Ontario's legislative assembly is expected to adjourn till Oct. 25 after its special Wednesday sitting paying tribute to the Queen.

It had been Premier Doug Ford's government's plan to adjourn the house till after the municipal elections at the end of last week, but those had to be adjusted because of Queen Elizabeth II's death.

Ford and opposition leaders are expected to give brief statements paying respect to the Queen during the shortened sitting on Wednesday. A debate on an NDP motion that was cancelled following the Queen's death last week will then be held before it's expected that the Progressive Conservatives will introduce and pass a motion to adjourn sitting until the morning of Tuesday, Oct. 25. NDP MPPs are expected to vote against adjourning for a month and a half.

MPPs are due to return to their legislative duties the day after the new mayors and municipal councils are elected across Ontario.

Ottawa's and Toronto's incoming mayors will inherit new "strong mayor" powers, thanks to Premier Doug Ford's government's Bill 3, which PC MPPs voted to pass last week.

The Strong Mayors, Building Homes Act will let Toronto's and Ottawa's mayors veto council decisions, create the city's budget, unilaterally hire and fire key staff, and put together and reorganize key departments, committees and boards — decisions that councils currently share. Ford has said these powers could be later given to mayors of other cities and towns, depending on the outcomes in Toronto and Ottawa. Bill 3 didn't explicitly mention housing, but the PC government is insistent that its powers should be used to approve more housing projects and complete them faster.

Bill 3 was one of three pieces of legislation Ford's PCs passed in the five-week postelection summer sitting. The others were Bill 7 and Bill 2. Bill 7, the More Beds, Better Care Act, allows for alternate-level-of-care patients in hospitals to be admitted into a long-term care home without their consent, while Bill 2 makes law changes included in the government's budget.

When MPPs return to sitting, it's likely they'll spend most weeks in the chamber until the winter break, which usually begins in mid-December. Before their winter break, MPPs have to review and pass the government's main estimates — the ministry-by-ministry spending plans. This process is already about four months behind schedule because of the timing of the election and how the government chose to roll out its budget.

Read More: Finance monitor wary of ‘slippery slope’ of unconventional budget rollout

It's unclear right now what the government will prioritize when MPPs are back in the house.

A new labour-focused bill could be coming down the pike, according to two government sources, who are unnamed because they were speaking about matters not yet public.

Ford's PC government has also made a habit of passing "red tape"-cutting deregulation bills in each of the lengthy sitting sessions that it's spent in power.

Ontario parliament set to adjourn until after municipal elections

Read this for free.