The Ontario government has appointed the heads of council for eight upper-tier municipalities, handing them enhanced governance powers as part of the province’s ongoing push to accelerate housing construction and infrastructure development.
On Tuesday, the Ford government announced appointments for regional chair positions in Durham, Halton, Niagara, Peel, Waterloo and York regions, as well as Muskoka and Simcoe County.
The appointments come as the province expands so-called “strong mayor” powers beyond municipalities led by elected mayors, giving the appointed regional chairs greater authority over budgets, staffing and certain municipal decision-making processes.
Appointed regional chairs
Among the most prominent appointments is Steven Del Duca, the current mayor of Vaughan and former leader of the Ontario Liberal Party, who will serve as York Region chair. Del Duca previously represented Vaughan at Queen’s Park from 2012 to 2018 and served as minister of transportation and minister of economic development and growth.
In Peel Region, the province re-appointed Nando Iannicca, who has served as regional chair since 2018 following three decades as a Mississauga and Peel councillor.
Kevin Ashe, mayor of Pickering since 2022, was appointed chair of Durham Region. Before becoming mayor, Ashe spent nearly two decades serving as a city and regional councillor and was also a trustee with the Durham Catholic District School Board (DCDSB).
The province named Frank Campion, mayor of Welland since 2014, as chair of Niagara Region. Campion also operates Campion Marketing Services Limited and has previously taught as an adjunct professor at Niagara College.
For Waterloo, Scott Davey, a Kitchener councillor since 2010 and current chair of the city’s finance and corporate services committee, was selected as regional chair. Prior to entering municipal politics, he worked in the finance and technology sectors.
In Halton, Ann Mulvale was tapped for the chair position. Mulvale previously served six terms as mayor of Oakville and twice led the Association of Municipalities of Ontario. She has also held board positions with the Ontario Municipal Employees’ Retirement System and currently serves as a director with the Clean Water Centre and Waterfront Regeneration Trust.
The government appointed Don McIsaac, the mayor of Orillia since 2022, as Simcoe County chair. Before entering politics, McIsaac served as executive vice-president and chief financial officer of aircraft manufacturer Cirrus Aircraft.
Meanwhile, Scott Aitchison, the Conservative MP for Parry Sound-Muskoka since 2019 and former mayor of Huntsville, was named chair of Muskoka. The province said Aitchison intends to resign his seat in the House of Commons by the end of November 2026 and will assume the chair position on Dec. 1, 2026.
New powers for regional leaders
The eight appointments are significant because the regional chairs will be granted powers similar to those available to strong-mayor municipalities across Ontario.
Those powers generally include enhanced authority over the preparation of municipal budgets, the appointment and dismissal of certain senior municipal staff, committee structures and the ability to advance provincial priorities such as housing and infrastructure projects.
The Ford government has steadily expanded strong mayor powers since first introducing them in Toronto and Ottawa in 2022, arguing the measures help municipalities deliver housing targets more efficiently. Critics, including some municipal leaders and governance advocates, have argued the powers concentrate too much authority in a single elected or appointed official.
The eight regional chairs will now lead upper-tier governments responsible for services such as regional roads, water and wastewater systems, public health, long-term care, policing oversight and regional land-use planning across some of Ontario’s fastest-growing communities.
The appointments come despite opposition from the Association of Municipalities of Ontario (AMO), which urged the province to abandon its plan to appoint regional chairs and instead have them elected by voters or selected by local councils.
In a June 2026 letter to Municipal Affairs and Housing Minister Rob Flack, AMO argued that municipal leaders should be directly accountable to the communities they serve and warned that provincially appointed regional chairs with “strong chair” powers could weaken local democracy.
The AMO said municipalities had not requested either appointed regional chairs or expanded strong-chair authorities, and contended that concentrating decision-making power in provincial appointees risks undermining accountability to voters.
AMO also raised concerns that appointed chairs will be able to exercise powers similar to strong-mayor authorities, including advancing bylaws with support from only a portion of council and overseeing senior administrative appointments. The municipal advocacy group argued those powers should be wielded by leaders with a direct electoral mandate from residents.
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