ONTARIO'S BIG CITY MAYORS

What ONTARIO'S BIG CITY MAYORS does

Ontario's Big City Mayors (OBCM) is a non-partisan municipal caucus founded in 2014 and rebranded to its current name in 2023 (formerly the Large Urban Mayors' Caucus of Ontario). It represents mayors of 29 single and lower-tier Ontario cities with populations of 100,000 or more, collectively covering nearly 70% of Ontario's population. Major member cities include Toronto, Ottawa, Hamilton, London, Mississauga, Brampton, and Burlington. The organization is headquartered at a Mississauga mailing address (6-2400 Dundas St W) and is led by Executive Director Michelle Baker, with Chair Marianne Meed Ward (Burlington) and Vice-Chair Alex Nuttall (Barrie).

OBCM's core activity is policy development and advocacy on municipal priorities including housing affordability, homelessness and mental health, infrastructure investment, municipal fiscal sustainability, and public safety. It engages in regular caucus meetings, an Annual General Meeting, direct meetings with provincial and federal ministers at Queen's Park and Ottawa, and runs the Solve the Crisis campaign (launched August 2024, solvethecrisis.ca) addressing homelessness, mental health, and addictions across Ontario municipalities. OBCM maintains strategic partnerships with the Association of Municipalities of Ontario (AMO), Mayors and Regional Chairs of Ontario (MARCO), the Federation of Canadian Municipalities (FCM), the Canadian Mental Health Association Ontario Division, the Ontario BIA Association (OBIAA), and The PLACE Centre at Smart Prosperity Institute.

OBCM operates as a non-profit advocacy organization with no commercial revenue, no products or technology platform, and no disclosed financial figures. It is funded through annual membership dues from its 29 member municipalities and provides advocacy services free of charge. The governance structure consists of an elected Executive Committee (Chair, Vice-Chair, Past-Chair, Treasurer, Secretary) serving two-year terms. Recent activity through 2026 includes formal statements on the Development Charge Reduction Program, the passage of Bill 9 (Municipal Accountability Act, 2026), and ongoing Queen's Park advocacy days.

Name

ONTARIO'S BIG CITY MAYORS

Legal name

Ontario's Big City Mayors (OBCM)

Website

https://ontariobigcitymayors.ca

Company type

Private

Founded year

2014

Operating status

Operating

Short description

Ontario's Big City Mayors (OBCM) is a non-partisan municipal caucus representing mayors of 29 Ontario cities with populations of 100,000 or more, collectively covering nearly 70% of the province's population through policy advocacy, caucus meetings, and the Solve the Crisis campaign.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Municipal Advocacy Services

NAICS

Executive and Legislative Offices, Combined (92114), Executive Offices (92111), Administration of Housing Programs, Urban Planning, and Community Development (9251)

akta.pro primary industry

Mayor/City Manager & General Administration (BPAIACAA)

akta.pro secondary industries

Public Works & Municipal Infrastructure (Streets, Stormwater, Facilities) (BPAIACAF), Housing & Neighborhood Services (Local Housing Programs) (BPAIACAJ)

Keywords

• Municipal government advocacy
• Policy development
• Government relations
• Public campaign mobilization
• Municipal caucus coordination

Headquarters

HQ city

Mississauga

HQ country

Canada

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Membership dues and advocacy services: OBCM is funded through membership dues from its 29 member municipalities (cities with populations of 100,000 or more). The organization does not generate commercial revenue but operates as a municipal advocacy coalition.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

OBCM provides a unified advocacy voice for the mayors of Ontario's 29 largest cities on policy and program decisions that affect urban municipalities. Through policy development, caucus meetings, direct government relations with provincial and federal ministers, public campaigns (such as Solve the Crisis), and joint resolutions with partner organizations, OBCM represents nearly 70 percent of Ontario's population on issues including housing, homelessness, mental health and addictions, infrastructure, and municipal fiscal sustainability.

