Council

Who decides, and how you can hold them to account

Toronto is run by an elected council of 26 people. They set the budget, approve big purchases and hire the senior staff who run the city day to day.

Current council

• MayorOlivia Chowmayor_chow@toronto.ca
• Councillor, Ward 1 Etobicoke NorthVincent CrisantiCouncillor_Crisanti@toronto.ca
• Councillor, Ward 2 Etobicoke CentreStephen Holydaycouncillor_holyday@toronto.ca
• Councillor, Ward 3 Etobicoke-LakeshoreAmber MorleyCouncillor_Morley@toronto.ca
• Councillor, Ward 4 Parkdale-High ParkGord Perkscouncillor_perks@toronto.ca
• Councillor, Ward 5 York South-WestonFrances Nunziatacouncillor_nunziata@toronto.ca
• Councillor, Ward 6 York CentreJames Pasternakcouncillor_pasternak@toronto.ca
• Councillor, Ward 7 Humber River-Black CreekAnthony Perruzzacouncillor_perruzza@toronto.ca
• Councillor, Ward 8 Eglinton-LawrenceMike Collecouncillor_colle8@toronto.ca
• Councillor, Ward 9 DavenportAlejandra BravoCouncillor_Bravo@toronto.ca
• Councillor, Ward 10 Spadina-Fort YorkAusma MalikCouncillor_Malik@toronto.ca
• Councillor, Ward 11 University-RosedaleDianne SaxeCouncillor_Saxe@toronto.ca
• Councillor, Ward 12 Toronto-St. Paul’sJosh Matlowcouncillor_matlow@toronto.ca
• Councillor, Ward 13 Toronto CentreChris MoiseCouncillor_Moise@toronto.ca
• Councillor, Ward 14 Toronto-DanforthPaula Fletchercouncillor_fletcher@toronto.ca
• Councillor, Ward 15 Don Valley WestRachel Chernos LinCouncillor_ChernosLin@toronto.ca
• Councillor, Ward 16 Don Valley EastJon BurnsideCouncillor_Burnside@toronto.ca
• Councillor, Ward 17 Don Valley NorthShelley Carrollcouncillor_carroll@toronto.ca
• Councillor, Ward 18 WillowdaleLily ChengCouncillor_Cheng@toronto.ca
• Councillor, Ward 19 Beaches-East YorkBrad Bradfordcouncillor_bradford@toronto.ca
• Councillor, Ward 20 Scarborough SouthwestParthi KandavelCouncillor_Kandavel@toronto.ca
• Councillor, Ward 21 Scarborough CentreMichael Thompsoncouncillor_thompson@toronto.ca
• Councillor, Ward 22 Scarborough-AgincourtNick MantasCouncillor_Mantas@toronto.ca
• Councillor, Ward 23 Scarborough NorthJamaal MyersCouncillor_Myers@toronto.ca
• Councillor, Ward 24 Scarborough-GuildwoodPaul Ainsliecouncillor_ainslie@toronto.ca
• Councillor, Ward 25 Scarborough-Rouge ParkNeethan ShanCouncillor_Shan@toronto.ca

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

Top number: pay. Second number: benefits and expenses together, such as health cover, mileage, conferences and training. Exactly what goes in it differs a little from city to city; the note below says what this city’s statement includes. Some members take the city’s health plan and some do not, so a higher second number is not a problem by itself. The statements give only totals; the receipts behind them can be requested from the clerk.

Each year links to the city's statement. Typed from Attachment 1 of the City's yearly Summary of Remuneration and Expenses for Members of Council, the report the City Clerk brings to council each spring. 'pay' is the column “Remuneration and Benefits”: salary plus benefits, including small amounts paid by outside bodies such as the conservation authority. 'other' adds up the five expense columns. They are office expenses from each councillor's Constituency Services and Office Budget ($60,053 per councillor in 2025), expenses from the Council General Budget (which also pays office rent and, in four large wards, one extra staff member), corporate business travel, expenses charged to City divisions, and expenses paid by agencies. For example, the Toronto Transit Commission paid $125,000 for its chair's staff and office, and that sits in Councillor Myers's row. The salaries of each member's office staff are not counted here: they were $15,989,117 in total for councillors in 2025, and $2,683,642 for the Mayor's office. Rows for vacant seats are left out (Ward 25 in 2025: $120,952; Ward 15 in 2024: $160,354). In 2024 the Estate of Jaye Robinson was also paid $133,776 in severance, which the City's Attachment 1 leaves out. In 2025 council raised the councillor base salary (see the question on councillor pay), which is why 'pay' jumps between the two years. Totals in the City's table can differ from the sum of the columns by $1 because of rounding.

