Sustaining Ontario’s Waterfront Communities: FOCA's Vision for Growth and Stewardship
As announced on January 29, 2025, an early provincial election will take place in Ontario on February 27, 2025. Candidates have until February 13th to register with Elections Ontario. Read onward for the top priorities facing waterfront Ontario and how to raise your political voice.
FOCA wants you to get involved in this election!
We have outlined key election priorities below and created resources to help you spread the word and engage with your local candidates. Please share this information in your local community, and find out how, when and where to vote to support waterfront Ontario.
Sustaining Ontario’s Waterfront Communities: A Vision for Growth and Stewardship
Provincial Election Priorities for Ontario’s Waterfront Communities
The Federation of Ontario Cottagers’ Associations (FOCA) represents over 250,000 families who live seasonally and year-round in waterfront communities across the province. Annual spending by waterfront property owners supports over 150,000 full-time equivalent jobs in the province and generates $11.66 billion of Ontario’s GDP. Collectively, these families own and steward 50,000 hectares of waterfront land, and 15,000 kilometres of sensitive Ontario shorelines.
As the province moves toward a new election, FOCA highlights key policy priorities essential to sustaining vibrant, resilient waterfront communities.
1. Stop Municipal Downloading and Property Tax Increases
The provincial government’s growing transfer of responsibilities without adequate financial support forces municipalities to raise taxes, placing a financial burden on property owners.
Recommendation: Establish predictable funding models to enable municipalities to deliver essential services, including infrastructure maintenance and emergency response.
2. Strengthen Forest Fire Protection
As climate change accelerates, Ontario’s cottage regions face heightened risks from forest fires that threaten homes, communities, and natural landscapes.
Recommendation: Increase investments in fire prevention, detection, and coordinated response efforts involving local fire services and provincial authorities.
3. Lake Water Quality Monitoring
Healthy lakes are vital for the environment, recreation, and local economies. The province provides invaluable resources for management and response through activities such as the Lake Partner Program. This program and others like it need to be continued to provide recreational and ecological benefits for the long-term health of Ontario’s freshwater systems.
Recommendation: Expand funding for lake water quality monitoring, in collaboration with community organizations like FOCA.
4. Ensure 24/7 Hospital Emergency Services in Cottage Country
Access to timely healthcare is critical for residents and visitors alike. Emergency room closures put lives at risk, especially given the long travel distances to the next available facility.
Recommendation: Increase healthcare funding and implement staffing incentives to guarantee round-the-clock emergency healthcare services in rural and waterfront regions.
5. Flood Management
Frequent and severe flooding is increasingly impacting communities across the province. To enhance resilience, investment is needed in watershed planning, monitoring technology, and infrastructure.
Recommendation: Provide targeted provincial support to assist small municipalities and conservation authorities in managing flood risks and adapting to climate change.
6. Restoration of Public Appeal Rights
The passage of Bill 185, the “Cutting Red Tape to Build More Homes Act, 2024,” removed the public’s right to appeal the adoption or amendment of Official Plans and Zoning By-laws. This undermines public participation and local decision-making.
Recommendation: Restore the public’s right to appeal Official Plans and Zoning By-laws, ensuring transparency and accountability in land use decisions.
7. Combat Invasive Species
Invasive species are damaging Ontario’s ecosystems, affecting biodiversity, recreation, and property values. The cost of managing infestations is far higher than preventive measures.
Recommendation: Maintain strong provincial funding for prevention, early detection, and rapid response programs. Support educational campaigns to raise awareness and engage residents.
Building a Stronger Future Together
FOCA stands ready to collaborate with policymakers and stakeholders to protect Ontario’s waterfront communities and ensure they remain economically, socially, and environmentally sustainable.
Provincial Election Resources from FOCA
- Download a template letter (MS Word, 2 pages) for you and fellow members to personalize, to email your local candidates and ask their position on the issues that matter to waterfront Ontario
- Download a copy of the above positioning statement from FOCA that outlines provincial election priorities for Ontario’s waterfront communities: Sustaining Ontario’s Waterfront Communities: A Vision for Growth and Stewardship (PDF, 2 pages)
- Read FOCA’s Media Release on this topic (January 30, 2025; PDF, 2 pages)
- Find more tips about raising your own political voice and getting your issues on your candidates’ radar, from FOCA’s webpage on Government Engagement.
Review the major party platforms on their websites:
How, When and Where to Vote in the 2025 Provincial Election
January 30, 2025 update: To make voting faster and easier, voters are encouraged to confirm, update, or add their information to the voter Register now, in order to receive a mailed voter information card with details on when, where, and how to vote.
Get information about when, where, and how to vote from Elections Ontario.
Find your electoral district by postal code here.
Important: You only get one vote in the provincial election, even if you have residences in more than one electoral district, or receive more than one Voter Information Card. According to Elections Ontario, your residence is the permanent lodging place to which, whenever absent, you intend to return. Therefore, if you consider your cottage to be your permanent lodging place, it is your right to designate that as your riding for the purpose of voting in a provincial election. Statistically speaking, your vote may be “worth” more at your waterfront property, as rural ridings tend to have fewer voters than urban centres. FOCA encourages you to vote where you are entitled to, and where you feel your voice is strongest on the issues that matter to waterfront Ontario.
When you go to vote: If you are on the Register, you will need to present one piece of ID showing your name when you go to vote. If you are not on the Register, you must present one piece of ID showing both your name and address in that riding to vote (e.g., utility bill or tax assessment).
Related Media Coverage:
FOCA calls for action to sustain Ontario’s waterfront communities | Madawaska Valley Current