To the Point for the Week of October 19, 2025

The Ford government hits the ground running as the legislature returns, tabling two omnibus bills at a critical juncture for the province. The Prime Minister delivered a speech that could become a flashpoint for political instability in the country. 

ONTARIO

Big Beautiful Bills

As we predicted in last week’s To the Point, the province wasted no time moving forward on its legislative agenda following the return of the legislature, introducing two key omnibus bills at a critical moment for Ontario’s economy, which is expected to worsen now that President Trump has ceased all trade negotiations between the United States and Canada. The Ford government is betting on these pieces of legislation as being essential to the province’s long-term “stability, resiliency and prosperity.”

The government first introduced Bill 56, the Building a More Competitive Economy Act. It contains amendments to several Acts that expand labour mobility for out-of-province health professionals through expedited two-day registration (Ontario Labour Mobility Act), streamline forestry approvals by eliminating annual harvest permits (Crown Forest Sustainability Act), and accelerate drinking water infrastructure by introducing automatic approval timelines for source protection plan amendments (Clean Water Act), as well as effectively banning automated speed cameras (Highway Traffic Act).

While not included as specific legislative changes, the government launched two initiatives in tandem with the bill’s introduction. The “Buy Ontario” efforts alluded to by the Premier over a week ago come in the form of a Made-in-Ontario Policy for the Ontario Public Sector, broader public sector, and municipal vehicles, as well as procurement requirement to prioritize Ontario-based suppliers for capital infrastructure. These efforts reflect the government’s broader approach of proposing the idea first while deferring specific legislative mechanics to consultation and later regulation-making processes.

The government is also rolling out a series of administrative reforms aimed at simplifying approvals and cutting red tape. Leading the charge is the Modern Regulatory Transformation Review (MRTR), a government-wide audit of Ontario’s 332 business-facing permits. The goal: eliminate or streamline at least 35 percent by 2028. Depending on the risk level, permits may be removed entirely, converted to codes of practice, shifted to a “permit-by-rule” model, or subject to “shot clocks” that trigger automatic approvals if deadlines lapse.

Supporting this effort is a new Digital One-Window Permitting System through ServiceOntario, which will consolidate permitting across ministries. Mining will serve as the pilot sector, where approvals can currently take three to five years and require up to 30 separate permits. The first version is expected online by September 2026, with sector expansions planned from 2028 onward.

Rounding out the framework is “One Project, One Process,” a coordinated approach under the Mining Act that integrates multi-ministry permitting and Indigenous consultation. It aims to cut review times in half, signaling a broader shift toward administrative reform and away from piecemeal, permit-by-permit approvals.

The second major omnibus bill, Bill 60, the Fighting Delays, Building Faster Act, 2025, seeks to make approvals faster, cheaper, and more predictable for builders and municipalities alike. It proposes streamlined construction and site plan approvals, a simplified Ontario Building Code, and province-wide standards to reduce inconsistency in how development is managed. A central feature is the introduction of as-of-right minor variances, giving the Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing authority to pre-approve modest changes in building height or setbacks without requiring individual variance applications. The goal is to eliminate repetitive, low-impact approvals that slow projects down unnecessarily.

The bill also seeks to bring greater transparency and predictability to how municipalities charge for growth. A new class of “land acquisition” development charges is designed to prevent inflated rates, while municipalities will now be required to adopt standardized local service policies and share background studies with the province. In parallel, the Ministry will consult on restricting the use of Section 27 agreements—often used by cities like Toronto to sidestep development charge rate-freeze protections—to ensure greater financial certainty for builders.

Transit-oriented development is another key focus. A new advisory panel and expanded ministerial powers are meant to streamline approvals near major transit stations, while a change to transit-station charges allows payment at occupancy instead of at permit issuance, easing upfront costs for developers.

Beyond legislative tweaks, the province is also setting the stage for a broader modernization push. A new feasibility study will explore how municipalities can move toward centralized, digitally enabled permitting systems, potentially using AI tools to automate land-use and Building Code reviews.

Finally, the legislation targets delays within Ontario’s rental system. Amendments to the Residential Tenancies Act tighten timelines, clarify forms, and curb late-stage tenant claims, while new enforcement resources and transparency measures aim to reduce backlogs and rebuild confidence at the Landlord and Tenant Board.

