Ontario Plans to Replace Endangered Species Act to Speed Up Development
The Ontario government is planning to get rid of the Endangered Species Act, making it easier to build things like mines and Highway 413.
Just before the Easter long weekend, on April 17, the government introduced Bill 5, called the Protect Ontario by Unleashing our Economy Act. It’s meant to make it faster to develop natural resources, change energy rules, and create special economic zones where normal laws might not apply.
One of the laws being replaced is the Endangered Species Act. It will be swapped with a new, weaker Species Conservation Act. This new law changes how animal habitats are protected. Instead of protecting the bigger areas animals need to find food and travel, only their immediate homes — like nests or dens — would be protected. Politicians would also get to decide which species are protected, not scientists.
The government said the old Endangered Species Act was too complicated and caused delays and extra costs for building homes, transit, and infrastructure. The new act removes the goal of helping species recover, focusing only on “protection and conservation” while also considering economic growth.
Ontario has had endangered species laws since the 1970s because regular land-use laws weren’t doing enough to protect wildlife. Environmental experts warn that adding business concerns into species protection weakens the main purpose of these laws — which is to save animals at risk, not to focus on saving money or time.
In their announcement, the government said it would launch a new conservation program to support volunteer community efforts and promised up to $20 million more in funding for conservation. They also said waiting years for permits would end, and that Ontario could build faster while still protecting nature and jobs.
Mining and business groups praised the new bill, saying it would help make Ontario more competitive globally.
What’s changing with the new Species Conservation Act?
Under the current Endangered Species Act, habitat means any area an animal needs for life — for things like breeding, feeding, migrating, and hibernating.
The new Species Conservation Act, however, defines habitat much more narrowly. It only protects the actual den, nest, or immediate area an animal lives in — not the wider space they need for survival activities like finding food.
This change means that companies no longer have to protect the larger environment that a species uses, just the specific spot the animal is found. Experts warn this will lead to less protection and less recovery of at-risk species.
The government says the new definition will make things clearer and simpler for businesses. It will also allow the cabinet to define important terms, like what counts as harm to a species, in the future.
Another big change: companies that might harm an endangered species will now only need to complete an online registration before starting work — no long wait for permits anymore. They will still have to follow regulations (which the government plans to develop with public and Indigenous input), but the shift to online registration removes a lot of oversight.
Currently, permits involve a full review of projects, looking for ways to avoid or lessen harm to species. But the new system mostly removes that careful review.
The government says most projects already use a registration system, and that almost all projects will now fall into it — even the more complicated ones that affect very threatened species like caribou.
A Steady Weakening of Protection
Ontario’s original endangered species law used to be one of the strongest in Canada. But over the years, changes have weakened it. Between 2009 and 2020, the number of at-risk species in Ontario rose by 22%.
In 2019, the Ford government made changes through the More Homes, More Choices Act that said if a species wasn’t endangered outside of Ontario, it would be listed as less endangered inside Ontario too. This change made it easier to downgrade protections.
The Endangered Species Act also required the government to automatically list new endangered species based on scientific advice. The new Species Conservation Act lets the Minister of Environment decide whether to list or even remove species, ignoring scientific reports.
Under the current law, once a species is listed, its habitat must be protected immediately, and a recovery plan must be made. The new law removes those requirements. Now, only federally listed species will have recovery plans, and those are often delayed.
Since most endangered species in Ontario live on provincial land, not federal land, this means a lot of them will lose their protection. The province says this will avoid duplication with federal rules, but experts warn it leaves huge gaps.
What does this mean for species like the redside dace and Highway 413?
Ontario’s natural ecosystems provide billions of dollars’ worth of benefits each year — fresh water, flood control, pollination, and more. Highway 413, which is being planned north and west of Toronto, crosses important natural areas and over 85 waterways, impacting species like the butternut tree, chorus frogs, and the redside dace — a tiny endangered fish.
The redside dace is federally protected, but provincial rules helped too by setting up special protections during construction, like sediment control. Those provincial protections would vanish under the new Species Conservation Act.
Even though the redside dace would still be protected under federal law, that hasn’t been enough in the past: between 2007 and 2017, the population dropped by 81%.
Six bird species along the Highway 413 route are also migratory birds protected under federal law. But under the new provincial law, Ontario would no longer be responsible for helping protect them.
This puts more pressure on the federal government to step in. Experts warn that Ontario is stepping back from protecting nature, and that without provincial support, many species are at greater risk.
The fight to protect the redside dace shows a bigger problem — Canada doesn’t have many strong environmental laws. So when one species becomes the center of a battle, it’s really about protecting entire ecosystems.
