<html><body style="overflow-wrap: break-word; -webkit-nbsp-mode: space; line-break: after-white-space;"><head><meta http-equiv="content-type" content="text/html; charset=utf-8"></head><div><div><div class="layout__default popup-hide-subscribe" style="font-size: 16px; box-sizing: border-box; caret-color: rgb(33, 37, 41); color: rgb(33, 37, 41); font-family: museo-sans, sans-serif; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><div id="fade-start" class="single__container" style="box-sizing: border-box; position: relative; padding-top: 40px;"><div class="container" style="box-sizing: border-box; width: 960px; padding-right: 15px; padding-left: 15px; margin-right: auto; margin-left: auto; max-width: 960px;"><div class="row justify-content-center" style="box-sizing: border-box; display: flex; flex-wrap: wrap; margin-right: -15px; margin-left: -15px; justify-content: center !important;"><div class="col-md-10 col-lg-8 article__col" style="box-sizing: border-box; position: relative; width: 639.984375px; min-height: 1px; padding-right: 15px; padding-left: 15px; flex: 0 0 66.666664%; max-width: 66.666664%;"><div class="article-byline d-flex" style="box-sizing: border-box; padding-bottom: 15px; border-bottom-width: 1px; border-bottom-style: solid; border-bottom-color: rgb(220, 219, 218); display: flex !important;"><div class="article-byline__avatar" style="box-sizing: border-box;"><a href="https://thenarwhal.ca/author/emma-mcintosh/" class="article__author-image" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: rgb(255, 68, 56); text-decoration: none;"></a></div><div class="article-byline__meta" style="box-sizing: border-box;"><div class="article-byline__authors" style="box-sizing: border-box; display: flex; align-items: center;"><div class="article-byline__authors pp-multiple-authors-wrapper multiple-authors-target-shortcode pp-multiple-authors-layout-byline" style="box-sizing: border-box; display: flex; align-items: center;"><div class="article__authors" style="box-sizing: border-box; display: inline-block; line-height: 20px; color: rgb(62, 60, 57);">By <span class="article-byline__authors-name author_index_1" style="box-sizing: border-box;"><a href="https://thenarwhal.ca/author/emma-mcintosh/" class="author url fn" rel="author" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: rgb(62, 60, 57); text-decoration: none;">Emma McIntosh</a></span></div></div></div><div class="article-byline__date" style="box-sizing: border-box; font-size: 15px; color: rgb(62, 60, 57); margin-top: 5px;"><span class="article__date" style="box-sizing: border-box; display: inline-block; margin-right: 15px;">Oct. 23, 2023 </span> <span class="article__reading-time" style="box-sizing: border-box; display: inline-block;"><span class="far fa-clock" style="box-sizing: border-box; -webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; display: inline-block; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; text-rendering: auto; line-height: 1; font-family: "Font Awesome 5 Pro"; font-size: 13px;"></span> 5 min. read</span></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div><div class="container position-relative" style="font-size: 16px; box-sizing: border-box; width: 960px; padding-right: 15px; padding-left: 15px; margin-right: auto; margin-left: auto; max-width: 960px; caret-color: rgb(33, 37, 41); color: rgb(33, 37, 41); font-family: museo-sans, sans-serif; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); position: relative !important;"><div class="social-share" style="box-sizing: border-box; width: 65px; height: 250px; position: absolute; left: 15px; z-index: 99; border: medium; bottom: 0px; padding: 0px; color: rgb(122, 122, 122); top: 50px;"><a href="https://twitter.com/intent/tweet?text=Thousands%20of%20hectares%20of%20Ontario%20farmland%20won%E2%80%99t%20be%20developed%20after%20Ford%20government%20backs%20down:%20https://thenarwhal.ca/ontario-boundary-expansion-reversal/" class="social-share__links" target="_blank" style="box-sizing: border-box; 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font-variant-position: normal; text-rendering: auto; line-height: 1; font-family: "Font Awesome 5 Brands"; font-size: 20px; margin-right: 8px;"></span></a><a href="mailto:?subject=Thousands%20of%20hectares%20of%20Ontario%20farmland%20won%E2%80%99t%20be%20developed%20after%20Ford%20government%20backs%20down%20|%20The%20Narwhal&body=Thought%20you%20might%20be%20interested:https://thenarwhal.ca/ontario-boundary-expansion-reversal/" class="social-share__links" target="_blank" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: rgb(122, 122, 122); text-decoration: none; display: block; margin: 0px 10px 15px; font-size: 14px; width: 65px;"><span class="fas fa-envelope-square" style="box-sizing: border-box; -webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; display: inline-block; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; text-rendering: auto; line-height: 1; font-family: "Font Awesome 5 Pro"; font-weight: 900; font-size: 20px; margin-right: 8px;"></span></a></div><div class="banner-caption" style="box-sizing: border-box; font-size: 12px; line-height: 16px; color: rgb(62, 60, 57); width: 150px; height: 130px; position: absolute; top: 0px; right: 0px; z-index: 99;">Ontario will reverse its decision to impose urban sprawl on Hamilton and nine other municipalities, preserving thousands of hectares of farmland and green space. The move is another huge reversal of the Progressive Conservatives' housing policy. <div