City Status for the Town of Paradise, Newfoundland and Labrador: Where the Question Stands: A White Paper for Residents

Posted on September 27, 2026 by nathanalbright

1. Summary

Paradise is now one of the largest municipalities in Newfoundland and Labrador. By population it is larger than two of the province’s three cities, yet it is still legally a town. The main reason is not size. Newfoundland and Labrador has no general procedure that turns a town into a city. Each of the province’s cities exists because the House of Assembly passed a separate law for that city alone. For Paradise to become a city, the provincial government would have to write, introduce, and pass a new “City of Paradise Act.” As of this writing, the public record shows no such bill and no formal application from the town. The town studied the idea about a decade ago. The province has also still not finished modernizing the laws of its three existing cities. Those two facts go a long way toward explaining why nothing has happened.

2. How Large Paradise Has Become

Paradise was a farming and railway-side area for most of its history. It grew into a commuter community for St. John’s. The 2021 Census counted 22,957 people in Paradise, up 7.3% from 21,389 in 2016. A 2025 CBC report described it as Newfoundland and Labrador’s third-largest municipality. The town also says it has the youngest average-aged population in Newfoundland and Labrador.

The three cities for comparison:

  • St. John’s is by far the largest, with 110,525 residents in 2021.
  • Corner Brook is the smallest city by population in the province, with 19,333 residents, which is well below Paradise.
  • Mount Pearl had roughly 22,500 people in 2021, which is about the same as Paradise or a little fewer. It is also the smallest by land area, with 15.65 km2, while Paradise covers nearly twice that area.

Population is clearly not what separates Paradise from Mount Pearl. The difference is legal history.

3. What the Law Requires

Cities are created one at a time by statute. The province’s own background material explains that each city has its own legislation which governs how it functions and operates (City of St. John’s Act, City of Mount Pearl Act and City of Corner Brook Act). Corner Brook became a city in 1955, and a replacement Corner Brook act followed in 1985. The City of Mount Pearl Act came into force in 1988.

The general municipal law covers towns only. Paradise is governed by the Towns and Local Service Districts Act, which received assent on November 16, 2023 and replaced the Municipalities Act, 1999. That Act defines “city” as a closed list: the City of St. John’s, the City of Corner Brook, and the City of Mount Pearl. Under it, the Lieutenant-Governor in Council, on the minister’s recommendation, may incorporate an area in the province as a town or amalgamate towns. It says nothing about promoting a town to a city. The minister can make certain changes by order, such as change the name of a town, but “town” to “city” is not something an order can do.

There are no written criteria. When Paradise first looked into the question, the provincial Department of Municipal Affairs noted that it’s been 25 years since a town has become a city in the province, and a spokesperson said there were no specific criteria. No population threshold, tax base test, or service checklist in provincial law automatically qualifies a town. The decision is political and legislative.

What city status has meant historically. The provincial heritage site describes the traditional distinction: a city has greater autonomy from the provincial government than a “town” of similar size, and in St. John’s case that meant more autonomy on the raising and spending of money.

In practical terms, city status for Paradise would require:

  1. A decision by Paradise town council to seek it, ideally after public consultation and a costing study.
  2. A formal request to the Minister responsible for municipal affairs.
  3. Policy work by the department on what powers, council structure, taxation rules, and transition terms a Paradise city charter would contain.
  4. Drafting of a City of Paradise Act by the province’s legislative counsel.
  5. Passage of the bill through the House of Assembly (first, second, and third reading, committee stage) and royal assent.
  6. Proclamation and a transition period covering by-laws, contracts, staff, and possibly the timing of the next municipal election.

4. What Has Actually Happened

The 2015 study. Around 2015, under Mayor Dan Bobbett, the town looked into the question. CBC reported that chief administrative officer Rodney Cumby is looking into the question with the intention of bringing a recommendation back to council. Bobbett suggested there might be some benefit for governance and enforcing regulations from a municipal enforcement point-of-view. He also acknowledged that approval for city status will have to be granted by the provincial government, but Bobbett says there’s no rush to apply. He denied that the change would bring tax increases.

No public follow-through. Public reporting does not show that council ever adopted a formal resolution to apply, that an application went to the province, or that a bill was drafted. Some ceremonial or internal steps may exist that were not publicly reported, but no visible process is underway.

