Cobourg mayor delegates ‘strong mayor powers’ to CAO, council
- 4 days ago
- 2 min read
By reporter Natalie Hamilton
Cobourg Mayor Lucas Cleveland says delegating his “strong mayor powers” to the town’s CAO and council is a move that’s “fair and appropriate” given he has thrown his hat into the ring to run for another term as mayor.
The municipal election is on Monday, Oct. 26.
Cleveland announced Aug. 10 that he would be running for a second term as mayor of the Town of Cobourg. The following day, he issued a late-night statement to media announcing he was assigning all provincially conferred strong mayor powers that can be under current provincial legislation to the CAO and council.
In Ontario, strong mayor powers apply to some municipalities and give the head of council additional powers and duties, which are called strong mayor powers and duties. In municipalities with strong mayor powers, the mayor can – among other duties – choose to appoint its municipality’s CAO, hire municipal division heads (except for certain statutory positions) and change organizational structure.
“I chose to delegate all of the provincially vested strong mayor (powers) to either the CAO or council as is permitted and regulated by the Province of Ontario just one day after I put in my nomination papers to run for the position of mayor in the 2026 municipal election,” Cleveland told the Independent.
“I believed it to be the most fair and appropriate thing to do for a sitting mayor who is choosing to run for a second term.”
In Cobourg, the province announced effective May 1, 2025, that strong mayor powers would be extended to the town.
The province’s expectation is that municipalities with strong mayor powers will use the powers to support provincial priorities and help communities grow, the Town of Cobourg notes on its website.
“Priorities include supporting the construction of new homes, economic development and building infrastructure that supports community growth, including housing-enabling infrastructure like water and wastewater infrastructure, as well as roads, highways, transit and more.”
Other items include:
Creating committees of council, assigning their functions and appointing the chairs and vice-chairs of committees of council and the mayor may choose to delegate these specific powers and duties.
Proposing the municipal budget, which would be subject to council amendments and a mayoral veto and council override process.
Vetoing certain bylaws if the mayor is of the opinion that all or part of the bylaw could potentially interfere with a provincial priority.
Bringing forward matters for council consideration if the mayor is of the opinion that considering the matter could potentially advance a provincial priority. The bylaw is considered passed if more than one-third of the members of council vote in favour of the bylaw.
Direct town staff in writing.
According to legislation, the mayor is also required to exercise these powers in writing and make them available to the public, subject to the Municipal Freedom of Information and Protections of Privacy Act.
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