class="banner-caption__credit" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-top: 10px;">Photo: Christopher Katsarov Luna / The Narwhal </div></div><div class="row justify-content-center" style="box-sizing: border-box; display: flex; flex-wrap: wrap; margin-right: -15px; margin-left: -15px; justify-content: center !important;"><div class="col-md-10 col-lg-8" style="box-sizing: border-box; position: relative; width: 639.984375px; min-height: 1px; padding-right: 15px; padding-left: 15px; flex: 0 0 66.666664%; max-width: 66.666664%;"><div class="single__body" style="box-sizing: border-box; padding: 30px 0px;"><p class="selectionShareable" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 1rem; font-family: cordale, Georgia, Garamond, serif; font-size: 18px; color: rgb(62, 60, 57); line-height: 27px; clear: both;">The Doug Ford government is walking back its plans to extend the urban boundaries of 10 southern Ontario municipalities that would enable housing development on farmland.</p><p class="selectionShareable" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 1rem; font-family: cordale, Georgia, Garamond, serif; font-size: 18px; color: rgb(62, 60, 57); line-height: 27px; clear: both;">In recent weeks, the government had faced increasing heat over the urban boundary changes — especially <a href="https://thenarwhal.ca/ontario-housing-hamilton-halton/" target="_blank" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: rgb(255, 68, 56); text-decoration: none;">those affecting Hamilton</a> — which critics said followed a similar pattern to contentious and now-reversed carveouts from <a href="https://thenarwhal.ca/topics/ontario-greenbelt/" target="_blank" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: rgb(255, 68, 56); text-decoration: none;">Ontario’s Greenbelt</a>. In a press conference Monday morning, Housing Minister Paul Calandra said he had reviewed the urban boundary decisions, including Hamilton’s, and found they weren’t done “in a manner that maintains and reinforces public trust.”</p><p class="selectionShareable" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 1rem; font-family: cordale, Georgia, Garamond, serif; font-size: 18px; color: rgb(62, 60, 57); line-height: 27px; clear: both;">“The process was one that I was just not comfortable with,” Calandra told reporters.</p><p class="selectionShareable" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 1rem; font-family: cordale, Georgia, Garamond, serif; font-size: 18px; color: rgb(62, 60, 57); line-height: 27px; clear: both;">“I think there was just a little bit too much involvement from the minister’s office, from individuals within the previous minister’s office.”</p><p class="selectionShareable" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 1rem; font-family: cordale, Georgia, Garamond, serif; font-size: 18px; color: rgb(62, 60, 57); line-height: 27px; clear: both;">[bravepop id=”49308″ align=”center”]</p><p class="selectionShareable" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 1rem; font-family: cordale, Georgia, Garamond, serif; font-size: 18px; color: rgb(62, 60, 57); line-height: 27px; clear: both;">Calandra’s decision comes weeks after <a href="https://thenarwhal.ca/hamilton-urban-boundary-expansion-docs/" target="_blank" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: rgb(255, 68, 56); text-decoration: none;">an investigation by The Narwhal</a>showed the province made many of the changes to Hamilton’s urban boundaries in response to requests from unnamed third parties, and despite public opposition and warnings from public servants about unknown environmental consequences. The reversal means 2,200 hectares of land in Hamilton alone are no longer on the table for development, along with thousands of hectares more in nine other municipalities.</p><p class="selectionShareable" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 1rem; font-family: cordale, Georgia, Garamond, serif; font-size: 18px; color: rgb(62, 60, 57); line-height: 27px; clear: both;">Grassroots group Stop Sprawl Hamilton, which has pushed against urban sprawl, hailed the announcement as a victory for citizens who protested the decision to allow development on farmland. </p><p class="selectionShareable" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 1rem; font-family: cordale, Georgia, Garamond, serif; font-size: 18px; color: rgb(62, 60, 57); line-height: 27px; clear: both;">“Thousands of Hamiltonians have engaged in this fight,” the group said in a statement. “People power has won the day.”</p><figure class="wp-block-gallery has-nested-images columns-default is-cropped wp-block-gallery-1 is-layout-flex wp-block-gallery-is-layout-flex" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 60px calc(-33.333333% - 5px) 20px; gap: var( --wp--style--gallery-gap-default, var( --gallery-block--gutter-size, var( --wp--style--block-gap, 0.5em ) ) ); display: flex; flex-wrap: wrap; align-items: normal; --wp--style--unstable-gallery-gap: var( --wp--style--gallery-gap-default, var( --gallery-block--gutter-size, var( --wp--style--block-gap, 0.5em ) ) ); width: auto; position: relative; left: unset; right: unset;"><figure class="wp-block-image size-full is-style-image-actual-size" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 28px; width: calc(33.33% - var(--wp--style--unstable-gallery-gap, 16px)*0.66667); flex-direction: column; align-items: center; flex-grow: 1; justify-content: center; max-width: 100%; position: relative; align-self: inherit;"></figure></figure></div></div></div></div></div></div></body></html>