Overview

There are 444 municipalities in Ontario. Municipalities have a broad range of powers and responsibilities under the Municipal Act, 2001, the City of Toronto Act, 2006 (for the City of Toronto) and over 100 provincial acts.

Types of municipalities

There are three types of Ontario municipalities, depending on whether they operate within a single-tier or two-tier government structure.

Upper-tier and lower-tier municipalities in a two-tier structure

Two-tier structures are formed by:

  • an upper-tier municipality (such as the Regional Municipality of York or the County of Huron)
  • two or more lower-tier municipalities (such as the City of Richmond Hill or the Town of Goderich)

Single-tier municipalities

A single-tier municipality (such as the City of Toronto, the City of Stratford or the County of Brant) is not part of an upper-tier municipality.

Municipal names

The name of a municipality may include a term like township, village, town, city, county or region, but it does not determine the status of the municipality (for example, the County of Prince Edward is a single-tier municipality).

Municipalities may change their name if certain requirements are met, including making sure that the new name is not used by another municipality. A name change does not affect the status of the municipality as an upper-, lower- or single-tier municipality.

List of municipalities