What Ontario’s New Controversial Bill 5 Is About

Ontario Premier Doug Ford speaks to media during the first ministers meeting in Saskatoon on June 2, 2025. The Canadian Press/Liam Richards

Ontario Premier Doug Ford has long been vocal about his desire to build new roads and see more energy and mining projects come to fruition in his province and he now has the legislation in place to set these plans in motion.

Ford’s Progressive Conservative government was successful in its bid to pass Bill 5, a piece of legislation that allows the province to exempt companies or projects from compliance with any provincial law, provincial regulation, or municipal bylaw. The bill has received heavy criticism by the opposition parties, First Nations groups, and activists.

The bill, also known as the Protecting Ontario by Unleashing Our Economy Act, became law on June 5 after receiving royal assent.

The legislation comes on the heels of a federal campaign heavily focused on building the economy in the face of U.S. tariffs and declining economic indicators, and with provinces looking to the federal government to expedite major projects.

The legislation amends the Endangered Species Act and the Ontario Heritage Act while also revoking various regulations in other acts related to development and procurement. The changes will allow the province to accelerate critical mineral and resource-related projects through the designation of “special economic zones.”

These zones will allow projects to be fast-tracked through simpler rules, faster approvals, and “one-window access” to services through the Special Economic Zones Act, which was enacted as part of Bill 5.

Ford has described Bill 5 as a means to bolster Ontario’s economy in the face of tariffs imposed by U.S. President Donald Trump.

The broad wording of the legislation permits cabinet to grant exemptions from any law, including those related to labour, the environment, or operational matters. Provincial officials have said the government will not grant exemptions to any company regarding Ontario’s minimum wage regulations or other labour laws.

The government has yet to offer any specifics about which laws his government would exempt, with Premier Ford saying the only goal is to “speed up the process” for projects that will benefit the economy.

He discussed the typically lengthy time frame required for a mine to commence production in Ontario, noting during a recent press conference that it can take as long as 16 years to receive the proper permits.

Such delays are also covered under the newly enacted law. Amendments to the Mining Act laid out in Bill 5 are aimed at reducing Ontario’s approval timeline from four years to two years.

Ford noted that exemptions granted by the province will vary from case to case.

“It’s not the same thing for every situation and when we feel we need to speed things up, we'll speed things up,” Ford said at the June 5 press conference. “But I’m going to continue going through the proper processes.”

Economic Zones

Ford said he would like Ontario’s first special economic zone to be established in the Ring of Fire, situated in the northern region of the province in the centre of Treaty 9 territory. The mineral-rich region is located some 500 kilometres north of Thunder Bay and is home to substantial reserves of chromite, cobalt, copper, nickel, and platinum that Ford wants to see utilized.

The premier said he wants to make the Ring of Fire a special economic zone as soon as possible, but emphasized that consultations with First Nations are first on the agenda.

“One of the most important is making sure we consult with stakeholders, consult with communities and First Nations,” he said. “That’s what we’re going to do, make sure we communicate.”

While Ford said some First Nations are on board with the projects his government is proposing, there are several who are not.

Ontario Regional Chief Abram Benedict has invited Ford to attend the annual assembly of the Chiefs of Ontario from June 17 to 19 to begin “urgent dialogue” on the bill, which he says threatens their treaty rights.

“This legislation, introduced without prior consultation with First Nations rights holders, raises serious concerns due to its far-reaching implications on inherent Treaty rights and community obligations to the land, waters, and wildlife,” Benedict said in a letter posted to social media.

The Chiefs of Ontario, the group representing more than 130 First Nations across the province, said the bill threatens sovereignty, land stewardship, and ongoing reconciliation efforts. The group said the bill would place “decision-making power in the hands of ministers and the Lieutenant Governor without mandating First Nations involvement.”

“The legislation allows the Ontario government to bypass critical processes that safeguard species at risk, cultural heritage, and treaty rights particularly in regions like the Ring of Fire,” the group said on its website.

The Opposition NDP has also opposed the bill, saying it would “put Doug Ford and his insiders above the law” and that the government “can wipe away any law they want” with the legislation.

The Ring of Fire is not just on Ford’s priority list. He has also presented it as one of the province’s key priorities in a letter sent to Prime Minister Mark Carney on May 5.

Ford said securing access to vital minerals and developing the Ring of Fire, investing in an electric vehicle supply chain, establishing a new James Bay deep-sea port, and supporting nuclear energy generation to build small modular reactors were top priorities for Ontario that would also “be transformational for Canada’s economy.”

The letter comes in response to a request made by Carney during a March meeting with the premiers in which he urged them to identify “nation-building projects.”

The topic was also broached at last week’s first ministers meeting with Carney in Saskatoon as one of the many projects Ontario wants federal help with. The decision now rests with Carney on which projects will receive federal support, either via swift approvals or financial assistance.

Carney’s Liberal government introduced a bill in the House of Commons last week that is similar in purpose to Ontario’s Bill 5.

Known as the One Canadian Economy Act, it aims to expedite the approval process for major infrastructure projects and could be used to aid in making some of Ford’s ideas a reality. If Carney backs any of the projects proposed by Ford, the province could then use its Bill 5 powers to do everything it can on its end to hasten the concept to completion.

Ontario’s Economic Development Minister Vic Fedeli said the law will help attract new investment to the province, noting that companies from around the world are interested in doing business with Ontario.

“That capital that’s building up needs to unleash, and we want them to know that when they come to Ontario, it can be unleashed very quickly here,” Fedeli said at the news conference alongside Ford. “They don’t have to wait 15 years to get a permit.”

Opposition From Environmental Activist Groups

The legislation also acts as a replacement for the Endangered Species Act. Now that Bill 5 is law, the previous act has been replaced with the Species Conservation Act.

The new law grants cabinet the authority to decide which animals and plants require protection and eliminates the requirement for the creation of recovery strategies. It also means the government has more authority to ignore recommendations from the independent scientific committee that determines if a species is endangered or threatened in Ontario.

Certain decisions regarding at-risk species may also be assigned to the deputy minister or “any other employee in the ministry.” Some groups such as Environmental Defence Canada have criticized the changes, saying it could diminish accountability and transparency in the enforcement of the new act.

“By voting ‘yes’ to Bill 5 on its third and final reading, the Ontario government has knowingly inflicted a grievous blow against the rule of law, and likely condemned many of the province’s endangered and threatened species to extinction,” the organization’s Ontario environment program manager Phil Pothen wrote in a June 5 statement. “Bill 5 … strips protection from almost all of the habitat that endangered, threatened and special concern species require to survive and reproduce.”

Ontario Nature conservation policy and campaigns director Tony Morris said the new bill may have been made law, but environmental and other interest groups will be working to overturn it.

“The public outcry about Bill 5 has been deafening from groups across sectors,” Morris said in a press release, noting that more than 100 national, provincial and local organizations signed a joint letter opposing the replacement of the Endangered Species Act.

Ford didn’t comment about opposition to the new law from environmentalists or about potential legal challenges to the legislation during his recent press conference.

He said he intends to press ahead with the law and use it to grow the economy.

“Make no mistake about it, I’m leading the charge on Bill 5,” he said. “We’re going to continue moving forward.”