In municipal government, an administrator is someone appointed by the provincial government to take over running a municipality when its elected council is removed or unable to function. This rare intervention happens during serious governance failures, financial mismanagement, or when a council cannot make decisions. The administrator temporarily assumes all powers of council—passing budgets, making policy decisions, and managing staff—until new elections can be held or the situation is resolved. This is different from a municipal CAO (Chief Administrative Officer), who is hired by council to manage day-to-day operations but works under council's direction. Provincial appointment of an administrator represents a serious override of local democracy, used only as a last resort.