Can they actually do that?
Politicians love taking credit for things they don’t control, and blaming other governments for things they do. City Hall runs some things outright, shares others, and has no direct say over plenty more. Here’s how to tell the difference, and what to ask once you have.
Council can decide this on its own.
London holds a piece. Other governments hold the rest.
Another government decides. A councillor can push, not pull.
Test the promise
“I’ll cut property taxes.”
DIRECT CONTROLThis one is genuinely council’s call. Council sets how much property-tax revenue London raises and what the budget funds.
ASK INSTEADWhat exactly are you cutting, delaying, charging for, or replacing to get there?
“I’ll fix homelessness.”
SHARED CONTROLLondon controls shelters, land, zoning, and local contracts. Queen’s Park controls health care, addiction treatment, and social-assistance rates. Ottawa provides some housing money.
ASK INSTEADWhich part is London’s job, how much would you spend on it, and what do you need from the province?
“I’ll lower rents.”
SHARED CONTROLOntario controls landlord-tenant law and rent rules. London controls zoning, planning, development charges, and some housing programs. That reaches supply, not the price tag.
ASK INSTEADWhich of the City’s housing powers would you actually use, and how?
“I’ll fix health care.”
ADVOCACY ONLYHospitals, doctors, and health-care delivery are provincial. A mayor or councillor can advocate and join local partnerships, but can’t set provincial health policy.
ASK INSTEADWhat specifically would you ask Queen’s Park for, and what can London do if they say no?
“I’ll put more police on the street.”
SHARED CONTROLCouncil approves the police board’s budget as one number, up or down. It does not direct deployment or operations. The board and the chief do.
ASK INSTEADHow much more funding would you approve, and what outcome do you expect it to buy?
“I’ll build 20,000 homes.”
SHARED CONTROLCouncil can approve, zone, and enable. City Hall cannot force private construction. Interest rates, building costs, and whether projects pencil out aren’t on the ballot.
ASK INSTEADApproved isn’t built. What’s your plan to close that gap?
Don’t let them off the hook, either
City Hall has very real control. If the call is theirs, make them own the result.
- Your property-tax bill (the levy and the budget it funds)
- What gets built next door (zoning and planning approvals)
- How often the bus comes (London Transit funding and service levels)
- Roads, sidewalks, and snow clearing
- Parks, recreation, libraries, garbage and recycling
- The size of the police budget
- Development charges, licensing, and local by-laws
The messy ones
Shared files are where the real election questions live, and where candidates can hide behind jurisdiction. Here’s exactly which piece is whose.
- CITY
- shelters, outreach contracts, land, zoning for supportive housing
- PROVINCE
- health care, addiction treatment, Ontario Works and ODSP rates
- FEDERAL
- some housing and homelessness funding
- CITY
- zoning, approvals, development charges, city land
- PROVINCE
- landlord-tenant law, planning rules, housing targets
- FEDERAL
- transfer programs and immigration-driven demand
- MARKET
- construction costs, financing, whether projects pencil out
- CITY
- policing response, some community funding, public-space management
- PROVINCE
- the health-care system that treatment lives in
- CITY
- building and maintaining it (roads, pipes, transit)
- PROVINCE
- co-funding and approval of major projects
- FEDERAL
- co-funding of major projects
Nobody controls the whole problem. That doesn’t mean nobody is accountable.
Nobody has a switch
Some of what shapes London isn’t controlled by anyone you can vote for, locally or otherwise.
- Interest rates, set by the Bank of Canada, which operates independently of the government of the day
- Construction costs and labour supply (the market)
- Housing prices and market rents (supply, demand, and financing)
- Commercial vacancies (where employers decide people work)
- U.S. tariffs and global trade, which London can only brace for
Some problems aren’t solved by one government decision. A candidate who admits that is being straight with you.
Schools. Read the fine print on your third vote
Queen’s Park sets curriculum, teacher contracts, and the funding formula. But the trustees you elect normally hold real powers too. The board’s budget, where schools open and close, hiring the Director of Education, and local policy. One 2026 exception. Thames Valley is under provincial supervision, so its trustees hold reduced power until it ends, and there’s no set end date.
THE FULL SCHOOL-BOARD STORY →Every promise gets three questions
- Is that actually your decision?
- If it is, what exactly would you change?
- If it isn’t, what are you actually promising to do?
Know whose call it is. Ask the next question. Make them earn the vote.
Sources for the split Justice Canada · division of powers ↗Municipal Act, 2001 ↗AMO · Municipal 101 ↗Ontario education ↗
Now take it to the ballot. Start with the mayor, your ward, and your school board.