TORONTO — Ontario Premier Doug Ford appears to be leaving the door open to possible amalgamations in the Niagara Region, despite not meeting his previously stated threshold for moving forward.

Niagara’s now-former regional chair Bob Gale, appointed by the Ford government, caused a stir last month with a proposal to consider amalgamations as a solution to what he called high tax increases and too many elected officials.

Ford said at the time that he would respect whatever the majority of Niagara mayors decided, and eight of the 12 mayors sent him a letter backing certain governance reforms but not amalgamations.

Gale also shied away from amalgamations after facing local opposition but he resigned a short time later after being accused of owning an autographed copy of Adolf Hitler’s manifesto.

Ford says today he is still keen on the idea of amalgamations, saying that while the majority of mayors did not agree, “it’s like asking the turkeys to vote for Thanksgiving.”

He says his government is going to move forward with reviewing governance in the Niagara Region because he believes there are too many politicians.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published March 17, 2026.

Allison Jones, The Canadian Press