• Yes
  Open data portal

  The City runs an open data catalogue with 555 datasets (counted October 3, 2026). It includes every councillor’s votes back to 2006, awarded contracts (refreshed daily), contracts awarded without bidding, and 2018 election contributions. The 2022 election statements are on a separate search tool. Source

• Yes
  Council and committee meetings on video

  The City Clerk streams City Council and its committees on YouTube and indexes the videos the next business day. The channel dates from 2013 and its most recent uploads, checked October 3, 2026, were from July 30 and 31, 2026. We did not check how many past years remain online. Source

• Yes
  Agendas, decisions and minutes (TMMIS)

  The City says agendas, reports and letters are posted before meetings and decisions and minutes as soon as possible. The Clerk’s budget notes report agendas and decisions published on time 100% of the time in 2022 and 2023. Our own tools were refused (“Access Denied”) on the meeting system’s item pages, so we read the reports the City posts directly on toronto.ca instead. Source

• Partly
  Contracts awarded and bids

  Awards and contracts awarded without bidding are on the Toronto Bids Portal and in open data, with supplier, amount and reason. The portal keeps only about 18 months to two years of results. Since October 1, 2025, awards from open bidding up to $30 million are no longer posted on council’s meeting site, and the City itself notes the portal lacks the bids received and bid prices that the old panel reports showed. Source

• Yes
  Councillor pay and expenses

  The City publishes a yearly report on every member’s pay and expenses, each spring, back to 2005, with long appendices (office, general, travel, agencies). The City also says it posts office expenses quarterly within 30 days of quarter end; its disclosure page loads its tables by script, so we did not confirm the latest quarter. Source

• Yes
  Lobbyist registry

  The Lobbyist Registrar keeps a searchable online registry. It can be searched by date, lobbyist name, subject matter and by the public office holder lobbied. Source

• Partly
  Freedom of information

  There is an online form, a $5 fee and a clear page. But the City projects only 46% of requests were finished within the legal time in 2025 (target 70%), it answers five requests at a time per requester, and we did not find a stand-alone yearly FOI statistics report on toronto.ca. The figures we found are in the Clerk’s budget notes. Source

• Partly
  Election finance statements

  The City has a “Search Campaign Finances” tool for candidates’ filed statements. We could not open it (“Access Denied” to our tools), so we have not checked the 2022 statements, and the City’s page notes the system is “undergoing maintenance” and that the scanned statements are not readable by screen readers. The Compliance Audit Committee, made of three public members, decides on audit requests; an auditor’s report on the 2023 mayoral by-election campaign of former councillor Giorgio Mammoliti (November 26, 2024) found apparent contraventions, including that no audited statement was filed. We could not read the committee’s decisions. Source

• Yes
  Budget documents posted online

  The City posts the staff-prepared budget deck (January 8, 2026), budget notes for each division, the adopted Budget Summary, and news releases for each year’s final budget, with budget notes back to 2024. Source

• Yes
  Audited financial statements posted

  The 2025 consolidated statements were signed by the auditor (KPMG LLP) on July 29, 2026 with a clean opinion, approved by Council July 29 to 30, 2026 and posted. The 2024 statements were approved July 24 to 25, 2025. Both years are on the Annual Financial Report page. Source

• Partly
  Budget-to-actual (variance) reports

  Four-month, six-month and nine-month operating and capital variance reports are published for each year, with dashboards by division. We found the 2024 year-end capital report (July 2, 2025) but did not find the 2025 year-end operating or capital variance reports. The Council agenda site (secure.toronto.ca) refused our automatic requests, so they may exist there. Source

