Ward Boundaries | City of Pickering

On January 27, 2025, City Council directed staff to reconsider the findings of the Ward Boundary Review conducted in June 2021 based on available and updated population data, and to make recommendations on any appropriate adjustments to the ward boundaries set out in By-law 7875/21.

City Council considered this matter at a Special Meeting of Council on July 15, 2025 and passed By-law 8196/25 to change the ward boundaries in the City of Pickering.

Ward Boundary By-law 8196/25 is under appeal

Ward Boundary By-law 8196/25 has been appealed to the Ontario Land Tribunal.

For more information regarding the status of the appeal, you may check the Case Status below.

Case Status

Notice of Passing of By-law 8196/25 to Change the Ward Boundaries in the City of Pickering

Take Notice that the Council of The Corporation of the City of Pickering passed By-law Number 8196/25 on July 15, 2025 pursuant to Section 222 of the Municipal Act, 2001 (the “Act”), to change the boundaries of the three (3) wards in the City of Pickering. The changes to the wards will come into place for the 2026 Municipal Election.

And Take Notice that under subsection 222(4) of the Act, any person or agency may may appeal to the Ontario Land Tribunal (OLT) in respect to the decision by filing a Notice of Appeal, no later than 4:30 pm on August 29, 2025. The filing of an appeal after 4:30 pm will be deemed to have been received the next business day.

A Notice of Appeal can be filed using the OLT e-File Service, along with any applicable appeal fees, by visiting olt.gov.on.ca/e-file-service/.

In the event the OLT e-File portal is not available, a Notice of Appeal may be submitted to:

Susan Cassel
City Clerk, City of Pickering
One The Esplanade
Pickering, ON L1V 6K7
clerks@pickering.ca

Please note that the Notice of Appeal must:

be on the prescribed form as provided by the OLT;
set out the objection to the by-law and the reasons in support of the objection; and,
be accompanied by the fees required by the OLT. If paying by certified cheque or money order, it must be payable to the “Minister of Finance, Province of Ontario”.

Further information regarding this matter may be obtained by contacting the City Clerk’s Office at 905.420.4611, or clerks@pickering.ca.

For more information on the ward boundary review and the new ward boundaries visit pickering.ca/wardboundaries.

Dated at the City of Pickering this 23^rd day of July, 2025.

Susan Cassel
City Clerk, City of Pickering
One The Esplanade
Pickering, ON L1V 6K7

Public Engagement Opportunities

Pickering Residents were asked to provide their input by completing a public consultation survey. The deadline to complete the survey was May 25, 2025.

The City of Pickering held the following Public Engagement Sessions to receive public input:

Public Engagement Session #1
Date: Thursday, May 1, 2025
Time: 6:00 p.m. - 8:00 p.m.
Location: Chestnut Hill Developments Recreation Complex - Lobby (1867 Valley Farm Road Pickering, ON L1V 3Y7)

Public Engagement Session #2
Date: Wednesday, May 14, 2025
Time: 6:00 p.m. - 8:00 p.m.
Location: Dr. Nelson F. Tomlinson Community Centre - Lions Meeting Room (4941 Old Brock Road, Claremont, ON L1Y 1A9)

In case you could not attend one of the sessions, you can still review the information deck presented at the Public Engagement Sessions below.

Public Engagement Session - Information Deck

What is a Ward Boundary Review?

A Ward Boundary Review (WBR) is a task conducted on behalf of a municipality to assess whether the present wards constitute an effective and equitable system of representation and, if not, to propose alternatives. Pickering’s system of representation consists of a seven-member Council, composed of a Mayor and six Councillors, two representing each of the three wards, one a Regional Councillor and one a City Councillor.

What is the purpose of this review?

On August 30, 2021, Council adopted new ward boundaries which are set out in By-law 7875/21. By-law 7875/21 was appealed to the Ontario Land Tribunal (OLT) and although the appeal was withdrawn, the deadline for the new ward boundaries to take effect for the 2022 Municipal Election was not met in accordance with the requirements under the Municipal Act. The new ward boundaries set out in By-law 7875/21 are to take effect for the 2026 Municipal Election unless otherwise amended by the prescribed timelines set out in the Municipal Act.

