Discover How Local Government Helps Your Community Every Day

Your community has a local government that helps keep things safe and clean. Local government is the group of people who make rules and provide services for your town or city. You can learn more about Essential Community Services that your local government provides every day.

The area that a local government is responsible for is called a municipality. A municipality can be a city, a town, or a village. Your local government works just for the people who live in your municipality.

The leader of your city or town is called the mayor. The mayor works with a group called the city council to make decisions for your community. Together, they meet at city hall or town hall to talk about what your community needs.

You and your neighbours choose the mayor and city council by voting in an election. This means your community gets to pick the leaders who will help you. You can learn about Decision Makers and the Impact of Their Choices to understand how leaders make choices that affect you.

Your local government provides many services to help everyone in your community. Here are some important services your local government takes care of:

• Collecting garbage and recycling from your home
• Running the fire department to keep you safe from fires
• Providing local police officers to keep your neighbourhood safe
• Building and maintaining parks and playgrounds for you to enjoy
• Running public libraries so you can borrow books for free
• Sending snowplows to clear roads in winter
• Providing public transit bus routes so people can travel around the city
• Supplying clean drinking water to keep everyone healthy

Your local government gets money to pay for these services by collecting property taxes from people who own homes and businesses in your community. Learn more about Community Resources that your local government helps manage.

Your local government makes special rules called bylaws. Bylaws are local rules that help everyone in your community live together peacefully. For example, a bylaw might say that dogs must be on a leash in the park, or that music cannot be too loud at night.

Bylaw officers are people hired by local government to make sure everyone follows these community rules. Following bylaws helps your neighbourhood stay safe and friendly for everyone. You can explore Laws and Safety to learn more about how rules protect your community.

Local Government: The group of people who make rules and provide services for your town or city. Your local government works just for your community.

Municipality: The area that a local government is responsible for, such as a city, town, or village. You live in a municipality!

Mayor: The elected leader of a city or town. The mayor works with the city council to make decisions for your community.

City Council: The group of elected people who help the mayor make decisions for your city or town. They meet at city hall to discuss community needs.

City Hall / Town Hall: The official building where the mayor and city council meet to make decisions for your community.

Bylaw: A local rule made by your local government for your community. Examples include leash laws for dogs and noise rules at night.

Bylaw Officer: A person hired by local government to make sure people follow community bylaws.

Property Taxes: Money that homeowners and businesses pay to the local government so it can provide community services like parks and garbage collection.

Election: The way Canadians choose their local leaders, like the mayor, by voting for the person they want.

Fire Department: A local government service that responds to fires and emergencies to keep your community safe.

Public Library: A place run by local government where you can borrow books and other materials for free.

Public Transit: Bus routes and other transportation services provided by local government so people can travel around the city.

You can help your local community too! You can pick up litter at your local park to keep it clean and beautiful. You can also attend town hall meetings with your family to hear how local leaders make decisions.

When your community members share ideas with local government, the community gets better services and places for everyone. Learn about Making Choices to understand how decisions are made in your community.

You already learned about Community Rules and why rules help everyone get along. You also learned about Community Helpers like firefighters and police officers who keep you safe. Understanding Group Participation helps you see how people work together in government, and knowing about Shared Resources shows you why communities share things like parks and libraries.

This topic connects to many other important ideas you will explore. You will learn about Functions and Services of Local Government in more detail, and discover the Roles of Community Workers who carry out government services every day.

You will also explore Balancing Individual Rights Against Public Interest and Civic and Environmental Duties People and Planet Stewardship to understand your responsibilities as a community member.

Next, you will learn about Community Leadership Mayors Councillors Chiefs and Meeting Places and Municipal Public Services Transportation Policing Firefighting. You will also discover Regional Decision-Making Processes and Community Support Shared Responsibility for Helping Others as you continue learning about how communities work together.