• Partly
  Long-Term Financial Plan kept up to date

  The plan published on August 14, 2023 put the ten-year gap at $46.5 billion, and the 2026 budget deck still quotes that figure. We did not find a newer published estimate of the gap. Source

• Yes
  Auditor General reports and management responses

  The Auditor General’s website lists audit, investigation, follow-up and hotline reports, with a yearly follow-up on which recommendations are still open. Each audit includes management’s written agree or disagree for each recommendation. In the four we read, management agreed with all of them. Source

• Yes
  Integrity Commissioner reports and decisions

  Investigation reports to Council, annual reports and the gifts and travel registry are posted. The page for the July 2026 confidential-information report still shows “Posting Pending” for the Council decision when we looked on October 3, 2026. Source

• No
  Complaints about councillors during the election

  By law the Integrity Commissioner cannot take or investigate complaints from nomination day, August 21, 2026, to voting day, October 26, 2026, and open complaints are ended. New complaints can be filed from October 27, 2026. Source

• Yes
  Ombudsman Toronto investigation reports

  Full reports, short summaries and what the City answered are posted. In the four reports we read, the City or the TTC accepted every recommendation: 27 (rooming house), 18 (social assistance), 8 (TTC refunds), and Council adopted all 14 on refugee shelter beds with small changes. Source

• Yes
  Lobbyist registry and lobbying breaches

  The registry is searchable. The 2025 annual report counts 1,106 lobbyist registrations and 6,905 recorded lobbying communications. The Registrar completed one inquiry in 2025 and found no breach of the by-law; in 2024 all eight completed inquiries also found no breach. Source

• Yes
  Declarations of interest registry

  The registry of declared interests is published as open data for 2006 to 2026, with links to the written declarations. The latest file was refreshed September 26, 2026. It shows 79 declarations by 18 elected members since December 2022. Source

• Partly
  Closed meeting investigator

  The City’s own page says it is “taking steps to retain a closed meeting investigator” and that the Provincial Ombudsman will investigate complaints in the meantime. We did not find a date for the appointment. Source

• Unknown
  How often Council and committees meet in closed session

  The City’s meeting system (secure.toronto.ca/council) refused our automated requests with “Access Denied”, so we could not count closed sessions or the confidential items released afterwards. The City says it sets “a date for release of confidential information” in agenda documents “if it can be released”. Source

• Toronto City Council Live (City Clerk, YouTube)

  Live and recorded council and committee meetings.

• City of Toronto on YouTube

  City videos and news, linked from the footer of toronto.ca.

• City of Toronto on X

  City news and service alerts.

• City of Toronto on Facebook

  City news and events.

• City of Toronto on Instagram

  City news and events.

• City of Toronto on LinkedIn

  City news and job postings.

• All toronto.ca social media accounts

  The City’s list of its official division and service accounts.

• Mayor’s News Releases

  News releases from the Mayor’s office, searchable.

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

• Purchases labelled “Work Already Completed”

  The yearly procurement report says $46,521,004 of 2025 purchases without bidding carried this label, but the open-data list shows nothing near that. This list would show which contracts they are. Related question: Why did purchases without bidding that are labelled “Work Already Completed” grow from about $2 million to $46.5 million in one year?.

  Show the request wordingHide the wording

  I request, under the Municipal Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act: A list of every purchase, contract, purchase order or blanket contract that the City of Toronto recorded with the non-competitive reason “Work Already Completed” from January 1, 2023 to December 31, 2025, showing for each the date, division, supplier, amount, who approved it (division, Purchasing and Materials Management Division, or City Council), and the dates the work began and the purchase was approved; and any guidance given to staff on when this reason may be used. An electronic copy, such as a spreadsheet, is preferred.

  Copy the wording

• Freedom-of-information response statistics

  The City reports one percentage, from its budget notes. The yearly figures it sends the province show how many requests came in, how many were late and how many were still open. Related question: Why did fewer than half of freedom-of-information requests get answered on time in 2025?.

