Thunder Bay council composition committee readies proposals

Thunder Bay, Ont., residents will have their say in the future of the structure of city council this fall.

The Council Composition Review Committee has settled on two options, both of which will be brought forward for public consultation in the coming months. A final decision has not been made.

One option, which is being recommended by city administration, would see the size of council reduced to 11, including the mayor. The system would remain a hybrid: four wards, with two councillors elected to each ward, and two at-large councillors.

The four proposed new wards would break down as follows:

• Ward 1 would cover the northern end of Thunder Bay, bordered by city limits in the north and Dawson Road, shorter stretches of Red River Road and Junot Avenue, and River Street in the south.
• Ward 2, which would run from the Ward 1 border south to Oliver Road/John Street.
• Ward 3 would run from Oliver Road/John Street south to Arthur Street.
• Ward 4, which would stretch from Arthur Street south to city limits, and include Chippewa Park.

In a presentation at Tuesday's committee meeting, city clerk Krista Power said the proposed new ward boundaries were designed to have similar populations, and a mix of rural, urban, industrial and waterfront areas.

Rebecca Johnson, committee chair and former city councillor, called the first option "quite exciting."

"I think it answers what people wanted in the community through the first consultation," she said. "There's some flexibility here.

"I really like the fact that each ward — one, two, three, four — would represent ... the waterfront, the commercial, industrial, and the rural area, so that every councillor that's elected has a bit of each component of this community. I think that's really, really important.

"The other thing is it will balance the the population and the diversity of our communities," Johnson said. "If we're looking at what we need, I think that that addresses it. I like that component of balance."

The second option is an all at-large system, with 10 councillors and a mayor.

Currently, there are 13 members of Thunder Bay city council. One mayor, five at-large councillors and seven ward councillors — the model has been in place since 1985.

The councillor positions would remain part time, as they are with the current system, with only the mayor being full time.

Johnson said public consultations are expected to begin in October, and will include an online survey and information sessions throughout the community.

The committee will use that feedback to narrow its options down to one, which they'll recommend to city council in February. If council approves a new composition model, the goal is to have it in place in time for the next municipal election, which is scheduled for October 2026.

"It will be up to the community now to find out what, and how they would like to have themselves governed," Johnson said. "Maybe they don't like either of those. And then if they don't, then what are the other suggestions that they have? I would hope that people would at least start talking about it."