OntarioBill 26Royal Assent

Bill 26: Provincial Parks and Conservation Reserves Amendment Act, 2025

Sponsor: Dowie, AndrewIntroduced May 26, 2025Last checked August 30, 2026

Read the official text on ola.orgOfficial version — Legislative Assembly of Ontario

What this bill does

This Ontario bill amends the Provincial Parks and Conservation Reserves Act, 2006 to create two new classes of provincial parks — Adventure Class Parks (for activities like rock climbing, mountain biking, and motorized off-road vehicles) and Urban Class Parks (for nature-based recreation near urban centres) — and classifies Charleston Lake Provincial Park and Uxbridge Urban Provincial Park under these new categories.

Plain-language summary by Legisail.

Business impact

Compliance

This bill primarily affects outdoor recreation and adventure tourism operators in Ontario — businesses that run things like tree-top trekking courses, mountain biking tours, ATV/snowmobile rental and guided rides, rock climbing outfitters, and similar adventure experiences. These operators, often small businesses or seasonal outfitters near provincial parks like Charleston Lake, may see new opportunities to offer commercial recreational services within Adventure Class Parks, since these parks explicitly allow alterations to the natural environment for recreation. Businesses providing nature-based recreation programming near urban centres (like the Uxbridge area) could also benefit from the Urban Class Park designation. The bill could also create compliance considerations for existing park concession holders and operators whose activities must align with updated management plans.

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Where this bill is

First ReadingMay 26, 2025