  Show the request wordingHide the wording

  I request, under the Municipal Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act: The City Clerk’s Office annual statistical reports to the Information and Privacy Commissioner of Ontario for 2022, 2023, 2024 and 2025; and, for each of those years, the number of FOI requests received, completed within 30 days, completed with a time extension, completed late, and still open on December 31, with the age of the oldest open request. Also any report to the City Manager or City Council about FOI response times since January 1, 2024.

  Copy the wording

• The data behind the 2025 councillor pay review

  The staff report summarizes the comparison with nine cities. The underlying table and the consultant’s advice would let residents check how the 62nd and 75th percentile figures were reached. Related question: Why did council raise councillors’ pay by about a quarter in 2025?.

  Show the request wordingHide the wording

  I request, under the Municipal Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act: For the “Review of Councillor Remuneration” (City Council item CC28.6, March 2025): the terms of reference or contract with Korn Ferry for the review; any report, memo or presentation Korn Ferry gave the City; and the table of comparison municipalities and pay figures used to calculate that Toronto councillors were at the 62nd percentile and the 75th percentile figure of $165,933.43.

  Copy the wording

• Bids received for large contract awards

  The old Bid Award Panel reports showed a summary of bids and bid prices. The City says the portals do not. These records would show whether the same information still exists. Related question: Who now checks contract awards between $500,000 and $30 million?.

  Show the request wordingHide the wording

  I request, under the Municipal Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act: For each open competitive solicitation over $500,000 awarded by the Chief Procurement Officer under the authority in effect since October 1, 2025: the solicitation number, description, the number of bids received and the price of each bid, the selected supplier, the award amount, the date of approval, and the evaluation scoring summary.

  Copy the wording

• Compliance audits of election campaigns

  The City publishes audit reports and the Committee’s decisions in its meeting system, but not what the audits and any follow-up cost. These records would show how often the process is used and at what cost.

  Show the request wordingHide the wording

  I request, under the Municipal Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act: Invoices paid by the City from January 1, 2023 to the date of this request to auditors and outside legal counsel for compliance audits of candidates’ campaigns from the 2022 municipal election and the 2023 mayoral by-election, and any report to the Compliance Audit Committee on whether legal proceedings were started and how they ended.

  Copy the wording

• What the $323 million of 2026 "temporary bridging" is made of

  The City says temporary bridging returns as a 2027 pressure. The slides name the sources but not the amount from each. Related question: How much of the 2026 budget is balanced with one-time money, and what happens in 2027?.

  Show the request wordingHide the wording

  I request, under the Municipal Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act: Records showing, for the $323 million of "Temporary Bridging" in the City of Toronto’s 2026 balancing actions (BudgetTO Budget Launch, January 8, 2026, slides 16 and 19): the amount drawn from each reserve or reserve fund, including the Budget Bridging and Balancing Reserve Fund; the amount counted from the projected 2025 year-end surplus; and the balance of each of those reserves before and after the draw.

  Copy the wording

• What the repair backlog is made of

  The budget gives the backlog by program ($10,567 million at the start of 2026) but not by asset or by year of need. Related question: Why does the City forecast its repair backlog to more than double by 2035?.

  Show the request wordingHide the wording

  I request, under the Municipal Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act: The list or database behind the state-of-good-repair backlog of $10,567 million at the start of 2026 (BudgetTO Budget Launch, January 8, 2026, slide 56), showing for each asset or asset group its program, estimated repair or replacement cost, the year it fell due, and the assumptions used for the 2035 forecast of $24,693 million.

  Copy the wording

• What hosting the FIFA World Cup actually cost

  The budget is $380 million with $178.66 million paid by the City. No final cost report has been published that we could find. Related question: Why did the cost of hosting FIFA World Cup games grow to $380 million, and what was the final bill?.

  Show the request wordingHide the wording

  I request, under the Municipal Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act: The most recent report or ledger summary of actual spending and forecast final cost to host FIFA World Cup 2026 in Toronto, by cost category; the signed contribution agreement with the Province of Ontario and amounts received from it; and the revenue received from commercial rights sales and the temporary increase to the Municipal Accommodation Tax.

  Copy the wording

• The 2025 year-end budget results

  We could not find the 2025 year-end operating and capital variance reports, which would give the final capital spending rate. Related question: Why does the City spend only about three-quarters of its capital budget each year?.

