference checks before the interview. In this case, staff will provide the results of the reference checks to the nominating panel. Reference information is kept confidential.
If you are not selected, your application will remain on file for two years and will be considered for future vacancies on the board, committee, or tribunal you applied for. You are also encouraged to apply for other opportunities that may come up and to explore other ways to contribute to the City’s decision-making process.