Sidewalk Snow Removal Bylaws in 15 GTA Municipalities: Who Shovels

Whether the public sidewalk in front of your house is your job depends on which GTA municipality you live in, and in the two largest it is not. On August 27, 2026 we read the snow by-law and winter page of 15 GTA municipalities. Nine put that duty on the property owner, and five of those nine give you 24 hours after the snow stops. The other six clear the sidewalk themselves. Toronto's by-law still says 12 hours, but the City now clears almost every sidewalk, so the duty only lands after a very small snowfall.

Who shovels where in the GTA

Read the clock column with the first column: it means two different things. For the nine that put the duty on you it is a legal deadline, except in Vaughan, whose by-law sets none. Eight of the nine set the duty in a by-law; Ajax publishes it on its winter page without naming a section. For the six that clear their own sidewalks it is only a service target. Three table words need defining first. A windrow is the ridge of snow a plough leaves across the end of your driveway. A set fine is a fixed amount printed on a ticket, payable without a court date. On conviction means what a justice could impose in court, not a bill you receive.

If you rent, read the second column. The by-laws in Toronto, Brampton, Whitby and Milton name the occupant as well as the owner, so a tenant can be charged directly in those four. Vaughan gets there differently, folding a lessee who must repair and maintain the property into its definition of owner. Ajax names residents on its winter page but bills the owner through property taxes.

Four of the six did legislate on the strip in front of your house. Markham, Oakville, Burlington and Caledon each make the homeowner maintain the abutting boulevard, under Keep Markham Beautiful By-law 2017-27, Oakville's Lot Maintenance By-law 2023-075, Burlington's Lot Maintenance By-law 049-2022 and Caledon's Clean Yards By-law 2016-063. Oakville's boulevard is defined to include the sidewalk, and Burlington's Part 7 covers boulevards and sidewalks alike. Every one of those boulevard duties stops at grass, weeds, waste and objects left behind. Not one of them reaches snow. Markham's by-law does carry a snow duty, at s. 4.13, but it is for your own walkways, steps, landings and ramps, not the public sidewalk.

The clock is not 12 hours everywhere

Five of the nine owner-duty municipalities give you 24 hours: King, Milton, Whitby, Ajax and Pickering. Milton's By-law 106-2019 starts that clock at the end of "any fall of snow, rain or hail", not at the end of a storm. Toronto alone has a shorter fixed clock. Chapter 719, s. 719-2 A says the owner or occupant must clear the sidewalk "within 12 hours after any fall of snow, rain or hail has ceased".

Two do not count in hours at all. Brampton's By-law 242-76 sets a time of day: "by 11:00 in the forenoon of the day immediately following the day upon which the snow fell". Oshawa's Winter Access By-law says "no later than midnight of the first day after the fall of snow ... has ended". Snow that falls on a Monday and stops at 9 p.m. leaves a Brampton owner until 11 a.m. Tuesday, which is 14 hours. Snow that falls and stops at 6 a.m. Monday leaves 29 hours.

Vaughan is the outlier. Its Snow Clearing By-law 227-2022 says the owner "shall maintain the sidewalk adjacent to his or her property clear of snow and ice", and sets no deadline at all. The City's winter questions page says only that you are "encouraged" to clear it. The by-law does set a floor: an order to comply cannot demand the work "sooner than twenty-four (24) hours after the order is given".

Toronto now clears almost every sidewalk itself

The City's sidewalk clearing page says it "now clears approximately 98% of all sidewalks across the city as part of its winter maintenance program". The rest are cleared by hand by City workers, because of narrow spaces and obstructions.

Section 719-2 C says the 12-hour duty "does not apply" where "the City of Toronto has undertaken the responsibility" to clear that sidewalk. Under 2 cm, residents and businesses clear their own sidewalk within 12 hours. At 2 cm or more, City crews clear all public sidewalks, aiming to finish in about 12 hours, though the page says clearing "can continue up to 72 hours after the snow has stopped falling".

Your private property has its own clock. Section 719-4.1 B gives you 24 hours to clear steps, landings, walks, driveways, parking spaces and ramps.

What it costs if you skip it

Eight of the nine owner-duty municipalities publish a cost recovery route. A bylaw officer inspects after a complaint. Brampton then issues an order to comply that gives you 8 hours, and if the work is not done sends a contractor and adds the cost, plus administrative fees, to the owner's taxes. That bill has no cap, unlike a ticket. Oshawa charges "interest calculated at the rate of fifteen per cent (15%)" on the cost until you pay. Pickering adds "a 25% administration fee". Brampton, Vaughan and Whitby put the cost on your property tax bill, Milton can recover it "in like manner as property taxes", and Toronto can recover it under section 386 of the City of Toronto Act, 2006. King alone publishes no such route.

