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Not the full picture. Built from public records, which leave things out.Read by hand, Oct 2026DetailsThis is built from public records, which leave a lot out, and some of it may be wrong or out of date. Check the sources, and tell us if you spot a mistake. What this site can't tell you
Read by hand. We read Thorold's own documents for this site in October 2026; the Sources page lists which ones. The comparisons with other places still come from the Province's yearly reports.

Council

Who decides, and how you can hold them to account

Thorold is run by an elected council of 9 people. They set the budget, approve big purchases and hire the senior staff who run the city day to day.

Current council

Names and official email addresses from the city's council page. None of the members lists a public social media account there.

How open is Thorold?

What a resident can find online without asking, as of October 5, 2026.

  • Yes
    Budgets posted online

    Operating and capital budgets are posted as PDFs for each year from 2011 to 2026 on one page. We read the 2026 operating summary (3 pages); the 2026 capital summary's text layer scrambles its table columns, so we used none of its figures. Source

  • Yes
    Audited financial statements

    Consolidated statements are posted for each year from 2002 to 2025. The 2025 statements carry a clean opinion ("present fairly") from Doane Grant Thornton LLP dated July 21, 2026. The 2024 statements carry an opinion from the same firm dated September 15, 2025. Source

  • Unknown
    Council pay and expenses (s. 284)

    The City says members of council must publish a statement of gifts, salary, benefits and expenses twice a year, but we did not find a link to any statement on its accountability, council, budget or financial statements pages, or in its sitemap. We did not fill in council pay. Source

  • Unknown
    Meeting agendas and minutes

    Agendas and minutes are on a separate site, calendar.thorold.ca. Its robots.txt address returned a "blocked for security reasons" message and a page request returned HTTP 403, so we did not read any minutes. We did not try to get around this. Source

  • Yes
    Declarations of interest

    A registry for the 2022 to 2026 term is posted as a PDF. Source

  • Unknown
    Integrity Commissioner and closed meeting reports

    The accountability page explains how to complain but we did not find any reports. Source

Where the city speaks for itself

Thorold's official channels, as linked from its own website. Council members may also post on their own pages; we link only to official municipal channels.

Ask for the records

Anyone can ask the city for its records under Ontario's Municipal Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act (MFIPPA). You do not have to say why. Here is how it works, and the wording for the records that would answer the questions on this site.

  1. Send the request in writing to the city clerk (the freedom of information coordinator), on the city’s form or in a letter, with the $5 application fee.
  2. Describe the records, not the answer you want. Dates, departments and the kind of record (a list, invoices, emails) make a request quicker and cheaper.
  3. The city has 45 business days to answer (the law changed in 2026; older guides say 30 days). It can charge for search time and copies, but must send an estimate first if the fees will be over $25.
  4. Some parts can be held back, such as legal advice or personal information about other people. The city must say which part of the law it relied on.
  5. If you are refused, or the fees seem too high, you can appeal to the Information and Privacy Commissioner within 30 business days of the city’s decision.

The city's request form (on its Forms page) · The law · Information and Privacy Commissioner of Ontario

  • List of investments held at December 31, 2025

    Note 2 groups $40,480,043 into five types. A list by issuer, amount, maturity and return shows what the principal protected notes are. Related question: Why are $19,123,000 of the City's $40,480,043 in investments held in principal protected notes?.

    Show the request wordingHide the wording
    Under the Municipal Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act, I request the City's schedule of investments held at December 31, 2025, showing for each holding the issuer, type, amount, purchase date, maturity date and interest rate or return basis, and the most recent investment report to Council and the City's investment policy.

  • Statements of council remuneration and expenses

    The City says members of council publish a statement of salary, benefits and expenses twice a year, but we did not find any posted.

    Show the request wordingHide the wording
    Under the Municipal Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act, I request the statements of remuneration and expenses of each member of council under section 284 of the Municipal Act, 2001, for 2022 to 2025.

  • Community Improvement Plan budget detail for 2026

    The 2026 budget line for the Community Improvement Plan shows $1,546,986 of revenue; the pages we read do not say where it comes from. Related question: Where does the money come from for the Community Improvement Plan line, which triples in the 2026 operating budget?.

    Show the request wordingHide the wording
    Under the Municipal Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act, I request the detail behind the 2026 operating budget line G824 Community Improvement Plan, showing each source of revenue and each approved or expected grant.

The wording is a starting point, not legal advice. Narrow the dates if the city says a request is too broad or too costly.

How to raise a concern

From the gentlest step to the most serious. Start at the top.

  1. Integrity Commissioner and Code of Conduct

    The City says it has a Code of Conduct for members of council and local boards, with a complaint procedure the Integrity Commissioner follows. A complaint needs a signed affidavit, sworn before a commissioner of oaths. We did not find any Integrity Commissioner reports on the page we read, and the page does not name the commissioner.

  2. Ontario Ombudsman (closed meetings)

    The City tells residents to contact the Ontario Ombudsman's office if they think a meeting was closed when it should not have been. We did not look for reports about Thorold.

  3. Declaration of Interest Registry, 2022 to 2026 term

    The City posts a registry of the declarations of interest made at council and committee meetings, updated as of July 16, 2026. We did not build any finding on it.

  4. Compliance Audit Committee

    The City has a page for its Compliance Audit Committee, which reviews complaints about election campaign finances. We did not read it.