Municipal affairs
Ford believes that the constitution does not prevent provincial governments from changing the size of municipal councils, even after an election campaign has already begun. After his government's legislation to reduce the number of wards represented at Toronto City Council was ruled unconstitutional, Ford pledged to invoke section 33's notwithstanding clause of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms which would allow him to bypass the Charter and implement the legislation regardless of the court's ruling. The Ontario Court of Appeal later ruled in Ford's favour and allowed his modification to the council. The matter was further appealed by the City of Toronto and is now under consideration by the Supreme Court.
Ford is a proponent of subways. He believed that the provincial government should assume control over the Toronto subway. In February 2020, Ford and Toronto Mayor John Tory signed a preliminary agreement which would see the province assume "sole responsibility for the planning, design and construction" for Ontario Line, the three-stop Line 2 subway extension into Scarborough, the Yonge North subway extension and the Eglinton Crosstown west extension. In 2020, construction began on the Hurontario LRT line in Mississauga and Brampton, with all of the subway projects beginning procurement or construction by June 2024. Ford has been criticized for refusing to conduct a public inquiry into the delayed Line 5 Eglinton, which opened in 2026.
In 2019, the government announced that it would adjust the cost-sharing arrangement for Toronto Public Health and Toronto Paramedic Services resulting in retroactive cuts that would total $177 million a year and $1 billion cut in Toronto over 10 years. The cuts were criticized by City officials including Medical Officer of Health Eileen de Villa, Health board chair Joe Cressy, and Mayor John Tory. The City projected that the additional financial pressure resulting from would result in further cuts to municipal services or increased taxes. Amidst backlash, Ford announced that the province would keep the cost-sharing arrangement and re-evaluate it at the end of the fiscal year.
In September 2022, Ford's government passed the Strong Mayors, Building Homes Act that grants extra powers to the mayor of Toronto and the mayor of Ottawa within their mayor–council governments. The Act grants the mayors of Toronto and Ottawa direct control over the drafting of city budgets; the appointments and dismissals of their city managers and department leaders (except police chiefs, fire chiefs, or auditors general); vetoes over laws that may conflict with provincial priorities (which may be overturned if a supermajority of two-thirds of city councillors voted to do so); and the creation and reorganisation of municipal administrative departments.
Before Ford was first elected in 2018, a video emerged of him informing developers that he would "open up a big chunk of the Greenbelt" if elected. After a public outcry, Ford said he would replace any removed land and that his goal was to increase supply to reduce housing costs. Pre-election, Ford also pledged not to remove rent control, stating, "I have listened to the people, and I won't take rent control away from anyone. Period. When it comes to rent control, we're going to maintain the status quo." After taking office, rent control for all newly built or newly converted rental units was removed to "encourage builders to build purpose-driven rental apartments." After re-election in 2022, and amidst a worsening housing and affordability crisis, Ford became embroiled in controversy over properties released from Greenbelt protection. One developer had purchased property shortly before the decision was made. A total of 7,400 acres of Greenbelt land was removed, while 9,400 acres of land was added "which have lesser conservation value and were already protected from development through other measures."
Ford has disagreed with criticism regarding his friendships with developers, saying, "no one can influence the Fords". Specifically, he called questions about the optics of developers attending his daughter's pre-wedding party in August 2022, "ridiculous". Ford sought clearance for the event from the Integrity Commissioner in January 2023. In February 2023, the Ontario Provincial Police anti-rackets branch were still looking into complaints about his government's decision to open up a portion of the Greenbelt for development. The OPP asked the RCMP to take over the file in August 2023, in order to avoid any perceived conflict of interest.
On August 9, 2023, the Auditor General released a report on the Greenbelt swap-out which found the government's flawed process had favoured certain developers who stood to earn over $8 billion. The AG also confirmed that alterations to the Greenbelt were not necessary to reach Ontario's housing target and that Housing Minister Steve Clark's chief of staff "failed to consider environmental, agricultural and financial risks and impacts". Calls from the opposition for Clark to resign were resisted by Ford and Clark himself, but Clark's chief of staff stepped down. At the end of August, Ontario's Integrity Commissioner found Clark had broken ethics rules, and on September 4, Clark tendered his resignation and was replaced by Paul Calandra. The following day, Ford reiterated he would follow 14 of the Auditor General's 15 recommendations but would proceed with allowing the construction of affordable homes under $500,000 for "newcomers and young people" on the Greenbelt. He also stated more applications to remove land from the Greenbelt would be reviewed. He did not answer a reporter's question about reinstating rent control, nor did he comment on calls from First Nation Chiefs across Ontario to return traditional territories to the Greenbelt.
On September 20, another minister from Ford's cabinet, Kaleed Rasheed, resigned over his relationship with a developer involved in the Greenbelt land swap. The next day, Ford announced that after continuous backlash from constituents and two reports regarding the flawed process of opening the Greenbelt he would reverse his decision to open the Greenbelt to development. He apologized to the people of Ontario and promised to encourage building within urban boundaries.
On October 10, the RCMP announced it was opening a criminal investigation into the allegations around developer favouritism in the Greenbelt land swap process used by the province of Ontario.
On October 16, Minister Calandra tabled a bill that would restore the Greenbelt lands removed in 2022 and that any future changes to the Greenbelt would have to go through the legislature.
In August 2023, the Toronto Star filed for an FOI to Ontario's Integrity Commissioner to make the emails of Ryan Amato, Steve Clark's former Chief of Staff, available to the public. In April 2025, the Integrity Commissioner ruled in favour of the Toronto Star's request. Due to the ruling, Amato has until June 11, 2025, to provide his emails or an affidavit attesting no such emails exist.
In September 2024, it was reported that the Ford government was working on legislation to restrict the construction of new bike lanes that would require the removal of lanes for motor vehicles. While speaking with reporters, he stated his belief that bike lanes increased congestion and emergency vehicle times (though the City of Toronto has disputed that claim), and that they should be built on side streets rather than major arterial roads. In October 15, Ford announced that any such lanes would require provincial approval to be built, and that municipalities would need to demonstrate that the lanes would not have a "negative impact on vehicle traffic". He also announced that he would remove bike lanes from some arterial streets, such as Bloor Street, Yonge Street, and University Avenue in Toronto.
This bill, named the Reducing Gridlock, Saving you Time Act also shielded the government from any lawsuits related to cyclist deaths, and passed on November 25, 2024. When Toronto bureaucrats estimated that the removal of the bike lanes would cost approximately $48 million, Ford called their estimate "hogwash" and reiterated his claims that the bike lanes were responsible for traffic congestion. A court challenge was launched on December 11 to stop the removal of the Toronto bike lanes. In July 2025, an Ontario court ruled that removing Toronto bike lanes was unconstitutional; the government appealed the decision, and in August 2026, the Ontario appeals court ruled that there is no constitutional obligation to regulate the use of roads in any particular manner, allowing Ford's government to remove Toronto bike lanes.