Government Proposing Conservation Authority Consolidation

The government has announced that it will introduce legislation to overhaul Ontario’s conservation authority system, including consolidating Ontario’s 36 conservation authorities into seven regional conservation authorities.

If passed, the legislation will create a new agency, the Ontario Provincial Conservation Agency (OPCA) to provide oversight of all conservation authorities and lead modernization projects including:

  • The development of a single digital permitting platform;
  • The development of province-wide performance standards, centralized data, and updated floodplain mapping; and
  • The implementation of regional, watershed-based conservation authorities. 

As part of this transition, the government intends to launch consultations with municipalities, Indigenous communities, the public, and stakeholders on the new watershed-based consolidation of conservation authority, including regarding the proposed regional boundaries of each conservation authority. 

We will continue to monitor this project for impacts to municipalities, especially pertaining to municipal operational and administrative burden.

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