On November 27, 2025, Ontario Bill 68 received royal assent in Queen’s Park, turning legislative amendments into law.
Amongst the changes was the amendment to the Conservation Authorities Act; all conservation authorities (CA) within Ontario must now report to the recently established Ontario Provincial Conservation Agency (OPCA) and they will do so under a new structure.
Effective February 1, 2027, Ontario’s 36 conservation authorities are required to amalgamate into nine greater regions.
The Grand River Conservation Authority (GRCA) will be melded with three others: Kettle Creek Conservation Authority, Catfish Creek Conservation Authority and the Long Point Region Conservation Authority.
The four CA’s will form the Eastern Lake Erie Regional Conservation Authority.
Existing boundaries between current conservation areas are displayed in white | Map credit: Conservation Ontario, modified by Mik Horvath
Despite the complete restructuring of a near-century-old organization, GRCA board of directors chairman, John Challinor, said ideally no change will be noticeable from the outside.
Each conservation authority in Ontario has a board of directors which are made up of local municipal figures.
Challinor also serves as town councillor for Milton’s Ward 2.
Initially the provincial government wanted the 36 CA’s to dissolve into seven, but after some back-and-forth with Ontario’s conservation authorities, the Ford government cut back the figure to nine and the regions are based on Source Protection Areas.
Challinor said basing the amalgamation on the protected areas is a more ideal arrangement.
The GRCA also sees the amalgamation as an opportunity to utilize its abundance of human, planning and fiscal resources to assist the smaller organizations.
Alexandru Cioban, spokesperson for the provincial Minister of Environment, Conservation and Parks, said the legislation aims to “reduce duplication, direct more resources to frontline work and modernize permitting processes.”
Challinor said the amalgamation highlights a need for conservation authorities to be held accountable for any missteps.
According to Challinor one of the biggest changes Ontario is currently facing is its growth.
Todd Noble is deputy mayor for Central Elgin and also sits as chair of the Kettle Creek Conservation Authority (KCCA).
Noble said Kettle Creek is hitting all its marks.
Ontario conservation authorities are involved in multiple differing processes such as managing campsites, tree planting, land upkeep, best management practices with farmers, erosion control, issuing build permits and researching and informing the public of flood mapping and protections.
Speaking on housing specifically, at least in Central Elgin, Noble said the only thing stopping new houses from being built are the lack of customers.
Dusty Underhill is the general manager, secretary and treasurer of the Catfish Creek Conservation Authority (CCCA).
Underhill said the demand to build in larger urban centres is not experienced in the smaller, rural areas.
According to Underhill, the CCCA is also reaching all of its development goals with no difficulty.
Noble said despite the differing markets the KCCA is feeling pressured to build more.
Judy Maxwell of the Long Point Region Conservation Authority (LPRCA) said their CA is not delaying infrastructure developments.
Noble and the KCCA also express a concern for the dissolution of the local voice in favour of a blanket approach.
However, Underhill and the CCCA have also recognized a lack of professional planners.
According to a report from the Ontario Professional Planners Institute (OPPI) in 2024, the province of Ontario has already experienced a shortage of planners.
OPPI is a branch of the national Canadian Institute of Planners and the report said “Ontario faces a significant shortage of planners necessary to do long-range planning and process the volume of applications required to meet our housing goals.”
Under the new legislation each board of directors was required to appoint two representatives to a transition committee which reports to OPCA.
Noble said this new chain of command is not favourable for consistent, local advice.
The amendments require the CA’s to appoint one of its members that also serve on municipal council as well as either the chief administrative officer or general manager of the predecessor authority.
Maxwell and the LPRCA said this likely means only one individual municipal representative will be working with OPCA through the transition.
For Underhill and the CCCA that means working with a completely different tier of government.
The CCCA also has a unique watershed context compared to its neighbours.
Nature Ontario, a charity protecting wild animals and spaces, has compiled a living document conceived in March 2026 which tracks legislative changes made since 2018 that weaken environmental protections in Ontario.
According to the report there are over 50 changes and 2025 saw the most amount of change during Ford’s tenure as Premier.
An email response from Nature Ontario president, Luke Bondi, said “the scale of the rollbacks under this current government are unprecedented, undoing legislative gains that took decades to build.”
Underhill said maintaining local knowledge is key in understanding the nuanced differences between the natural scape of each CA.
However, the conservation authorities do see glimmers of good within the imminent amendments.
Underhill said the staff at their CA are typically quite busy; getting greater access to resources from large organizations like the GRCA could prove to be beneficial.
Challinor and the GRCA are also looking forward to establishing a stronger line of communication between all conservation authorities and the provincial government.
However, Underhill said the success of the transition, subsequent amalgamation and future of the organization rests largely on maintaining science-based decision making.
All four conservation authorities have published a joint mission statement and said they will move through the process with openness, transparency and accountability.
