Government

The Greater Toronto Area is currently represented by 47 Members of Parliament in the Canadian House of Commons. Forty six Members of Provincial Parliament also represent the GTA in the Ontario Legislature. Five Senators from Ontario have also designated themselves as representatives of certain areas in the GTA in the Canadian Senate.

Federal politics

Federally, the Conservatives, Liberals, and the New Democrats all hold several electoral districts in the GTA. The City of Toronto has often been supportive of the Liberal Party. Traditionally, Liberal support is strongest in Downtown Toronto, while Conservative support is stronger in the surrounding communities outside Toronto. The NDP also has a strong base within the GTA.

From 1993 to 2004, a centre-right party failed to win a single seat in the former Metro Toronto. In the 2011 election, this trend turned around completely, where the political leanings of Toronto began to shift to mirror the surround communities that had been more likely to lean towards the Conservative party in their voting patterns.

The election of 2011 indicated that Liberal support, based on votes in the GTA, had collapsed from 43.7% to 19.8%, giving the Liberals only 14.9% of the local seats in the House of Commons. However, the support of the Conservatives and NDP increased accordingly, with the Conservatives increasing their vote share from 31.5% to 48.7% (and capturing 68.1% of the GTA seats) and the NDP increasing from 14.6% to 30.2% of the vote and 17% of the local Federal ridings.

Federal Elections in the GTA 2000 2004 2006 2008 2011      Liberal Seats: 44 40 36 32 7      Vote: 57.4 51.3 47.3 43.7 19.8      Conservative Seats: - 6 8 13 32      Vote: - 27.8 31.7 31.5 48.7      New Democrat Seats: 0 1 3 2 8      Vote: 7.2 15.4 16 14.6 30.2      Green Seats: 0 0 0 0 0      Vote: 0.8 4.2 4.5 7.1      Canadian Alliance Seats: 0 - - - -      Vote: 19.2 - - - -      Progressive Conservatives Seats: 0 - - - -      Vote: 14.3 - - - - Total seats: - - 44 47 47 47 47 Provincial politics

On the provincial level of government, the Conservatives, Liberals, and the New Democrats all hold electoral districts in the GTA. McGuinty's Ontario Liberal Party has enjoyed strong support from the region in the past three elections, with the Liberals currently holding 33 of the 44 available seats in the GTA. The Progressive Conservative Party of Ontario has not been elected in a Toronto riding since 1999. The surrounding municipalities of Toronto however have in the past supported the Progressive Conservative party, with the election of Harris's government in the 1990s' largely attributed to his support base in the suburban "905" region. During his time in office, many provincial services were transferred to the municipal governments, which caused great financial strain on Toronto.

Municipal Politics

Currently 244 politicians govern the Greater Toronto Area below the provincial and federal levels, holding offices in cities, towns, and regional municipalities. Unusual for a large North American urban agglomeration, the GTA has very few agencies with powers that can cross boundaries. Attempts to create an interregional organization have been made, such as the Province of Ontario's Office of the Greater Toronto Area (OGTA) in 1988 and the Greater Toronto Services Board (GTSB) in 1998, but have failed due to a lack of real authority in these agencies.

Consequently there are few interregional public authorities: Metrolinx, an agency of the provincial government, manages the GTA-wide GO Transit system, while the Toronto and Region Conservation Authority, manages watersheds and natural areas. Notably, there is no organization with broad powers as in other Canadian cities, such as the Communauté métropolitaine de Montréal, and Metro Vancouver.