  Show the request wordingHide the wording

  I request, under the Municipal Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act: The 2025 year-end Operating Variance Report and Capital Variance Report for the City of Toronto, with all appendices and dashboards, including actual capital spending by program and agency compared with the 2025 approved capital budget.

  Copy the wording

• Closed meetings of Council and committees

  The City’s meeting system could not be read by us. A list would show how often Council and its committees go behind closed doors, for which legal reasons, and when the confidential items are later released.

  Show the request wordingHide the wording

  I request, under the Municipal Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act: A list of all closed (in camera) sessions of Toronto City Council and its standing committees from January 1, 2023 to the date of this request, showing for each the date, the body, the statutory reason given for closing the meeting, the agenda item title, and, where a confidential attachment has since been made public, the date it was released. An electronic copy, such as a spreadsheet, is preferred.

  Copy the wording

• Change orders on City capital projects

  The Auditor General reported that the real estate division could not produce a list of all its change orders. A list would let residents see which projects grow, by how much, and why. Related question: Are changes to City building and sewer contracts being checked closely enough before they are paid?.

  Show the request wordingHide the wording

  I request, under the Municipal Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act: For each capital project managed by the Corporate Real Estate Management Division with a contract value over $1 million, from January 1, 2023 to the date of this request, a list of change orders showing the project, the contractor, the date, the amount, the stated reason, and the cumulative change order total as a share of the original contract value.

  Copy the wording

• City-paid legal costs in Integrity Commissioner matters

  Council decided in 2026 to cover part of a councillor’s legal costs for an Integrity Commissioner inquiry. A total by year would show what these defences cost residents. Related question: What happens after the Integrity Commissioner finds a member of Council broke the Code of Conduct?.

  Show the request wordingHide the wording

  I request, under the Municipal Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act: The total amount paid or approved by the City of Toronto from January 1, 2019 to the date of this request for the legal expenses of members of Council in connection with Integrity Commissioner complaints, inquiries or reports, showing for each matter the year, the amount approved, the amount paid, and the Council or committee decision that authorized it. Personal information other than the member’s name can be removed.

  Copy the wording

• Status of the nine PayIt audit recommendations

  The Auditor General says the 2024 PayIt audit recommendations still need to be done. A status report would show whether they are. Related question: Who decided to remove the detailed scoring from the PayIt call for proposals, and have the 2024 audit recommendations been done?.

  Show the request wordingHide the wording

  I request, under the Municipal Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act: Any status report, work plan or briefing note since October 15, 2024, prepared by the Purchasing and Materials Management Division or the City Manager’s Office, on the City’s progress in carrying out the nine recommendations in the Auditor General’s 2024 report on the procurement and implementation of the PayIt unsolicited proposal.

  Copy the wording

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

1. Auditor General: fraud and waste hotline

   Independent auditor who reports to Council’s Audit Committee. Anyone, including staff and suppliers, can report suspected fraud, waste or wrongdoing involving City money, anonymously, by a secure online form or by email to AuditorGeneral@toronto.ca. In 2025 the hotline received 697 complaints. Service problems like potholes go to 311, not here.

2. Integrity Commissioner

   Looks into complaints that the Mayor or a Councillor broke the Code of Conduct or the Municipal Conflict of Interest Act, and advises members. Anyone can complain, in writing, using the office’s published procedures. Council decides any penalty, a reprimand or up to 90 days’ pay. Complaints cannot be filed between August 21 and October 26, 2026 because of the election.

3. Ombudsman Toronto

   Free, independent review of whether the City, its agencies and some boards treated a person fairly. Call 416-392-7062 or use the online complaint form. Try the City’s own complaint process first. It can start investigations and publish recommendations.

4. Lobbyist Registrar

   Keeps the public registry of who is lobbying City officials and about what, and looks into breaches of the lobbying by-law. Search the registry online. Confidential inquiries about a possible breach can be sent to the Registrar.

5. Closed meeting complaints

   If you think a Council or committee meeting was closed when it should have been open, you can ask for an investigation. The City says it is “taking steps to retain a closed meeting investigator” and that in the meantime the Provincial Ombudsman will investigate complaints.