The Loyalist Township Council Composition and Ward Boundary Review is now complete. The purpose of the ward boundary review was to review the existing electoral arrangements to develop an effective and equitable system of representation. Council composition, options for how Council representatives are elected, existing ward boundaries, and whether residents have equitable access to their elected representatives were reviewed under this project.

The goal of the review was to assess the current Council composition and establish a ward structure that will accommodate growth and population shifts for at least the next three municipal elections.

Currently, Loyalist Township’s Council comprises seven members, including the mayor (elected at-large), deputy mayor (elected at-large), and five councillors, elected in three wards. The current ward boundaries follow the borders of Amherst Island Township, Ernestown Township, and the Village of Bath prior to amalgamation in 1998 to form Loyalist Township. The current ward boundaries are shown below.

Ward Boundary Changes

At the May 13, 2025 meeting, Loyalist Council enacted a By-law 2025-39 to establish a new ward boundary configuration in Loyalist Township. The proposed ward configuration is show below. With the changes to the ward configuration, Loyalist Township woudivided into five wards. Council would be comprised of seven members, including the mayor (elected at-large), deputy mayor (elected at-large), and five councillors elected by Ward (one from each of the five wards). The proposed new ward boundaries are shown below.

In accordance with Section 222 of the Municipal Act, By-law 2025-39 is being appealed to the Ontario Land Tribunal (OLT) and until the appeal is withdraw or dismissed, or until the OLT makes an order affirming, amending or repealing the by-law, there are no changes to the existing Council composition or ward boundaries.

The Ontario Land Tribunal has scheduled the hearing on October 15, 2025. Review the Notice.

The hearing will be held:

AT: 10:00 AM

ON: Wednesday, October 15, 2025

AT: https://global.gotomeeting.com/join/656004293

Access code: 656-004-293

The Tribunal has set aside 3 days for this matter.

VIDEO CONFERENCING SOFTWARE

The event will be held using GoTo Meeting. The appellant, municipality or approval authority, and those persons who intend to request party or participant status, are asked to log into the video hearing through the link provided above at least 15 minutes before the start of the event to test their video and audio connections. All persons are expected to access and set-up the application well in advance of the event to avoid unnecessary delay. The desktop application can be downloaded at https://global.gotomeeting.com/install. A web application is also available at https://app.gotomeeting.com/home.html. A compatible web browser for this service is Chrome.

Persons who experience technical difficulties accessing the GoTo Meeting application or who only wish to listen to the event can connect to the event by calling into an audio-only telephone line: 1-888-299-1889 (Toll Free) or +1 (647) 497-9373.The access code is 656-004-293.

PARTY OR PARTICIPANT STATUS REQUEST:

Persons other than the appellant(s), applicant, municipality or approval authority who wish to participate in the proceeding, either as a party or as a participant, are expected to file a written status request with the Tribunal to outline their interest in the proceeding.

The Party Status Request Form and Participant Status Request and Participant Statement Form are available on the Tribunal’s website (https://olt.gov.on.ca/forms-submissions/) and are to be used to assist with the preparation of the request. If you are requesting status, this form must be provided at least 10 days before the Hearing to:

• The assigned Tribunal Case Coordinator Azeem Patel at Azeem.Patel3@ontario.ca

We are committed to providing accessible services as set out in the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act, 2005. If you have any accessibility needs, please contact our Accessibility Coordinator as soon as possible by emailing OLT.COORDINATOR@ontario.ca. If you require documents in formats other than conventional print, or if you have specific accommodation needs, please let us know so we can make arrangements in advance.

For general information concerning the Tribunal, visit our website at https://olt.gov.on.

Ward Boundary Review Video