Places to Grow Act

Places to Grow Act
Title	Places to Grow Act
Enacted by	Legislative Assembly of Ontario
Enacted	2005
Citation	S.O. 2005, c. 13
Territorial extent	Ontario
Status	in force

Places to Grow Act

The Places to Grow Act was provincial legislation enacted to guide urban development and manage growth within Ontario over multi-decade planning horizons. The Act established a statutory framework linking provincial ministries, regional planning authorities, and municipal councils to coordinate land use policies, transportation corridors, and infrastructure investment. It sought to concentrate development in defined areas to support transit, protect natural heritage, and align municipal planning with provincial priorities.

Background and Legislative History

The Act emerged amid debates involving Progressive Conservative Party of Ontario, Liberal Party of Ontario, and New Democratic Party caucuses in the mid-2000s, informed by prior policy instruments such as the Greenbelt Act, 2005, the Oak Ridges Moraine Conservation Act, 2001, and the Planning Act (Ontario). Influential reports by the Ontario Growth Secretariat, the Competition Bureau of Canada, and academic centers like the University of Toronto’s Cities Centre shaped legislative drafting. Major public inquiries and stakeholder engagements included submissions from Toronto Board of Trade, the Association of Municipalities of Ontario, and environmental groups like the David Suzuki Foundation and Ontario Nature. The bill received Royal Assent during the premiership of Dalton McGuinty and was implemented alongside provincial infrastructure initiatives advanced by agencies such as Metrolinx and the Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing (Ontario).

Provisions and Objectives

Key statutory provisions authorized the Lieutenant Governor in Council to issue provincial growth plans, designate growth areas, and set population and employment forecasts for upper-tier regions including the Greater Toronto Area, the Greater Golden Horseshoe, and other designated planning regions. The Act required integration with instruments governed by the Planning Act (Ontario), mandated municipal conformity to provincial plans, and permitted the establishment of urban growth boundaries and intensification targets. Objectives cited in the Act included protecting agricultural lands such as those in Niagara Peninsula, conserving natural heritage systems referenced in the Oak Ridges Moraine, increasing transit-supportive densities along corridors like the Flemingdon Park spine and Queen Street, and coordinating investments with agencies like Infrastructure Ontario.

The Act provided for science- and evidence-based forecasting, referencing data from Statistics Canada, demographic analyses by the Conference Board of Canada, and modelling practiced by institutions like the Canadian Urban Institute. It also set timelines and mechanisms for reviews and amendments to reflect projections derived from the Growth Plan for the Greater Golden Horseshoe and related provincial policy statements.

Implementation and Governance

Implementation relied on a multilevel governance architecture linking provincial ministries, regional municipalities such as Peel Regional Municipality, York Region, and Durham Region, and single-tier cities including Toronto, Mississauga, and Brampton. The Act designated roles for provincial ministries and agencies including Ministry of Transportation (Ontario), Ministry of Infrastructure (Ontario), and Metrolinx to align capital programs with growth directives. Municipalities were required to amend official plans, zoning bylaws, and development charges regimes to conform with provincial growth plans, coordinating with bodies like the Ontario Municipal Board prior to its reform and successor institutions such as the Local Planning Appeal Tribunal.

Funding and delivery mechanisms involved partnerships with crown corporations like Infrastructure Ontario and transit authorities including GO Transit, along with financial tools used by Ontario Financing Authority. Implementation programs featured corridor planning for projects like the Yonge Street transit corridor and intensified urban nodes in city centres such as Hamilton and Oshawa.

Impact and Criticism

Proponents argued the Act enabled integrated planning that supported transit investments by Metrolinx, preserved farmland in regions including the Niagara Escarpment, and helped channel growth into existing urban areas such as downtown Toronto and Kitchener. Supportive analyses from the Canadian Urban Institute and planning faculties at York University highlighted benefits in coordinating infrastructure sequencing.

Critics included local councils in Simcoe County and developers represented by the Building Industry and Land Development Association, who contended that mandated intensification targets constrained housing supply in suburbs like Milton and Vaughan and elevated land costs. Environmental organizations such as Greenpeace Canada and Environmental Defence (Canada) praised protection measures but called for stronger enforcement. Legal challenges and municipal appeals invoked provisions of the Planning Act (Ontario) and triggered debates in the Ontario Superior Court of Justice over provincial-municipal authority. Academic critiques from scholars at McMaster University and University of Waterloo questioned forecast assumptions supplied by agencies like the Ontario Growth Secretariat.

Amendments and Subsequent Developments

Since enactment, the Act has been operationalized through successive growth plans, notable revisions to the Growth Plan for the Greater Golden Horseshoe, and amendments to complementary statutes such as the Greenbelt Act, 2005. Institutional reforms affecting appeal processes—dissolution of the Ontario Municipal Board and establishment of new tribunals—altered dispute resolution under the Act. Successive premiers, including Kathleen Wynne and Doug Ford, oversaw policy adjustments and reviews that led to changes in intensification metrics and provincially-driven infrastructure priorities like the SmartTrack proposal and regional rapid transit expansions spearheaded by Metrolinx.

Ongoing developments include municipal implementation cycles across census periods defined by Statistics Canada, legal interpretations emerging from provincial tribunals and courts, and planning research at institutions like the Neptis Foundation and Pembina Institute. The Act remains a central statute shaping land use, transportation, and infrastructure decisions in Ontario.

Category:Ontario provincial legislation