Toronto councillors vote in a 24 per cent pay raise for themselves

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The Toronto City Council voted this week for the Toronto City Council’s salary. The motion, passed by 15 to 8, will increase the salary of lawmakers from $137,537 to $170,588, effective January 1 this year. The exchange rate is 24%, or $33,051.

Three members, including Don Gudong MP Jon Burnside, were listed as vacant votes. The National Post reached out to Burnside but was told he could not comment.

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Jennifer McKelvie is also absent, and he announced this week that she will run for Ajax’s federal Liberal Party in the April 28 general election. She has said that she will donate to the Toronto and the Regional Conservation Foundation during her time off in the city council.

Mayor Olivia Chow’s salary will not be affected by the change (she earned $225,304), and he did not vote, but opposed the measure this week. “It’s too steep,” she told reporters on Tuesday. “These are tough economic times for everyone, and it’s also uncertain because of Trump’s tariffs.”

The salary increase affecting all 25 members of the Council is estimated to cost the city less than $1 million this year, with funds coming from the city’s unplanned spending budget.

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Beaches with one of the votes with dissent – East York Councilman Brad Bradford told the National Post: “I have been working on fighting for the affordability of the City Hall. I can’t support adding more to Toronto households after Mayor Joe’s record tax increases.”

Others who object to the proposal are Alejandra Bravo (Davenport), Vincent Crisanti (Etobicoke North), Paula Fletcher (Toronto-Danforth), Stephen Holyday (Etobicoke Center), Parthi Kandavel (Scarborough Southwest), Frances Nunziata (York Southston) (York Southston) and Gord Perks (Parkdale-High-High-Park).

The salary review submitted to the Council this week indicated that the pay raise “to recognize the unique requirements of Toronto City Council members (e.g., a large number of members of each council, a larger operational and capital budget than some provinces, oversight of service delivery in Canada’s largest cities) and “considerations that take into account the economic needs faced by cities.”

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It also noted that since 2006, lawmakers have not seen a salary increase, with the then-partners paying $95,000 and the mayor’s salary at $160,000. However, these numbers have increased over time due to inflation and the increase in cost of living.

The amendment proposed by Shelley Carroll, a member of the North of the Don Valley, has slightly increased to $165,933.43, essentially divested the recent consumer price increase. This would reduce the overall cost by about $134,000, but was voted down. The National Post has contacted Carroll to comment on her amendment.

The Salary Review Report states that Toronto lawmakers make less money per component than similar cities and deal with larger operating budgets. For example, Ottawa lawmakers earn $119,517, but each member has about 60,000 components and the city budget is $4.46 billion.

Toronto lawmakers have an average of 124,000 voters, and since Ontario cuts the number of members to 25 from 47 in 2018, the city’s operating budget is also $17.1 billion, almost four times that of Ottawa.

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