Our letter to members of Provincial Parliament and Municipal Councillors, regarding the precedent-setting issue unfolding in Kanata North (suburb of Ottawa) that has implications for municipalities and communities across Ontario.
Dear Members of Provincial Parliament and Municipal Councillors,
We are writing to ask for your attention and support regarding a precedent-setting issue unfolding in Kanata North (suburb of Ottawa) that has implications for municipalities and communities across Ontario.
The former Kanata Golf Course (KGC) Lands were planned for decades as part of an integrated greenspace and stormwater management system serving the Kanata Lakes and Beaverbrook communities. These lands formed part of a longstanding “40% Agreement,” a planning framework intended to preserve significant open green space within the community in perpetuity.
After years of litigation and Ontario Land Tribunal proceedings, draft plan approval has been granted for approximately 1,500 homes on these lands, despite unresolved concerns relating to stormwater management infrastructure, drainage, municipal easements, and contamination. The development remains subject to 185 outstanding conditions.
In February, pre-construction site work began, including trenching, grading, soil disturbance, culvert installation, and significant alteration of the land’s topography and drainage patterns. Residents, planning and scientific experts, have repeatedly raised serious concerns regarding flooding risk, the disturbance of mercury and arsenic-contaminated soils, and the long-term impacts of altering key stormwater infrastructure.
Unlike many development sites located on a single parcel of land, the KGC lands wind through an established residential community, surrounded by thousands of existing homes – meaning any failure related to flooding, drainage, contamination, or infrastructure performance could have widespread impacts on the surrounding neighbourhoods.
The proposed development has faced sustained opposition from thousands of residents, local community associations, the City of Ottawa, local provincial and federal elected officials, environmental advocates, and members of the Kanata North business and technology community (Canada’s largest technology park), all of whom have echoed concerns about the long-term impacts on stormwater management, public safety, environmental protection, and responsible planning.
This issue extends far beyond one Ottawa neighbourhood.
The Kanata Lakes case raises critical questions about:
- Municipal authority over local planning and growth management;
- The long-term reliability of planning agreements;
- Protection of natural infrastructure and urban greenspace;
- Climate resilience and flood mitigation;
- Municipal liability for infrastructure performance and environmental risk.
The Association of Municipalities of Ontario has raised our issue with the Attorney General of Ontario along with another recent legal decision affecting municipalities’ ability to manage local growth and land use planning.
The KGC lands demonstrate how quickly longstanding community planning principles and municipal agreements can be overridden, even when communities, municipalities, and residents have relied upon them for decades.
The Kanata Greenspace Protection Coalition is calling on Premier Doug Ford to use all tools available to the provincial government – including, if necessary, a Ministerial Zoning Order (MZO) – to protect these lands as critical municipal stormwater and flood mitigation infrastructure and ensure they remain as open green space.
The province has previously demonstrated a willingness to intervene to protect lands it considers to be of significant public interest, including the Glen Abbey Golf Club lands in Oakville. We believe the Kanata Golf Course lands warrant similar consideration given their function as vital stormwater infrastructure for thousands of residents.
We are asking elected officials across Ontario to:
- Recognize the broader precedent-setting implications of this issue;
- Support stronger protection of municipal planning authority and natural infrastructure;
- Urge the Province to intervene before irreversible damage occurs; and
- Encourage Premier Ford to use all available provincial tools – including an MZO, potential land swaps, provincial expropriation or acquisition, financial support or other solutions – to permanently protect the KGC lands as publicly accessible urban greenspace
This is not simply a local development dispute. It is a province-wide issue about responsible planning, climate resilience, public trust, and the ability of municipalities to plan communities in good faith.
What is happening in Kanata Lakes could happen in any Ontario community.
We appreciate your time and consideration and would welcome the opportunity to share additional information regarding the situation unfolding in Kanata North.
Sincerely,
Barbara Ramsay
Kanata Greenspace Protection Coalition, Chair
Email: info@ourkanatagreenspace.ca
Website: www.OurKanataGreenspace.ca
More Information
Frequently Asked Questions: https://ourkanatagreenspace.ca/frequently-asked-questions-from-the-community-april-2026/
Look What’s Happening in Kanata Lakes Video: https://youtu.be/FhcyW2UmeEI