Mayors react to Barrie—Oro-Medonte—Springwater Boundary adjustment

The province is passing a bill that will allow for the City of Barrie to expand into the townships of Springwater and Oro-Medonte.

In the aftermath of the province passing the bill that will allow for the City of Barrie to expand into the townships of Springwater and Oro-Medonte, the three mayors shared their reaction with CTV News.

“The Province of Ontario has been amazing working with us all locally, both the City of Barrie as well as the surrounding municipalities, to make sure there was a fair exchange taking place,” said Alex Nuttall, Mayor of Barrie.

Bill 76, the Barrie–Oro-Medonte–Springwater Boundary Adjustment Act, 2025, was passed in its third reading in Queens Park on Tuesday, with 70-to-34 voting in favour.

It will clear the way for up to 8,000 new homes, support significant economic development, and align growth with major transportation projects already in the works, including the Barrie GO Line expansion and the Bradford Bypass.

Randy Greenlaw, Oro-Medonte mayor, says the province’s decision brings closure to the dispute and allows the township to move forward accordingly.

“Unfortunately we don’t always agree to agree on the final outcome,” said Greenlaw. “We did the best thing in the best interest of Oro-Medonte and the regional marketing area as a whole.”

Jennifer Coughlin, Springwater mayor, expressed her relief. Her township must still finalize the framework agreement with the City of Barrie.

“We’re continuing to remain focused on the next steps, which is finalizing the agreement with the City of Barrie,” said Coughlin. “Completely confident in the partnership that we’ve created with them.”

A spokesperson with Rob Flack, Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing, said that the province is working with the three municipalities to transfer the land and support the projected doubling of Barrie’s population over the next 25 years.

“This transfer will unlock 8,000 homes and ensure the Simcoe region can continue to expand infrastructure, grow economic development, and be ready to welcome families to the area for years to come,” said the minister’s spokesperson in part of his statement to CTV News. “The Office of the Provincial Land and Development Facilitator (OPLDF) will be facilitating discussions with impacted municipalities on the best way to implement the legislation.”

One point that remains unclear is the province’s decision for Barrie’s compensation to the townships.

Both Springwater and Oro-Medonte are expected to get the compensation laid out in the draft framework agreement, but Barrie’s mayor was noncommittal.

“I don’t believe those who try to put up barriers for Barrie residents to have Barrie jobs should be given the same compensation as those who came to the table to try to help to create jobs for this entire region,” stated Nuttall. “That doesn’t seem very fair to me or right to me.”

It remains unclear when the province will make the determination on compensation and when the actual land transfer process will begin.

Bill 76 is expected to take effect on Jan. 1.

A recent CTV News poll on the proposed Barrie–Oro-Medonte–Springwater boundary adjustment drew nearly 900 responses over two weeks, revealing strong opposition to the plan. According to the results, 65 per cent of participants opposed the adjustment, while 19 per cent supported it and 16 per cent remained undecided.

With files from CTV’s Luke Simard and Julianna Balsamo.