Toronto's Ward Structure

Before 1998, Toronto's local government was two-tier: Metropolitan Toronto plus six separate lower-tier municipalities, each with its own mayor and council. The province amalgamated all six into a single-tier City of Toronto effective January 1, 1998. The first amalgamated council initially kept the old Metro ward map but elected two councillors per ward, producing roughly 57 council seats. In 2000, a new 44-ward map replaced it, giving one councillor per ward.

The 2018 cut and court fight

A 2014–2017 city-led ward boundary review proposed expanding to 47 wards to keep pace with population growth ahead of the 2018 election. Mid-campaign, the newly elected provincial government passed Bill 5, the Better Local Government Act, cutting council to 25 wards aligned with provincial and federal electoral boundaries. In September 2018, an Ontario Superior Court judge ruled the mid-election change unconstitutional; the province responded by announcing it would invoke the notwithstanding clause and simultaneously appealed. In September 2019, the Ontario Court of Appeal reversed the lower court, upholding the 25-ward cut. That map has governed Toronto since the 2018 election.

Sources

• Maclean's — Why the Court Ruled Against Doug Ford's Attempt to Slash Toronto City Council