<P> By the early 20th century, Canada was deeply involved in a period of municipal reform . An attempt to distinguish municipal government from the provincial legislature occurred, and the municipal governments were compared with a board of directors--this form of government was not for advancing a certain political party's view, it was for sitting down and running it' like a business' . As such, the idea that a larger municipality should have more councillors was the same as having a large board of directors for a larger company; i.e., not functionally possible . </P> <P> Between the 1920s and the 1960s the municipalities received increased funding from their provincial government parents . This was partly due to the Great Depression, but further discussion about reform reared its head in the 1970s . In many cities, the system of having a few very large wards encompassing many different walks of life was replaced with one ward for every area with different demographics; this was to ensure that councillors would not have conflicting interests between the well - off and those not so . The arguments over municipal government reform continue, seen in the recent City of Toronto Act 1997 dispute . </P> <P> Municipal governments are subdivisions of their province . While the municipality has autonomy on most decisions, all by - laws passed by that municipal government are subject to change by the provincial government at any time . </P> <P> An example of a typical municipal government structure can be found in New Brunswick, which played host to the first municipal government in Canada in 1785 at Saint John . </P>

Who decides what form municipal governments will take