Waterloo Region reacts to provincial reversal on urban boundary expansion

News the Doug Ford government is reversing plans to expand the urban boundaries of multiple Ontario municipalities – including Waterloo Region – is being welcomed locally.

New Housing Minister Paul Calandra made the announcement at Queen’s Park on Monday morning.

He said previous decisions to change the boundaries were not made “in a manner that maintains and reinforces public trust.”

“The process was one that I was just not comfortable with,” Calandra told reporters. “I think there was just a little bit too much involvement from individuals within the previous minister's office on the official plans in these areas.”

The initial decision to expand the boundaries was made in an attempt to create more homes, with the provincial government arguing if more land could be rezoned as urban, then more houses would get built.

Many did not buy that premise, including Sam Nabi, director of Hold the Line Waterloo Region, a group dedicated to protecting the urban boundary.

“We have to build more roads, build more hydro infrastructure, build more sewers, it’s more expensive for everyone in the long run, this plan that the province had was never going to build more affordable housing,” Nabi said.

“This line protects urban development from damaging our natural resources, water and farm land.”

According to Nabi, the region has been successful in protecting the countryside while growing the community.

“We can reaffirm that that original boundary will remain intact and that we have lots of room to grow within the urban boundary in Waterloo Region,” Nabi said.

Waterloo Mayor Dorothy McCabe is also happy with Calandra’s decision.

“I think this is good news,” she said. “It returns the countryside line to its original boundary, and I hope that we as regional council go back to our original official plan.”

McCabe said the City of Watelroo will have no problem hitting housing targets without adjusting the urban boundary.

"Absolutely we will be able to hit those targets,” she said. “In the City of Waterloo, we've had a tremendous amount of applications for housing that our staff are working feverishly on."

The region will have 45 days to reach out to the ministry and identify any changes to their master plan, as the province hopes to get on the same page as its municipalities.

“This really is a reset for me as a minister to work with my municipal partners so we can remain focused on working together,” Calandra said.