Watson lashes out at Ford's plan to cut Toronto city council

Mayor Jim Watson said he's concerned about Premier Doug Ford's plans to slash Toronto city council and the precedent it could set in provincial-municipal relations.

News broke Thursday evening of Ford's intention to cut the number of city councillors in Canada's largest city from 47 down to 25, and he confirmed those plans at a news conference Friday morning.

The 25 councillors would represent the city's approximate 2.8 million residents. In comparison, Ottawa's 23 councillors represent about 950,000 residents.

"The precedent is that it could happen to any municipality," Watson said. "There's always people that want to see fewer politicians, I get that. But at the end of the day, if you're going to make any substantive changes like that, you have to do it in the beginning — not at the mid-point or at the end. I think it's unfair to everyone."

Ford announced the change on what was supposed to be the last day municipal candidates could add their names to the ballot for October's election, though he said that deadline would be extended.

Toronto's council has "failed to act on the critical issues facing the city," Ford said, calling it the "most dysfunctional political arena" in the country.

He suggested, however, that Ottawa's wards and councillors are not on the chopping block.

"Let's not even compare Ottawa," Ford told reporters Friday. "It's apples and oranges. Apples and oranges when you compare a town the size of Ottawa, a beautiful city compared to a city the size of Toronto. You can't even compare it."

Watson said when he met with the premier he showed him a map of Ottawa with Vancouver, Calgary, Edmonton and Montreal and Toronto all superimposed within the city's boundaries.

"You have to take into account not just population but geography, and we have a lot of geography. And I think that's why he's not touching Ottawa," Watson said.

Watson said the late change to the municipal election will also cause "confusion and frustration" for Toronto city staff as they redraw districts — as well as for any candidates who may have already begun raising and spending campaign money.

Ottawa's ward boundaries are scheduled for review in 2019, after the upcoming election.

The review process will not be complete until shortly before the 2022 election and could be appealed by the public.