Securing Ontario: A Public Vision for the Greenbelt Review

This backgrounder frames the 2025 Greenbelt Review as a critical moment to safeguard Ontario’s water, farmland, and climate resilience. It warns of government inaction on key threats while laying out a clear path forward grounded in evidence and public interest.

Key highlights:

• Water security: Greenbelt supplies clean drinking water to 7 million Ontarians; $3.2B in annual ecosystem services
• Farmland protection: Ontario lost 1.5M acres (175 acres/day) between 1996–2016; Greenbelt farmland anchors $4.1B in GDP
• Climate action: Stores 87M tonnes of carbon, preventing $366M in annual climate damages
• Essential outcomes for the review:
  • Maintain or expand Greenbelt boundaries — no swaps or removals
  • Stop sprawl and align housing with existing infrastructure
  • Honour Treaty Rights and UNDRIP commitments
  • Strengthen enforcement on aggregate, sprawl, and pollution

The report also tackles myths vs. reality about the housing crisis, showing that Ontario already has ample land supply and that zoning—not the Greenbelt—is the barrier to affordability. The review, it argues, is a test of leadership and a chance to secure long-term resilience for all Ontarians.