Election bombshell: Burning questions

How would Toronto’s new councillor-to-citizen ratio look if it were applied to other Ontario municipalities?

If each Ontario city or town had an equal number of municipal, provincial and federal representatives, as Ford says is best for Toronto, some would have a single councillor.

These places include Waterloo, Guelph, Milton, Newmarket and Oshawa, all of which have one MP and MPP and populations exceeding 100,000.

Currently, these municipalities have a total of 47 councillors plus mayors.

Larger cities would see dramatic cuts to their city councils as well. Ottawa, with nearly one million residents, would see its 23 council seats reduced to eight. Hamilton’s half-million residents would be represented by five councillors, down from 15.

Why are there more municipal wards than federal and provincial ridings in Toronto?

Some make the argument that more councillors, and smaller wards, equals better access to government — the logic being that councillors are able to pay more attention to their constituents and are able to get problems solved more easily.

“Municipalities are not the same kind of government as federal and provincial governments,” said Alexandra Flynn, an assistant professor of human geography and city studies at the University of Toronto Scarborough. “Because we call our councillor when we have a pothole.”