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Ottawa

No cuts coming to Ottawa's number of city councillors, Doug Ford says

After announcing legislation to significantly reduce the number of city councillors in Toronto, Ontario Premier Doug Ford brushed off the suggestion he might do the same in Ottawa.

Premier says he will introduce legislation to reduce city councillors in Toronto from 47 to 25

Asked if he'll make changes to Ottawa's municipal wards and reduce the number of councillors, Premier Doug Ford said Ottawa and Toronto are like 'apples and oranges.' (Tijana Martin/Canadian Press)

After announcing legislation to significantly reduce the number of city councillors in Toronto, Ontario Premier Doug Ford brushed off the suggestion he might do the same in Ottawa.

News broke Thursday evening of Ford'sintentionto cut the number of city councillorsin Toronto from 47 to 25, and he confirmed itin a news conference Friday morning.

The 25 councillorswould represent the city's approximate 2.8 million residents.

But Ford suggested Ottawa's wards and councillorsarenot on the chopping block.

To compare, Ottawa's 23 councillorsrepresent about 950,000 residents.

'Let's not even compare Ottawa,' Ford says

"Let's not even compare Ottawa," Ford told reportersFriday."It's apples and oranges. Apples and oranges when you compare a town the size of Ottawa, a beautiful city compared to a city the size of Toronto. You can't even compare it."

Ford said whittling Toronto city council down to 25 councillors will streamline the decision-making process at city hall.

He'll be introducing legislation to make the changes before Ontario'sOct. 22 municipal election, he said.

Progressive Conservative MPPGoldie Ghamari, who represents the Carleton riding,said on Twitter that she spoke to the premier about his plans to change municipal wards in Toronto and confirmed he had no plans to do the same in Ottawa.