What You Need to Know: Ontario's plan to grow the size of the Greenbelt

  • June 21, 2021
  • Katarzyna Sliwa, Dentons

In February 2021, the Province of Ontario announced its plan to grow the size of the Greenbelt. The Greenbelt Plan and A Place to Grow: Growth plan for the Greater Golden Horseshoe work together to provide a framework for where and how growth should be accommodated in Southern Ontario. 

On February 28, 2005, the Greenbelt Act, 2005 was passed by the Ontario government and protects nearly two million acres of farmland and environmentally sensitive areas. Over the past 15 years, the Ontario government has worked to expand the protections of the Greenbelt. In 2017, the Greenbelt protections were extended to 21 major urban river valleys and 7 coastal wetlands.

The proposal

The Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing (MMAH) is seeking to grow the size, and further enhance the quality of the Greenbelt. MMAH identified two areas of priority, being:

  1. A study area of land focused on the Paris Galt Moraine, which is home to critical groundwater resources
  2. Ideas for adding, expanding and further protecting Urban River Valleys