Product overview

Ontario's Big City Mayors (OBCM) is a municipal advocacy organization, not a product-based technology company. It does not offer products or services in the traditional technology/SaaS sense. OBCM provides a collective voice for mayors of Ontario cities with populations of 100,000 or more, advocating for policy and program decisions related to housing, mental health, infrastructure, and municipal fiscal reform. Its activities include policy advocacy, campaign initiatives (such as the Solve the Crisis campaign), and caucus meetings with government officials.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Solve the Crisis Campaign: Advocacy campaign addressing homelessness, mental health, and addictions crisis in Ontario municipalities

Products and services

• Solve the Crisis Campaign
• Municipal Policy Advocacy Caucus

Quantifiable outcome

• Over 240 municipalities have passed motions or endorsed the Solve the Crisis campaign
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers9 records

Segments1 record

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Six partnerships are on record, tiered minor and core.

• The PLACE Centre at Smart Prosperity InstituteminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 12 April 2024Collaborated on the housing report 'Working Together to Build 1.5 Million Homes' released in August 2023, outlining the role of municipalities in home building.
• Association of Municipalities of Ontario (AMO)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerOBCM works closely with AMO on shared municipal priorities including housing, infrastructure, and homelessness. AMO released the Municipalities Under Pressure report on homelessness that OBCM has endorsed.
• Mayors and Regional Chairs of Ontario (MARCO)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerOBCM and MARCO hold joint meetings and have passed joint resolutions on the homelessness crisis, municipal finance reform, and housing priorities. MARCO represents over 9.7 million Ontario residents.
• Canadian Mental Health Association, Ontario DivisionminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCMHA Ontario is a community partner in the Solve the Crisis campaign, supporting OBCM's advocacy on mental health and addictions issues with municipalities.
• Ontario BIA Association (OBIAA)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerOBIAA represents 300 BIAs and 120,000+ businesses, supporting OBCM's Solve the Crisis campaign to address impacts on main street businesses.
• Federation of Canadian Municipalities (FCM)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerOBCM works with FCM on national municipal advocacy priorities, including housing and infrastructure funding from the federal government.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• Association of Municipalities of Ontario (AMO): AMO represents all 444 Ontario municipalities on policy and funding issues. Directly comparable as a municipal advocacy organization operating in the same provincial policy space as OBCM, though broader in scope (includes rural and smaller municipalities).
• Federation of Canadian Municipalities (FCM): FCM is the national voice of Canadian municipal government, representing over 2,000 municipalities. OBCM partners with FCM on national advocacy; comparable as a municipal federation advocating for funding and policy at the federal level.
• U.S. Conference of Mayors: Non-partisan organization of U.S. mayors from cities with populations of 30,000+. Comparable as a national big-city mayoral advocacy organization with similar functions of policy development, federal advocacy, and coalition building.

Regional players

• Alberta Municipalities (ABmunis): Provincial advocacy association representing Alberta municipalities. Comparable regional peer operating as a membership-funded municipal advocacy body with similar policy priorities around infrastructure, housing, and fiscal sustainability.
• BC Mayors' Caucus: British Columbia equivalent caucus of mayors from the province's largest cities. Operates under the Union of British Columbia Municipalities (UBCM) on regional municipal advocacy, closely paralleling OBCM's model in a different province.

Emerging players

• C40 Cities Climate Leadership Group: Global network of mayors addressing climate change. Partial overlap with OBCM's environmental and climate change advocacy stream, serving as a related but specialized network for big-city mayors on sustainability policy.
• ICLEI – Local Governments for Sustainability: Global network of local and regional governments committed to sustainable urban development. Adjacent peer intersecting with OBCM's environmental/climate advocacy vertical.

Others

• Canadian Mental Health Association (CMHA) Ontario: Provincial division of CMHA and a community partner in OBCM's Solve the Crisis campaign. Adjacent partner organization addressing mental health and addictions policy that complements OBCM's advocacy work.
• Ontario BIA Association (OBIAA): Association representing 300 Business Improvement Areas and 120,000+ Ontario businesses. Coalition partner in the Solve the Crisis campaign; comparable as a membership-driven advocacy organization serving Ontario's urban constituencies.

Direct peers

• Mayors and Regional Chairs of Ontario (MARCO): MARCO represents regional chairs and mayors of Ontario's largest municipalities (representing 9.7M+ residents). Direct peer to OBCM with overlapping membership and joint advocacy resolutions on homelessness, housing, and municipal finance.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights5 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutu.be/6VRjoEgQm98
• Xx.com/ONBigCityMayors
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/ontario-s-big-city-mayors-obcm

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles7 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about ONTARIO'S BIG CITY MAYORS