Growth Management Strategy

What is a GMS? 

A GMS is a long-term document that will help guide and manage appropriate growth and development throughout the County. It will provide an assessment of future growth and development and the amount of land needed to accommodate it. It will form the foundation of potential settlement area changes/expansions and policy updates for the 10-year review of the County Official Plan (COP) scheduled to be started in 2026. This will help the County and local municipalities coordinate infrastructure and services to 2051 and beyond.

Why does the GMS matter? 

The GMS is intended to ensure the County thoughtfully considers growth and development to determine where and how it wants to develop and grow over time considering provincial requirements, local considerations and public input. 

 What are the Provincial Requirements? 

The County, in consultation with the lower-tier municipalities, is responsible to:

• identify and allocate population, dwelling and employment projections; 
• identify areas where growth or development will be focused; 
• focus growth and development in settlement areas;
• identify minimum density targets for growth and development taking place in new or expanded settlement areas;
• maintain at all times the ability to accommodate a mix of housing options and densities for a minimum of 15 years through lands which are designated and available for residential development;

• plan for, protect and preserve employment areas.

It is the Province's vision to:

• increase in supply and mix of housing options,
• support investment readiness, and
• prioritize compact design in settlement areas to, in turn, support and protect the long-term viability of rural areas,

while protecting natural and cultural resources, mitigating risks from hazards and climate change and meaningfully engaging with Indigenous communities.

 What is involved in a GMS? 

The Growth Management Strategy (GMS) consulting team will review background information, gather input from local municipalities, agencies, stakeholders and the public to allocate residential and employment growth for land use planning purposes. A GMS relies on information and data such as past growth trends (such as historical population and employment changes), current land uses, developable lands, current development activity (planning applications granted, building permits issued), and accepted modeling approaches to predicting anticipated future development needs.

Based on this, the GMS will identify if and where additional lands are needed for growth and development, considering such matters as the expansion of settlement areas or of regionally significant employment lands and updating growth related policies. 

What are the stages of the study? Where are we?  

How can people get involved with the GMS? 

If you are interested in being part of our ongoing engagement, monitor this webpage (subscribe at the bottom to get notice when the page has been updated) to learn about the most recent project activities and consultation opportunities, provide input (complete a survey, email the contact below or attend public sessions) and ask questions (via the contact below). You can also ask (via the contact below) to be added to a stakeholder list for periodic updates and communications. 

Stage 2: The first public consultation took place via virtual public meeting on October 2, 2025 at 4:00 p.m., with a presentation by our consulting team, Hemson Consulting, on the process and findings to date, followed by questions and comments.

Stage 3: The public is welcome to view and ask questions when a presentation is provided to the Planning Advisory Committee on the first phase of Stage 3 (growth scenario options, draft allocations and general policy topic areas). Direct public consultation on this stage is hoped to take place in February, 2026.

Stage 4: Public consultation is expected to take place in April, 2026.

All input received will be considered during the development of the GMS. 

 Documents 

Planning Act 

Provincial Planning Statement (PPS) 

County Official Plan (COP) 

STAGE 1: Project Initiation Documents

A project approach presentation was made to the Planning Advisory Committee (PAC) on March 5, 2025. For minutes of the PAC meeting, please visit: Agendas and Minutes or click Here for the PAC Minutes. The PAC's recommendation for a 90-day pause (due to uncertainty in the economic climate due to recently announced tariffs by the United States) was endorsed by Council on March 20, 2025. The PAC considered staff report PAC-002-2025 regarding reactivating the GMS on July 9, 2025. (Council endorsed the recommendation of PAC to reactivate the GMS on July 24, 2025.) Minutes of the meeting will be available at: Agendas and Minutes.

STAGE 2: Information Gathering Documents  (We are here.)

A public Growth Proposal Requests Survey was issued (closed September 29, 2025). A virtual consultation on the Growth Management Strategy took place on October 2, 2025 at 4:00 p.m., with a presentation by our consulting team, Hemson Consulting, on the process and findings to date, followed by questions and comments. A copy of the notice of the meeting is available here. A copy of the power point presentation will be available here shortly.

STAGE 3: Draft Forecasts and Draft Growth Options

STAGE 4: Draft and Finalize GMS

 Who is listening?  

The County has retained Hemson Consulting Inc. to undertake the Growth Management Strategy (GMS) for the County. Hemson is well known in the industry and completed similar work for the County back in 2015 which was used in the first County Official Plan (COP).  

County Planning Services Department staff will work closely with Hemson to gather data, review inputs, review assumptions, review material before circulation to the County Planning Advisory Committee and the Technical Advisory Group, and provide feedback.

Comments or questions? Contact: Elaine M. Mallory, Planner II, 613-342-3840/800-770-2170 (Ext. 2422). All input received will be considered during the development of the GMS.

Who is involved with the GMS?

Local municipalities will be directly consulted and participate in all aspects of the process. They will provide data as input to the forecasts and will review and provide feedback on draft forecasts, growth scenarios and options and any policy changes.

Input and feedback from the members of the public, including landowners and developers, is welcome anytime and will be specifically sought.

The County Planning Advisory Committee (PAC) will review findings and provide feedback on growth scenarios and policy options. The PAC is composed of all members of County Council and three citizen appointees. The PAC will provide recommendations to County Council regarding the preferred final scenario, options for growth and related County Official Plan policies.

County Council will be requested to make the final decisions, considering the best interests of the United Counties, regarding the preferred growth scenario, and where and how it wants growth and development to occur, in keeping with the direction of the Provincial Planning Statement.