Ottawa to ask Ontario government to stop Kanata golf course development

A look at the Kanata Golf and Country Club on Thursday, Sept. 18. (Dave Charbonneau/CTV News Ottawa)

The City of Ottawa is asking the Ontario government to intervene and preserve the 40 per cent greenspace agreement at the Kanata Golf and Country Club and stop the development of 1,500 homes on the property.

Council voted 23 to 2 to direct Mayor Mark Sutcliffe to write Premier Doug Ford and Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing Rob Flack and request the province use one of three tools to save the golf course:

• An order under Section 47 of the Planning Act issued by the Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing to ensure the preservation of the Kanata golf lands and greenspace as part of the 40 per cent greenspace
• Special legislation to ensure the conservation of the Kanata golf lands and greenspace as part of the 40 per cent greenspace lands
• Other possible options or mechanisms within the authority of the Ontario government to ensure the conservation of the Kanata golf lands and greenspace as part of the 40 per cent greenspace.

Coun. Cathy Curry, who introduced the motion, said council previously asked the province to intervene, but was told it was before the courts.

“Right now, finally, it’s no longer before the courts and this is the opportunity to ask again,” Curry said, adding Premier Ford is “fully engaged” on the file.

“It’s such a complex file. This community was promised a park, and we see the impact of not having that greenspace recently in the last week. More than ever now it’s important that we make sure we do everything we possibly can to preserve this greenspace.”

Last September, the Supreme Court of Canada dismissed the City of Ottawa’s appeal of the Ontario Court of Appeal ruling that declared a 1981 agreement to keep 40 per cent of the property as green space as “inoperative.”

The fight over the future of the Kanata Golf and Country Club dates back to 2018, when the course’s owner, ClubLink, announced plans to build approximately 1,500 homes on the Kanata Lakes property.

The City of Ottawa and residents have pointed to the 1981 agreement between the former City of Kanata and Campeau Corporation that states 40 per cent of the area must be kept as open space.

In January 2025, the Ontario Court of Appeal ruled the 1981 agreement between the former City of Kanata and the former owner of the course, Campeau Corporation, should “be considered void.”

Premier Ford told reporters last September the Ontario government would not get involved in the dispute over the future of the club.

The Kanata Golf and Country Club has closed for good.

City staff told council last month that Clublink and its partners have conducted “limited site work” on the course to support preliminary engineering design work.

“Available information indicates that mercury concentrations remain generally consistent with prior findings and do not represent a significant risk to surrounding receptors, although remediation will be required,” staff said.

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