Kanata Golf and Country Club set to close ahead of redevelopment

The Kanata Golf & Country Club is closing this weekend, paving the way for a controversial housing development. CTV’s Kimberley Johnson reports.

The Kanata Golf and Country Club will be closing for good this weekend as its owners move to build a housing development on the property.

In an email to club members obtained by CTV News Ottawa, owner ClubLink said this will be the golf course’s final season.

“Recently, the Supreme Court of Canada declined to hear the City of Ottawa’s appeal in the legal case concerning the redevelopment of the Kanata Golf and Country Club lands,” ClubLink wrote.

“As a result of this decision, we can now confirm that the 2025 golf season is the final season of operation for Kanata Golf and Country Club.”

The last day for golfing at the Kanata Golf and Country Club will be Sunday, Nov. 2.

Judy and Hal Hansen’s backyard looks onto the clubs second hole – and is a relaxing oasis for them. They say they purchased their property because it didn’t have any homes behind it, but that could soon change.

“You have to really be disappointed,” said Hal.

Judy says they are losing more than a view as the grounds are used by the whole community.

“This is used by not only golfers,” she explains.

“People walk the dogs, they walk themselves. And in the non-golf season, a lot of kids use it and a lot of adults for winter activities…So it’s a year-round use.”

In January, the Ontario Court of Appeal’s ruled that a 1981 agreement to keep 40 per cent of the property as green space was “inoperative.” In September, the Supreme Court dismissed an appeal of that decision from the City of Ottawa.

ClubLink first announced its plan to build close to 1,500 homes on the Kanata Golf and Country Club in 2018.

ClubLink and developers Minto Communities and Richcraft Homes applied to the city to build homes with a minimum of 25 per cent green space in 2019. However, the City of Ottawa and Kanata residents pointed to the 1981 agreement between the former City of Kanata and Campeau Corporation that stipulated 40 per cent of the area must remain as open space.

Following the Supreme Court’s ruling, Mayor Mark Sutcliffe said the city would “not grant any of the easements that would be necessary for the site’s development.”

In an emailed newsletter, the Kanata Greenspace Protection Coalition said they were surprised by ClubLink’s decision to close the golf course.

“This came as a shock to nearly everyone –– except, it seems, ClubLink,” coalition chair Barbara Ramsay wrote.

Ramsay says the Supreme Court’s decision allows ClubLink to stop operating the golf course but also noted that the City of Ottawa remains opposed to their housing development proposal.

“So, what exactly is ClubLink’s plan?” Ramsay wrote. “Has the property been sold to another golf operator? Will the course be left to deteriorate as a tactic to pressure the city and community?”

Ramsay says the coalition’s legal team continues to explore options to maintain the greenspace.

Clublink has not responded officially about next steps.

Neighbour John Piggott says he’s hoping some things will be preserved, including his privacy trees. But Piggott says, more than anything, he’s concerned the area cannot handle a large influx of people.

“Just getting them on and off the course, just getting them out of in and out of the community on roads that are already packed,” he says. “It’s just difficult driving around here and there’s roads that get jam packed”

Golfer Sebastian Ling went out for one final round of golf on Saturday, before the club closes its doors.

“It’s pretty sad,” he says. “We’ve been driving by this course for my whole life. Now, all of a sudden, it’s just not going to be there anymore.”

With files from CTV’s Kimberley Johnson.

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