Expanding Protected Areas in Ontario – Additional Sites Proposed to be Regulated under the Provincial Parks and Conservation Reserves Act, 2006

Ontario is expanding greenspaces throughout the province to provide Ontarians with new outdoor recreation opportunities, such as hiking, camping and fishing, while providing communities with critical support related to tourism, job creation and economic development. At the same time, Ontario is conserving and safeguarding the province’s unique ecosystems, habitats, and wildlife for the benefit of Ontarians today and future generations.

As part of this initiative, Ontario is seeking to accelerate the expansion of the protected areas system by proposing to regulate new areas under the Provincial Parks and Conservation Reserves Act, 2006 (PPCRA). This includes sites that the province has earmarked for protection under past planning exercises such as Ontario’s Living Legacy (OLL) Land Use Strategy, as well as lands previously acquired by the Crown from third parties.

In July 2024, Ontario consulted through the Environmental Registry of Ontario (ERO number 019-8618) on proposed additions to provincial parks and conservation reserves under the PPCRA. This list included 27 sites, totaling 10,324 hectares (ha) (25,511 acres (ac)).

We are now proposing protections for another 43 sites, totalling approximately 12,600 ha (over 31,100 ac) to continue to expand Ontario’s protected areas system.

Ontario’s Living Legacy and Acquired Lands

In 1999, Ontario released its OLL Land Use Strategy, which represented the largest one-time expansion of Ontario’s protected areas system in the province’s history.

The OLL Land Use Strategy recommended 378 protected areas totalling almost 2.4 million ha (approximately 5.9 million ac) of which over 2.1 million ha (5.2 million ac) have been regulated under the PPCRA to date.

While nearly 90 per cent of OLL sites have been regulated, some sites required additional time due to incomplete planning activities, existing obstacles, and other factors. Many of these remaining sites have received prior consultation and interim protection, and are designated as recommended conservation reserves, provincial parks or as a forest reserve under the Ministry of Natural Resources’ (MNR) Public Lands Act as shown in the Crown Land Use Planning Atlas. The ministry is interested in proceeding with the regulation of these remaining OLL sites.

In addition, over the past several decades, the province has acquired a range of lands from third parties, including land donations, often with the intention to create new protected areas.

Ontario’s Provincial Parks and Conservation Reserves

Ontario's provincial parks and conservation reserves are established and regulated under the PPCRA. The purpose of the PPCRA is to permanently protect a system of provincial parks and conservation reserves that includes ecosystems that are representative of all of Ontario’s natural regions, protects provincially significant elements of Ontario’s natural and cultural heritage, maintains biodiversity and provides opportunities for compatible, ecologically sustainable recreation.

Ontario has 342 provincial parks that protect over 8.3 million ha (over 20 million ac) and 296 conservation reserves, comprising over 1.5 million ha (almost 4 million ac) are regulated under the PPCRA.

Provincial parks are also classified under the PPCRA (e.g. recreational park, or waterway park). The park classification system provides a structured approach to how parks are designed, planned and managed. Different classes of parks contribute differently to Ontario’s protected area system. The objectives of each classification of park can be found in section 8 of the PPCRA.

Provincial parks can be operating or non-operating. Operating parks provide a range of services and amenities, such as campground camping, roofed accommodations, washrooms, and Discovery programs, and charge fees. In non-operating parks, facilities and services within a park are minimal or not provided. There are no fees associated with the use of non-operating parks.

In addition to provincial parks, the PPCRA also sets out objectives for the establishment and management of conservation reserves. Generally, there are no facilities or services provided within conservation reserves and no associated fees for the usage of these areas.

In total, over 9.8 million ha (over 24 million ac) of land and water are regulated under the PPCRA across the province.

What We Are Proposing

Ontario is proposing to expand protected areas under the PPCRA by adding 43 sites totalling approximately 12,600 ha. Additionally, Ontario is also proposing to:

• deregulate portions of three protected areas, which will be replaced with additions greater in size than the portions being deregulated, resulting in no loss to the total size of these three existing protected areas
• change the designation of one (1) 43-ha parcel that currently is within St. Williams Conservation Reserve to redesignate it as part of Turkey Point Provincial Park for operational and management purposes

The sites have been divided into geographic regions based on the five Ontario Parks Administrative Zones and listed below to better support this review and ability for the public to provide feedback. Please see the Map of Ontario Parks Zones to better orient yourself to where the proposed sites are located in Ontario.

These zones are as follows:

• Algonquin Zone (ALZ)
• Northeast Zone (NEZ)
• Northwest Zone (NWZ)
• Southeast Zone (SEZ)
• Southwest Zone (SWZ)

We have also provided a supplemental document that contains additional site-specific details for each proposed site with a map of the proposed lands to be regulated. The details for each proposed site can be directly accessed through the links found in the list below.

