On February 10th, Guelph City Council unanimously voted to redesignate the entirety of the former Kortright Waterfowl Park as Open Space/Parkland. Please enjoy some historic photos of the park featured in this post! 

This represents not just a local victory for preserving conservation lands in perpetuity but a significant pushback to the Grand River Conservation Authority’s (GRCA) plan to dispose of lands in response to Bill 23, the More Homes Built Faster Act, 2022 which compelled Ontario’s Conservation Authorities to identify “surplus lands” for potential housing developments. 

This hard-won fight started in June 2024 when Environment Defence teamed up with activists from the Grand River Environment Network to push back on the Grand River Conservation Authority’s plan to dispose of conservation lands. Our pleas for reconsidering this plan fell on deaf ears. 

Next stop – the City of Guelph. In the fall of 2025, Environmental Defence and Guelph activists identified that the City of Guelph’s Official Plan update would be an appropriate process for redesignating the 20 acres (or 8 hectares) being eyed by the GRCA for disposition. 

Despite pushback from City of Guelph staff on this idea, the group coordinated by Environmental Defence persevered and launched a campaign that:

  • Brought together key organizations including Get Involved Guelph and Water Watchers. 
  • Launched an outreach campaign that included a strong social media presence, letters to the editor, public talks and outreach at GRCA events. 
  • Delivered almost 2000 form letters delivered to councillors’ inboxes coming from Environmental Defence, Get Involved Guelph and the Water Watchers. 
  • Saw 40 residents participate in the first ever rally in the South end of Guelph just outside the Kortright Waterfowl Park in -20 celsius weather. 
  • Delivered radio ads on commercial radio in the Guelph area in the days leading up to the Council vote. 
  • Coordinated Council delegations for effective messaging on the importance of protecting these lands for future generations. 

As a result, Guelph City Council directed City staff to take the necessary steps to change the land use designation of this land from medium density residential to open space and parkland. We expect those changes to come back to Council by June this year for approval. 

Thank you for your advocacy – together people power is protecting Ontario’s conservation lands in perpetuity.