District Council opposes plan to have Province appoint District Chair

Ontario has outlined a plan to appoint the chair with "super-powers" to several District governments in the province

District of Muskoka Council agreed to seek an exemption from a provincial plan to appoint a District Chair in the April 20, 2026, meeting.

The exemption request responds to Ontario's proposed Better Regional Governance Act, which would give the province the authority to appoint Chairs in several regions, including Muskoka. Council's resolution asks that Muskoka be excluded from those provisions so it can continue selecting its own Chair locally.

In supporting its position, the District pointed to Muskoka's unique characteristics as a largely rural and northern region. Spanning a wide geographic area of lakes, forests, and small communities, the District said its mix of areas creates different service delivery challenges compared to more urban municipalities included in the legislation.

The request also noted that while the province has set aggressive housing targets, Muskoka is already contributing to those goals, including sustained levels of new home construction, increased affordable housing approvals, and major infrastructure investments, including a demand-based transit system and a joint $100 million water and wastewater expansion project in Huntsville.

At the same time, the District emphasized that Muskoka does not face the same scale of growth pressures as more densely populated regions. Lower population density, environmental constraints tied to Canadian Shield geography, and higher servicing costs all limit the pace and scale of development.

The resolution also stressed the importance of protecting the region's natural environment, particularly its watershed, which supports both the local economy and quality of life.

The resolution further states that Muskoka's current governance model has been effective, noting relatively low tax increases and the need for coordinated responses to challenges such as extreme weather events.

It also emphasized that the role of District Chair requires close collaboration with lower-tier municipalities and local partners and is best filled by someone directly accountable to District Council and responsive to local conditions.

In addition to requesting exemption, the District committed to continuing progress on provincial priorities, including improving development approval timelines and undertaking a broader governance review through 2030.

Councillors emphasized the uniqueness of Muskoka, and the importance of the Chair having “intimate knowledge for our environment and economy,” along with accountability to the Councillors who were chosen by the constituents, which they believed the District is doing a good job of.

Councillor, Peter Johnston said, “It’s about whether Muskoka can govern itself in a way that works here,” which they are doing. He added, “Why impose a governance model for somewhere else?”

“Muskoka is delivering. Muskoka is different,” he continued.

Councillor, Mike Peppard, expressed, “I think this whole effort to replace democracy is a very poor decision on the part of the province. I think it’s a degradation of democracy in our province, regardless of whether or not we’re unique from the other regions they’re doing this to.”

The resolution will be forwarded to the province as part of Muskoka's formal response to the proposed legislation.