Under Ontario’s Municipal Act, the Mayor or a majority of councillors can call a special council meeting. It’s normally 24-hours notice, but the notice period varies by municipality. Special meetings usually happen for labour or contracting issues.
Given though how controversial the decision could be, I’d have been surprised if they’d want to open that can of worms. Digging deeper though, the mayor has already been acclaimed (no opponent) and council uses an at-large system, so perhaps it would be a lot easier to pass than it would be in many municipalities. It’s going to happen sooner or later. Kenora is very much cottage country. The population doubles in the summer, with most of the extra people coming from Manitoba, many of which own property in the city, and can vote. I suspect the Township of Sioux Narrows would be similar. While the rest of the half-dozen or so municipalities are mostly mining towns. I’d expect the vast ungoverned areas near the City of Kenora would follow Kenora ad-hoc. And who knows what the 40 or so First Nations in Kenora District would do. What a mess (but no rush – they’ve got 6 whole weeks! 😊 ) Nick From: Tim Parenti <[email protected]> Sent: September 22, 2026 4:41 PM To: [email protected] Cc: [email protected] Subject: Re: [tz] Northwestern Ontario time zone (currently CST/CDT) On Tue, 22 Sept 2026 at 15:58, via tz <[email protected] <mailto:[email protected]> > wrote: The article notes that the MPP is actively updating Premier Doug Ford and the Attorney General, as communities only have six weeks to reach a decision. (!) Additionally it states "Some communities have already posted public surveys on their municipal websites to see what their community thinks is best come November 1." These engagements would likely need to be short and sharp, in contrast to Manitoba's summer-long survey period. In particular, I see the City of Kenora has a community survey up through 30 September in which it is very clear it "is intended to inform a decision affecting the Kenora area and is not intended to represent all Northwestern Ontario communities." Unfortunately, just a few days before Manitoba's announcement, Kenora already had its last scheduled Council meeting ahead of Ontario's municipal elections on 26 October. The next meeting, the inaugural meeting of the new Council, is not slated until 1 December, so it's somewhat less clear how, when, and to what extent such a decision might be formalized by local officials. -- Tim Parenti