We are seeking feedback on these new proposed protected areas. The ministry continues to collect information through this consultation and with support from its partner ministries, to inform the sites that would proceed to regulation under the PPCRA as protected areas.

Comments and feedback can be provided on any of the listed sites and may also be general in nature. When commenting on this proposal, please specifically identify which site(s), if any, you are commenting on.

Algonquin Zone (ALZ)

Sites proposed as Conservation Reserves:

1. Blue Lake End Moraine Conservation Reserve Addition*+ (19 ha addition, 18 ha deregulation)
2. Spring/Cut Lake Esker Conservation Reserve Addition* (90 ha)

Northeast Zone ( NEZ 
Sites proposed as Provincial Parks:

3. Cockburn Island Addition Provincial Park (193 ha)
4. Esker Lakes Provincial Park Addition* (13 ha)
5. French River Provincial Park Addition (2 ha)
6. Hay Marsh Provincial Park (195 ha)
7. Misery Bay Provincial Park Addition (55 ha)

Sites proposed as Conservation Reserves:

8. Cognashene Lake Conservation Reserve Addition (75 ha)
9. Elspeth Lake White Birch Outwash Conservation Reserve* (265 ha)
10. Glenn N. Crombie Conservation Reserve Addition* (58 ha)
11. Grassy River Halliday Lake Forests & Lowlands Conservation Reserve Addition* (2,980 ha)
12. Louck Lake Wetland Conservation Reserve Addition+ (100 ha, 0.17 ha deregulation)
13. Mac's Bay Conservation Reserve Addition (101 ha)
14. McClaren Forest Conservation Reserve Addition* (22 ha)
15. McGarry Township Conservation Reserve Addition* (91 ha)
16. Mistinikon Lake Uplands Conservation Reserve Addition* (52 ha)
17. Night Hawk Lake Shoreline Bluffs Conservation Reserve Addition* (625 ha)
18. Rawhide Lake Conservation Reserve Addition* (3 ha)
19. South Grassy Lake Conservation Reserve Addition* (242 ha)
20. Tatachikapika River Plain Conservation Reserve Addition* (629 ha)

Northwest Zone ( NWZ ) 
Sites proposed as Provincial Parks:

21. Eagle-Dogtooth Provincial Park Addition* (71 ha)
22. La Verendrye Provincial Park Addition (291 ha)
23. Sleeping Giant Provincial Park Addition (85 ha)

Sites proposed as Conservation Reserves:

24. Bruce Lake Conservation Reserve Addition* (257 ha)
25. Kaministiquia River Conservation Reserve (66 ha)
26. Pearson Township Conservation Reserve* (552 ha)
27. Western Lake Superior Conservation Reserve* (1,184 ha)

Southeast Zone ( SEZ ) 
Sites proposed as Provincial Parks:

28. Bon Echo Provincial Park Addition (4 ha)
29. Ferris Provincial Park Addition+ (20 ha addition, 2 ha deregulation)

Southwest Zone ( SWZ ) 
Sites proposed as Provincial Parks:

30. Awenda Provincial Park Addition (11 ha)
31. Boyne Valley Provincial Park Addition (496 ha)
32. Duncan Escarpment Provincial Park Addition (126 ha)
33. Hockley Valley Provincial Park Addition (83 ha)
34. Nottawasaga Lookout Provincial Park Addition (144 ha)
35. Pretty River Valley Provincial Park Addition (12 ha)
36. Turkey Point Provincial Park Addition (13 ha)

Sites proposed Conservation Reserves:

37. Alton Grange Conservation Reserve (134 ha)
38. Beaver Valley Lowlands Conservation Reserve (680 ha)
39. Big Creek Conservation Reserve (13 ha)
40. Kolapore Uplands Conservation Reserve (1,892 ha)
41. Hoggs Falls Conservation Reserve (235 ha)
42. Len Gertler Conservation Reserve (363 ha)
43. St. Williams Conservation Reserve Addition (59 ha)

* Indicates proposed sites identified for protection under OLL Land Use Strategy

+ indicates sites with a proposed addition and a proposed deregulation. Please see the proposed site details for more information regarding the proposal in the supplemental document.

Proposed Changes to PPCRA Regulations

In order to amend the boundaries of provincial parks, we are proposing to amend O. Reg. 316/07: Designation and Classification of Provincial Parks under the PPCRA for 17 proposed sites.

Amendments would update “Column 2: Land Set Aside” in “Table 1: Provincial Parks of Ontario” of the regulation to include:

• the provincial park’s size
• the description of the park’s boundaries (including the proposed new area)

In order to amend the boundaries of conservation reserves, we are proposing to amend O. Reg. 315/07: Designation of Conservation Reserves under the PPCRA for 26 proposed sites. The amendment will update the existing schedule that will:

• list the conservation reserve’s name and size
• describe the conservation reserve’s boundaries (including the proposed new area)

It is anticipated that common recreational activities, including fishing and hiking, which are currently taking place on parcels being proposed as a provincial park or conservation reserve would continue should a proposed site move forward to regulation under the PPCRA. Any changes to existing park management direction would be considered through a separate park management planning process which would include public and Indigenous consultation.

