Toronto City Council favours an addition of three new municipal wards

The motion, however, still needs an approval from Ontario’s Municipal Board. 

The move came in after an October staff report filled by a city manager which brought I recommendations from consultants who were hired as per the directives of the executive committee in the spring. 

Toronto’s Mayor John Tory was one of 13 who voted against the move although his executive committee endorsed the 47-ward proposal 7-6. 

Coun. Gary Crawford,s motion on Wednesday that called on council to back a 26-ward option to reflect existing federal wards was defeated. 

Subject to province’s approval one of the three downtown core’s new wards would be created in North York. 

In the meantime Ward 18 Davenport would be removed. 

Adding three new wards is estimated to cost about $870,000 a year, the managerial staff report said. 

In an interview with CP24, Tory told that instead of expanding the size, the council should find another alternative to resolve the difference in ward populations. 

“I think there is a way in which you can deal with some of the wards that have grown a great deal without increasing the number of politicians,” he said. 

Different ward configuration options were researched by the staff report which included either reducing size of council to 26 or increasing it to 58. 

The staff report said that under the 47-ward option an average of 61,000 constituents would be represented by the councilors.

(Reporting by Asha Bajaj)