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The Toronto Port Authority, doing business as PortsToronto, is the successor to the Toronto Harbour Commissioners. As part of a broad strategy developed by the federal government to modernize the administration of ports and operate ports in a business-like manner, the Toronto Port Authority, now PortsToronto, was established in 1999 to operate the port, marina and the airport.

Established under the Canada Marine Act, PortsToronto is a government business enterprise that is mandated to be financially self-sufficient and receives no federal, provincial or municipal funding. PortsToronto operates in accordance with the Canada Marine Act and Letters Patent issued by the federal Minister of Transport in addition to a series of specific policies and procedures. The Letters Patent include requirements related to PortsToronto’s board of directors and outlines the activities that can be undertaken by the organization.

PortsToronto is accountable to the federal government through Transport Canada, and is guided by a nine-member Board of Directors composed of individuals appointed by all levels of government — federal, provincial and municipal, as follows:

  • one individual nominated by the federal Minister of Transport
  • one individual appointed by the City of Toronto
  • one individual appointed by the Province of Ontario
  • six individuals nominated by the federal Minister of Transport in consultation with identified user groups, namely commercial, recreational, airport and port operations

All individuals nominated by the Minister of Transport are appointed by the Governor in Council.

The following four standing committees of the board of directors oversee various organizational matters, various facets of our operations and assessing recommendations from management for consideration by the board of directors:

To review the Governance Manual for PortsToronto Please click here.

To learn more about our the Directors on PortsToronto’s Board please click here.