Leadership change in 2025. Bobbett led the town for twelve years and then stepped away from municipal politics to run as a Liberal candidate in the provincial election. His successor, Patrick Martin, said his priorities were traffic congestion, water pressure concerns in the Elizabeth Park subdivision and illegal ATV use on town roads. City status was not among the stated priorities.

5. Why It Has Not Happened Yet

(a) The province has not finished updating its existing city laws. When the new towns law was introduced in 2023, the minister said it would inform drafting of new legislation for the cities of Mount Pearl, Corner Brook and the City of St. John’s. By the 2025 provincial election, Municipalities Newfoundland and Labrador was still pointing out that the three Cities Acts governing St. John’s, Mount Pearl, and Corner Brook still require an update. A government that has not yet rewritten three existing city charters is unlikely to write a fourth from scratch. It is more likely to settle the model for cities first, whether that means three updated acts or one general cities act, and then decide whether Paradise fits it.

(b) The practical gap between towns and cities has narrowed. The 2023 Act gave towns much broader authority. The minister described it as moving towns into a permissive frame in which they can make wide-ranging by-laws. Towns also gained the ability to operate recreational facilities, which larger communities had wanted for years. Many of the practical advantages Paradise might once have gained from a city charter are now available to it as a town. That weakens the case for spending political effort on a new statute.

(c) The regional question on the Northeast Avalon is unsettled. Paradise shares borders with St. John’s, Mount Pearl, Conception Bay South, and Portugal Cove–St. Philip’s. The municipal association has urged the province toward a formalized, planned approach to municipal cooperation within a regional framework. Any government considering a new city in the capital region would have to think about how it affects regional services, cost-sharing, and future amalgamation debates. Creating a fourth city could be seen as locking in the current boundary pattern before those questions are answered.

(d) No sustained push from the town itself. The province has no application to act on. The 2015 inquiry was described as exploratory, and the present council has focused on growth-related infrastructure problems.

(e) Changes in government at both levels. Paradise changed mayors in 2025. The province held a general election in October 2025 that brought a change of governing party. New governments usually spend their early years on their own platform commitments, and municipal charter work has lower priority.

6. Issues That Would Need to Be Resolved

  • Purpose. Council would need to state clearly what city status would let Paradise do that the 2023 towns law does not. Otherwise the change is mainly symbolic.
  • Cost. A study would need to cover new legal, administrative, signage, and branding costs, plus any change in provincial grant or cost-sharing formulas.
  • Taxation powers. The existing cities have their own taxation provisions. The province would need to decide whether Paradise would receive similar powers.
  • Council structure. A decision would be needed on whether to keep at-large councillors or move to wards, and how many councillors a city of this size should have.
  • Regional fit. The province would need to be satisfied that a new city does not complicate regional service arrangements on the Northeast Avalon.
  • The model for cities. Paradise would benefit from waiting to see whether the province adopts a single modern cities act. That would make adding a new city far simpler than drafting a stand-alone charter.
  • Public support. Residents would need to be consulted. When the idea first arose, residents disagreed about whether it would change anything besides the name.

7. A Realistic Timeline

Because no formal process exists, any timeline is an estimate. It is based on how municipal legislation has moved in this province, not on any announced schedule.

  • Near term (1–2 years): The most likely activity is the province continuing work on updated legislation for the existing cities. Paradise could use this period to decide by council resolution whether it wants city status, and to ask the province to consider Paradise when the cities framework is redesigned.
  • Medium term (3–5 years): If the province produces a general cities act or a clear template, and Paradise formally applies, a City of Paradise Act or an amendment adding Paradise could move through the House within one or two legislative sessions.
  • If nothing changes: If neither the town nor the province takes the first step, Paradise will remain a town indefinitely, however large it grows. Nothing in current law changes its status automatically.

A reasonable expectation is that city status is at least several years away, and that it depends mostly on two decisions: Paradise council formally asking for it, and the province deciding how cities should be governed in the future.

8. Conclusion

Paradise is not a town because it is too small. It is larger than Corner Brook and about equal to Mount Pearl. It remains a town because city status in Newfoundland and Labrador comes only through a special act of the legislature. Paradise has not formally requested one, and the province has not yet finished updating the laws of the cities it already has. The 2023 towns law also gave Paradise much of the practical authority a city charter once represented, which has reduced the urgency. Residents who want to see progress should raise the question with the mayor and council and with their Members of the House of Assembly. Those are the two places where the process would have to begin.

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About nathanalbright

I'm a person with diverse interests who loves to read. If you want to know something about me, just ask.
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