Barrie among 26 municipalities granted 'strong mayor' powers

Come Canada Day, Alex Nuttall will hold much more power in the City of Barrie.

On Friday, the Ford government announced it would expand "strong mayor" powers to 26 cities, including Barrie.

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Granted to large, fast-growing municipalities, the list of mayors will now have access to more veto powers regarding critical priorities for housing, transit and infrastructure.

"Municipalities are critical partners for our government as we help communities get shovels in the ground faster and work to build more homes," said Minister Clark. "By adopting ambitious and absolutely necessary housing pledges, these 26 municipalities have demonstrated they understand the importance of that target, and we are ensuring they have the tools they need to succeed. We welcome housing pledges from other municipalities to help reach our goal of 1.5 million homes by 2031."

Barrie Mayor Alex Nuttall previously told CTV News that the city didn't need strong mayor powers and that he was committed to working with councillors on its priorities.

Speaking in Queen's Park on Friday, Nuttall said he's more in favour of how the powers can help municipalities.

"We need to make sure we have the supply available, and when we're looking at a housing first approach to some of the social problems we have, we've got to get off the sideline and into the game," Nuttall said. "But our team is wholeheartedly in the same boat, rowing in the same direction. I don't foresee this being a necessity or something that will either hold us back or anything in that manner."

The Ontario NDP has criticized the decision to give big city mayors more power at the council table.

NDP Municipal Affairs Critic Jeff Burch said the Ford government is using the housing crisis to push forward its agenda.

"The Conservatives are weakening local government and the ability of local elected officials to serve their residents," Burch said.

The new powers will be available to the 26 municipalities on July 1.

Last fall, the province granted the same powers to Toronto and Ottawa.

Here is the list of municipalities getting strong mayor powers:

1. Barrie
2. Ajax
3. Brampton
4. Brantford
5. Burlington
6. Caledon
7. Cambridge
8. Clarington
9. Guelph
10. Hamilton
11. Kingston
12. Kitchener
13. London
14. Markham
15. Milton
16. Mississauga
17. Niagara Falls
18. Oakville
19. Oshawa
20. Pickering
21. Richmond Hill
22. St. Catharines
23. Vaughan
24. Waterloo
25. Whitby
26. Windsor

With files from CTV's Hannah Alberga.