Regulations under this Act:
O. Reg. 180/03 ivision of Ontario into Geographic Areas
The Act provides for the Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing to divide the Province into geographic areas and establish the boundaries of and name those areas. The regulations of the Act divide the Province into counties and districts and urban, municipal and regional areas.
The boundaries of Ontario municipalities and districts are described as follows:
Upper Tier – a municipality of which two or more lower tier municipalities form part for municipal purposes. Municipal responsibilities are split between the upper and lower tier municipalities.
Lower Tier – a municipality that forms part of an upper tier municipality for municipal purposes. Municipal responsibilities are split between the upper tier and lower tier municipalities.
Single Tier – a municipality that does not form part of an upper tier municipality for municipal purposes and assumes all legislated municipal responsibilities.
District – a geographic area in northern Ontario, composed of municipalities, geographic townships and unsurveyed territory.
The Act details the limitations and/or exception to the boundaries of municipalities or townships lying on and extending into lakes, bays and rivers. In cases where the boundaries of areas lying on a river or lake form part of the boundary of Ontario, the boundary of the municipality or township extend out to the established provincial boundary that is, for the most part, in the midpoint of the lake or middle of the main channel of a river.
Similarly, in cases where the boundaries of municipalities or townships include a lake, bay or river, the boundary shall extend out to the midpoint of the lake or bay or middle of a river to abut the boundary of another municipality or township. In all cases, islands located within these prolonged boundaries form part of the municipality or township unless the island itself is an autonomous municipality or township.