Toronto (City) v Ontario (Attorney General), 2021 SCC 34, is a landmark[2][3] decision of the Supreme Court of Canada on freedom of expression and unwritten constitutional principles.

By a 5–4 majority, the court held that the Government of Ontario's decision to reduce the size of the Toronto City Council in the middle of 2018 municipal election campaign did not violate either section 2(b) of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms or the unwritten principle of democracy.

In the Ontario general election held on June 7, 2018, Doug Ford's Progressive Conservative Party transitioned from being the official opposition to forming a majority government.

[8] A number of challenges to the ward boundary bylaw were made to the Ontario Municipal Board, as provided under section 124(8) of the City of Toronto Act.

[c 1][c 2][c 3] In the Ontario general election held on June 7, 2018, Doug Ford's Progressive Conservative Party transitioned from being the official opposition to forming a majority government.

[9] Subsequently, on July 30, 2018, the Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing Steve Clark, introduced the Better Local Government Act, 2018 to the Legislative Assembly of Ontario.

[c 5] The City of Toronto, along with several candidates in the municipal election, filed a challenge against the constitutionality of the provisions of Better Local Government Act before the Ontario Superior Court of Justice.

On September 9, 2018, Justice Edward P. Belobaba delivered a decision in which the court determined that the provisions of the Better Local Government Act, which reduced the number of wards from 47 to 25, were in violation of section 2(b) of the Charter.

[c 10] Then, on September 19, 2019, the Court of Appeal for Ontario, in a 3–2 decision,[13] ruled that the Ford government was within its rights to reduce the size of the Toronto city council.

[c 11] Justice Bradley W. Miller's majority judgment concluded that the provisions reducing the number of wards during the election, as provided in the Better Local Government Act, did not contravene section 2(b) of the Charter.

They held that the Better Local Government Act, due to its implementation during the election, disrupted the electoral process and consequently interfered with the rights of both candidates and voters under section 2(b) of the Charter.

[20][c 13] On October 1, 2021, by a 5–4 majority, the Supreme Court of Canada held that Ontario was permitted to reduce the size of Toronto City Council during the 2018 municipal election.