The purpose of the current ward boundary review is to determine whether the new 2026 boundaries are still relevant given that several years have passed since the prior Review was conducted and population growth patterns and projections that were used in the Consultant’s 2021 report may have changed.

Video Animation

Watch our video animation to learn more about the 2025 Ward Boundary Review process.

Interactive Ward Map

Find your ward by entering your address.

2025 Ward Boundary Review: Re-evaluation Report

This report was considered by Council at the July 15, 2025 Special Meeting of Council.

2021 Ward Boundary Review: Background Information

Reports to Council

Memorandum: Ward Boundary Petition (Related to CLK 03-21)

Date: August 30, 2021

Report Number: CLK 03-21

Date: June 7, 2021

Report Number: CLK 01-21
Date: January 4, 2021

Report Number: CLK 01-20
Date: July 27, 2020

Report Number: CLK 05-19
Date: December 2, 2019

Discussion Paper/Interim & Final Reports

Pickering 2020 Ward Boundary Review - Final Report [PDF]

Pickering 2020 Ward Boundary Review - Interim Report [PDF]

Pickering 2020 Ward Boundary Review Discussion Paper [PDF]

Frequently Asked Questions

What is a Ward?

A ward is a geographical division of a city or town for administrative or political purposes.

What does the Ward Boundary Review mean for me?

Pickering’s Council makes important decisions about the City that impact your daily life. The City is responsible for Fire Services, Community Centres, an Official Plan for land uses within the City, standards for property maintenance, the maintenance of playgrounds, boulevards and green space plus much more.

A successful ward system should ensure that all areas of the municipality are represented in such a way that your voice and needs are reflected fairly and accurately in council decision making on these and other important topics.

Why did Pickering conduct a Ward Boundary Review in 2021?

The City of Pickering was established under provincial legislation at the beginning of 1974. Prior to the 2021 Review, the ward boundaries had not been modified since 1982 with one minor exception that adjusted the boundaries in 2005.

Despite being familiar to many Pickering residents, the wards themselves should be seen as temporary, not permanent. Wards normally have a limited lifespan since they are designed to capture the distribution of population at a given time. When that population distribution changes, the wards should change, meaning that the collections of identifiable neighbourhoods and communities within the City should be regrouped to achieve a more equitable ward system.

When Pickering was created, the population was less than 40,000; in 2020 it was approximately 92,000 and is estimated to grow by a further 40,000 – 50,000 by 2030, primarily in the present Ward 3.

What was considered in the 2021 Ward Boundary Review?

The objective of the WBR was to ensure that residents benefit from an effective and equitable system of representation.

The WBR began by evaluating the suitability of the 2021 wards using the guiding principles established in the Terms of Reference for Pickering’s Ward Boundary Review and applying the principles to all proposed alternatives.

Terms of Reference

1. Representation by Population

2. Protection of Communities of Interest

3. Current and Future Population Trends

4. Physical Features as Natural Boundaries

5. Effective Representation

What is Effective Representation?

The concept of “effective representation” has become an integral part of the evaluation of electoral systems in Canada.

To help ensure that a municipal council effectively represents the population of the community within the limits imposed by the social and natural environment, it is important to make voter parity (“representation by population”) a priority but also to consider other important factors, including geography, community history, community interests and minority representation. According to the Supreme Court of Canada, all these factors contribute to meaningful on-going representation which is captured in the overriding principle of effective representation. When a Councillor casts a vote around the council table, each one should be reflecting roughly the same number of the City’s residents.

Who conducted the 2021 Pickering Ward Boundary Review?

The City retained Watson & Associates Economists Ltd. and Dr. Robert Williams to conduct a comprehensive and independent WBR through a process established by Council (see CLK 05-19.)

For the current Review, the City has once again retained Watson & Associates Economists Ltd.