Ontario Proposes to Cut Greenbelt Land for Homes, Add Land Elsewhere

A hiker starts on a high graded hill climb at the Rouge Urban National Park in Toronto on June 15, 2021. Giordano Ciampini/The Canadian Press

Ontario is proposing to remove land from the protected Greenbelt in order to build at least 50,000 new homes, while adding new land to it elsewhere–contradicting a pledge made last year.

Housing Minister Steve Clark announced Friday that the government is launching a 30-day consultation on removing about 7,400 acres in 15 different areas from the Greenbelt, which was created to protect environmentally sensitive regions from development.