Ajax prices the job in its User Fees By-law: $175.70 for sidewalk clearing up to 23 metres, then $8.50 for each metre after that, plus HST. A 30 metre frontage is 7 metres over the first band, so 7 x $8.50 = $59.50, and $175.70 + $59.50 = $235.20 before tax. The same by-law lets the Town add a 20% administrative charge to an invoice for work it had to do after an owner's default (sections 1(f) and 7), and charges $47.10 to add an unpaid invoice to the tax roll.

Set fines, penalty tickets and maximums are three different things

The table's money column mixes four instruments, and the last three are easy to confuse.

King publishes the set's only set fine: $250.00 for "failure to remove snow and ice from sidewalks adjacent to their property within twenty-four hours". The Ontario Court of Justice's schedules cover provincial Acts and regulations, so a municipal set fine like King's appears only on the municipality's own page.

An administrative penalty is reviewed by the municipality rather than by a court. Brampton charges $250.00 for "fail to remove snow, ice or slush from sidewalk". Oshawa charges $75, and a repeat inside a year moves you to $175, then $275. Whitby charges $355.00, then $500.00, then $750.00, each step needing a repeat inside 90 days.

The maximum on conviction differs too. Toronto's Chapter 719 sets no amount of its own and points to the Provincial Offences Act, where the cap is $5,000. Milton's by-law does the same, and publishes no ticket amount at all. Brampton's by-law caps a conviction at $2,000.00. Oshawa sets a range of "not less than $300 and not more than $5,000" on a first conviction, rising to $25,000 on a third.

Windrows are their own rule

Two municipalities fold the windrow into the sidewalk duty. Oshawa's by-law says you must remove "the snow and ice, including Windrows", and Whitby's the same.

Windrow services differ. Vaughan clears them for every residential driveway at no extra charge, and Mississauga for every single, double and shared driveway, but not for condominiums, commercial properties or homes on private roads. Vaughan aims for four hours after the plough passes, Mississauga for four to six hours after the last pass. Richmond Hill clears windrows at more than 50,000 residential driveways, with a 13-hour target. Oakville charges $184 plus HST ($207.92 with HST included) for the 2025-2026 season. Burlington approved an annual fee of $150 plus HST in June 2026, with its 2026-2027 details due in September 2026.

The windrow machine clears the road plough's ridge, not the smaller one the sidewalk plough leaves behind. Vaughan calls clearing that smaller ridge "the resident's responsibility". Markham says it "is not included in this service". Mississauga says snow pushed aside near the sidewalk "will not be cleared".

If you cannot shovel yourself

Pickering, Ajax, Markham and Burlington each publish an eligibility test.

Pickering's has 750 spots. You must be over 65, or show proof of a permanent physical or cognitive disability. For the 2025-2026 season the fee moved with income: $0.00 if you receive the Guaranteed Annual Income Supplement, $114.00 + HST = $128.82 under $90,997, $165.00 + HST = $186.45 between $90,997 and $148,065, and $213.00 + HST = $240.69 between $148,065 and $199,900. Above $199,900 in net income you are not eligible.

Ajax sells a senior snow removal service at $319.20 plus HST, covering the windrow, driveway, walkway to the front door, driveway apron and municipal sidewalk. The sidewalk and windrow alone cost $36.40 plus HST. Markham's windrow help has a household test: everyone must be 60 or older, or anyone aged 12 to 60 needs a doctor's certificate saying they cannot clear snow. Burlington's reduced fee is half its regular fee, open to residents 65 or older, people with a disability who have no able-bodied person aged 16 to 65 at home, and people on benefits.

Milton goes further. Its Removal of Snow and Ice By-law exempts you outright: an owner or occupant who lives in the dwelling and is "a person with a disability" is "exempt from any obligations under this By-law". The by-law defines that as someone unable physically to clear snow and ice who has filed medical documentation with the Town. No fee, and no cap on places.

Toronto's answer is different again: its page says residents "including seniors and persons with disabilities, receive sidewalk snow-clearing directly through City operations, without the need for a separate assistance program".

Do not push snow onto the road

Toronto's page warns that shovelled snow must stay on your property "or they could receive a fine of $500 and a $110 victim surcharge fee". A victim surcharge is an extra amount added to most provincial fines. Caledon puts the range on conviction at $105.00 to $5,000.00 under its traffic by-law and the Highway Traffic Act. Markham charges an administrative penalty of $190.00 for "alter/obstruct/damage highway by depositing snow/ice".

If shovelling is not realistic, our guide to snow removal contract prices in Toronto sets out what companies charge.

How to check your own street

Search your municipality's winter page for the word "sidewalk". If the crews clear all of them, that is your answer. If the page names a by-law, open it and read the title: a number printed beside advice about snow on the road can still be the sidewalk by-law, and a page can say "encouraged" where the by-law says "shall".

Then check the exemptions. Brampton's Schedule A lists roads from Airport Road to Windmill Boulevard where the by-law does not apply. Vaughan excuses you where the City already clears, naming main streets, transit routes and school zones. Call 311 if you are unsure.