The term Province of Toronto has two senses: one political, the other ecclesiastical.

Proposed province of Canada

Some politicians and urban affairs commentators have proposed that the City of Toronto, Ontario, Canada secede from the province of Ontario to become the Province of Toronto, the eleventh province of Canada. Some of the proponents of provincial status argue that Toronto's 2.5 million residents are politically and economically exploited by the rest of the province, and by the suburban Greater Toronto Area.

The provincehood movement idea has been supported at times by the late urban activist Jane Jacobs, entrepreneur Ed Mirvish, councillor Michael Walker, former councillor and current MPP for Beaches East-York Michael Prue, and former mayor John Sewell. Mel Lastman proposed creating a Province of Metro in the 1980s when he was mayor of the City of North York. North York was merged with other municipalities into the City of Toronto in 1997, and Lastman was elected mayor of the new city. He did not pursue the idea during his six years as mayor of Toronto. Tooker Gomberg, now deceased, who placed second to Lastman in the 2000 mayoral election, also favoured the idea.

The creation of a new province is unlikely because it would require a constitutional amendment supported by the House of Commons, the Senate and two-thirds of the provinces making up 50% of the population. The issue is not currently being debated seriously.

By the numbers

If the City of Toronto were to merge with the Regional Municipalities of Durham, Peel and York, it would form the third most populous province. Other than that, little would change statistically. Prince Edward Island, at 5,660 kmē, would still remain the smallest province in Canada. Ontario would, likewise, still remain the most populated province.

Political party

A Province of Toronto Party was created in 2001, and fielded candidates in the 2003 and 2006 mayoral elections.

Candidates

Paul Lewin

The party's 2003 candidate for Mayor of Toronto was Paul Lewin, a criminal lawyer who had previously campaigned for the Marijuana Party of Canada in the 2000 federal election. He argued in that election that cannabis-related charges were contributing to Canada's over-burdened court system, and said that officials "do not believe this mild intoxicant is a high priority".^[1] He supported Canada's decision to legalize medicinal marijuana in 2001, but added that the changes did not go far enough.^[2] His campaign slogan in 2003 was "Free 416", referring to Toronto's area code.^[3]

David Vallance

The 2006 candidate was David Vallance, a retired financial planner. He studied economics at the University of Toronto, was a former leader of the Bloor-Bathurst-Madison Business Association,^[4] and formed the Bloor-Annex Business Improvement Area in 1996.^[5] He has written several Letters to the Editor over the years on various matters, including reforms to employee health benefits^[6] and the state of Toronto's provincial tax burden.^[7] He was a vocal opponent of the old City of Toronto's amalgamation with neighbouring municipalities in 1997, and led the group Taxpayers Against Megacity.^[8] He campaigned for city council in the 1997 municipal election as an extension of his anti-megacity campaign, and also advocated for property tax reforms.^[9] Vallance helped create the Province of Toronto Party in 2001.^[10] In 2006, he argued that Torontonians should "take control of our own taxes and control our own destiny".^[11]

References

See also

• Provincial creationism
• Urban secession

External links

• http://www.provinceoftoronto.ca

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