The municipal restructuring in Ontario from 1996 to 1999, whether voluntary or involuntary, was the most comprehensive process of municipal reform since the Baldwin Act of 1849 (Frisken 30). After the election of the Harris Conservative government in 1995, municipal reform took on a life of its own and was followed by substantial activity between 1996 and 1999 (Sancton 135-56). This research paper aims to classify, describe and evaluate the substantive activity that has taken place between the province and its municipal subordinates. While other articles have argued whether the changing fiscal relationship should benefit the province or whether the local government structure has simply become obsolete, questions of why the reforms occurred are not the focus of this research. However, what this paper will assess is whether substantive activity has brought about long-term changes in the system, outlining the many reforms and examining their impact. This article will begin by evaluating financial reform, which served as the starting point for broader changes, followed by functional, structural, and legislative reforms between 1996 and 1999. The municipal system experienced steady growth for several decades following the creation of a responsible municipal government. in Ontario with the Baldwin Act of 1849 (Frisken 30). International interest was generated in 1954 with the creation of Metropolitan Toronto, the first major structural change in the system. However, it was not until 1967 that the Ontario Committee on Taxation recommended that the rest of Ontario be restructured into regional governments similar to the structure of Metropolitan Toronto (Frisken 30). The result of the recommendation was the creation of ten… regional… middle of paper… opportunities for service delivery. Structural reforms halved the number of municipalities and implemented larger, single-level municipalities. Legislative reforms have allowed municipalities to have autonomy away from provincial control. After evaluating the previously mentioned reforms, this document establishes that it is essential to evaluate the behavioral trends of the municipalities and the province when measuring the impact of these changes. For a long period of time, and probably still today, municipalities considered themselves creatures of the province. Furthermore, the province of Ontario took on a paternal and protective role towards municipalities (Graham and Phillips 179-209). In conclusion, even with financial, functional, structural and legislative reforms, these roles of municipalities and provinces will not change quickly.