The Ford government has been granted a stay of a lower-court decision that declared his plan, to reduce the size of Toronto city council, to be unconstitutional.  

As expected, the government’s pleased while opponents like NDP Leader Andrea Horwath and Mayor John Tory are not.

(Court sketch/ CTV News/ John Mantha)

The unanimous decision Wednesday, after a hearing before a three-judge panel at Osgoode Hall, suspends the ruling last week by Superior Court Justice Edward Belobaba which means there’ll be 25 seats for grabs in the October 22 municipal election.

The appeal court’s decision is not final as it puts Belobaba’s ruling on hold pending the result of the province’s appeal, however that decision could be months away.

While it’s unclear what would happen the province were to lose that appeal.

The Court of Appeal panel did note in its decision however that the three justices unanimously believe that the province will ultimately succeed in its challenge.