Simcoe County up for review following Peel Region break up

Ford: 'Digging in heels' on Peel would be mistake Doug Ford says he doesn't feel guilty about breaking a deathbed promise to Hazel McCallion to dissolve Peel, saying she would support it.

Following the Ford government's dissolution announcement for the Region of Peel, Simcoe County could be next on the list of regions to go.

Ontario announced legislation to dissolve the Region of Peel - made up of Mississauga, Brampton, and Caledon - on Thursday, which would go into effect by 2025.

In the same legislation, the province said it would name "regional facilitators" in the coming weeks to review the relevancy of upper-tier municipalities.

That list includes Simcoe County, Durham, York, Waterloo, Halton, and Niagara.

The province said the review would determine whether individual municipalities would be viable enough to pursue a split from their respective regions or if the regional governments are still "relevant to the needs of its communities."

"The County of Simcoe has, and continues to be, a highly efficient and effective level of government, serving its residents extremely well and working co-operatively with a range of partners and multiple levels of government," said Basil Clarke, County of Simcoe Warden, in a statement. "In Simcoe County, there is simply more capacity and more value for household taxes with regional services."

The government first created the position of "provincially-appointed facilitators" in November 2022. These facilitators were meant to review the roles and responsibilities of both the regional and municipal governments in the area.