Existing small-scale commercial uses may be able to continue. Industrial activities prohibited by the PPCRA such as aggregate extraction, prospecting/mining, and commercial timber harvest would be restricted (as is the case for those sites already listed under the Crown Land Use Planning Atlas as recommended protected areas).

If sites proposed for protection are regulated as provincial parks or conservation reserves, this would not prohibit Indigenous communities from exercising their Aboriginal and treaty rights. Indigenous communities could still exercise these rights in the provincial parks or conservation reserves subject to safety and conservation concerns.

Please see the ERO supplemental document for more information about each site.

Proposed Changes to Regulate Hunting

Under the PPCRA, hunting is permitted in a conservation reserve and is not permitted in a provincial park unless it is allowed by regulation made under the Fish and Wildlife Conservation Act, 1997 (FWCA). Hunting would continue to be allowed in all 26 sites proposed as conservation reserves, consistent with the rules for the surrounding wildlife management unit and in accordance with the FWCA.

Hunting is proposed to be allowed in all or portions of six sites proposed to be added to provincial parks, as well as one provincial park where hunting is currently not permitted:

1. French River Provincial Park Addition
2. La Verendrye Provincial Park Addition
3. Eagle-Dogtooth Provincial Park Addition
4. Esker Lake Provincial Park Addition
5. Pretty River Valley Provincial Park Addition
6. Boyne Valley Provincial Park and the proposed addition to this park.

Note: Hunting is not currently permitted in Boyne Valley Provincial Park. The proposal is to allow hunting in the proposed additions and to permit hunting within the currently regulated area of the park.

Hunting is currently permitted in the entirety, or in portions of, these provincial parks (with the exception of Boyne Valley Provincial Park as noted above). Hunting is currently permitted on most of the lands proposed to be added to these provincial parks. It is proposed that hunting would continue to be permitted in all or portions of these park additions where hunting is currently permitted and in Boyne Valley Provincial Park consistent with the requirements in clause 110(b) of O. Reg. 665/98: (Hunting) under the FWCA. This would allow the hunting of game mammals (but not furbearing mammals), migratory game birds or game birds to occur beginning the later of the first day of the open season for that mammal or bird or September 15 until the last day of the open season for that mammal or bird. Site specific hunting proposals can be found in the supplemental document.

Hunting is proposed to not be allowed in 11 sites. These include:

1. Cockburn Island Addition Provincial Park
2. Hay Marsh Provincial Park
3. Misery Bay Provincial Park Addition
4. Sleeping Giant Provincial Park Addition
5. Bon Echo Provincial Park Addition
6. Ferris Provincial Park Addition
7. Awenda Provincial Park Addition
8. Duncan Escarpment Provincial Park Addition
9. Hockley Valley Provincial Park Addition
10. Turkey Point Provincial Park Addition
    Note: This includes a proposed designation change for (1) 43-ha parcel currently part of St. Williams Conservation Reserve, located northeast of the intersection of Turkey Point Rd and Charlotteville Road 1. Please see the supplemental document for more information.
11. Nottawasaga Provincial Park Addition

Generally, these restrictions are proposed to ensure public safety in high-traffic areas and sites that abut roadways, trails, campgrounds and other developments and in some cases, to align with existing park management policies where hunting is prohibited.

Should the proposal to regulate a particular site proceed under the PPCRA, corresponding amendments will be proposed to O. Reg. 663/98: Area Descriptions under the FWCA (as required for changes to enable hunting in areas described in this proposal), concurrent with regulation changes to O. Reg. 316/07: Designation and Classification of Provincial Parks under the PPCRA to expand or create a new park. MNR and MECP are seeking comments on the FWCA regulatory proposals as part of this ERO proposal notice posting; a separate opportunity for comment will not be provided.

Regulatory Impact Analysis

The ministry does not anticipate any new costs to regulated entities resulting from the regulation of new lands under the PPCRA and enabling hunting under the FWCA and welcomes feedback on any potential site-specific impacts. The proposal entails substantive benefits to the general public, including protection of sensitive habitat and permitting environmentally sustainable recreation to continue.

Given that there are no other ways to establish a provincial park or conservation reserve boundary, amending O. Reg. 315/07 or O. Reg. 316/07 is the only option.

Other Opportunities for Consultation

The ministry will be contacting Indigenous communities, provincial and regional stakeholders, and the local communities directly to advise them of the proposal.

If you are interested in having your contact information added to the direct notification list for this project, please contact us at Protected.Areas@Ontario.ca.