THUNDER BAY – The province’s plan to consolidate 36 conservation authorities into nine has received royal assent.
“The bill that included the amendments to the Conservation Authorities Act passed third reading yesterday and has been given royal assent this morning, so it is now official,” Todd McCarthy, minister of the environment, conservation and parks, told delegates from 37 northwestern municipalities at the 2026 Northwestern Ontario Municipal Association Conference on Friday.
McCarthy was one of seven provincial ministers participating in the traditional Ministers’ Forum, otherwise known as the bear pit, to field questions from the delegates at the conference.
The Lakehead Region Conservation Authority learned in early March it would not merge with several conservation authorities hundreds of kilometres to the south along Lake Huron to form the Superior-Huron Conservation Authority, as originally proposed.
Instead, it will remain intact and rebrand as the Northwestern Regional Conservation Authority with responsibility for the same area but with some changes to policy and governance.
As the only conservation authority spared from consolidation, Shuniah Coun. Donna Blunt, LRCA chair, asked McCarthy whether the LRCA will have a transition committee as part of the consolidation process.
“We’re in the transition phase. That means project executives are going to be appointed by the new, for the first time ever, central agency called the Ontario Provincial Conservation Agency. With that comes funding of $3 million this year alone, which I announced on March 10th to help the transition to February 1,” McCarthy said.
According to the province, the funding is used to help conservation authorities transition to the new Ontario Provincial Conservation Agency model. After the transition period, the Ford government will provide annual funding to help regional conservation authorities achieve program improvements.