Taken together, these measures reflect a coordinated attempt to speed up development approvals, stabilize construction costs, and improve fairness across the housing continuum—from builders and municipalities to landlords and tenants.

As the government pushes ahead with its fall agenda, the through line between both omnibus bills is clear: speed, standardization, and control. Together, Bills 56 and 60 represent a coordinated effort to re-engineer how Ontario approves, finances, and delivers growth, shifting from fragmented, municipality-driven processes toward a more centralized, province-led framework. Still, much of the impact will depend on execution. Many of the reforms, particularly those tied to centralized permitting and “Buy Ontario” procurement, remain policy initiatives that require regulatory follow-through before they can take effect. The government has set the direction, but the pace and precision of implementation, along with how municipalities adapt to the new rules, will determine whether these measures truly build faster or simply build differently.

FEDERAL

An Emerging Political Environment

On October 21st, the Prime Minister’s Office announced that Prime Minister Carney was set to deliver a prime-time address to the nation the following evening. Set aside the irony that the Prime Minister, whose party arguably ran the most anti-American election campaign in the country’s history, was set to deliver an American-style “address to the nation.” About what issue was the Prime Minister preparing to speak to the country?

The ONpoint team speculated whether the Prime Minister was preparing to outline the basis of a sectoral trade deal with the United States. That would have come as a great relief to many Canadians, a sign of progress. Not quite the overarching kind of trade deal Canadians were expecting Carney to deliver, but something that would indicate what Canada’s strategy was, how it worked, and what the next steps were toward a larger deal. It would have provided some clarity and reassurance, as well as bought him more time and political capital toward fulfilling his broader election promises of transforming the economy and protecting the country from the scourge of U.S. tariffs. It would have been timely given the negative economic developments the country faced this week that showed no indication of abating any time soon.

Instead, the Prime Minister, who is halfway through his first year in office, delivered an address designed to prime Canadians, particularly younger Canadians who made up the bulk of the audience to whom the Prime Minister was delivering his remarks, on what was to come in the upcoming budget on November 4.

Prime Minister Mark Carney’s pre-budget address cast Canada at what he called a “hinge moment” in its history. He warned that decades of deep economic integration with the United States are coming to an end as American protectionism reaches levels not seen since the Great Depression. Tariffs on Canadian steel, autos, and lumber have turned former strengths into vulnerabilities, forcing Canada to rethink its economic foundations.

Carney framed this moment as a test of national resolve. His message was that Canada must chart a new course by building at home, diversifying trade, and reducing dependence on the United States to regain control over its economic future. The coming transformation, he cautioned, will demand sacrifice and patience but will be guided by transparency and fairness.

In invoking Canada’s history of risk-taking and reinvention, from the coureurs des bois to the postwar nation builders, Carney sought to rekindle a sense of collective ambition. His closing line delivered the speech’s central promise and political message: “This is our country. This is your future. We are going to give you back control.”

For younger Canadians, the speech was as much a generational appeal as an economic plan. Carney’s message of “taking back control” spoke directly to those facing the sharpest edge of today’s challenges, rising rents, job insecurity, and a sense that opportunity has drifted out of reach. By tying national renewal to individual empowerment, he positioned his economic strategy as a blueprint for restoring faith in the future rather than just stabilizing the present. The subtext was clear: if the Trudeau and Poilievre eras defined politics through crisis and anger, Carney wants to define his through purpose and optimism, one where younger Canadians see a path to build, own, and shape what comes next.

The problem with this is that it is beginning to sound like a broken record. There is a sense that young people, feeling frustration and anger over the perception and emerging reality that they will not be better off than their parents, are growing impatient with the lack of results. They were told over the last ten years that the pain and frustration they are feeling over the state of the economy and the nation more broadly would have a payoff, they just needed to be patient.

Now that there is a new leader at the helm, things have progressively gotten worse. A lot worse (four companies announced they’re either laying people off or closing shop entirely this month alone). People’s patience is running out.

This is why Carney’s speech on Wednesday is a critical flashpoint for the country’s political stability. The chattering classes have been having a field day over remarks made by Pierre Poilievre about the RCMP and that “many of the scandals of the Trudeau era should have involved jail time,” notice he did not say Trudeau should be in prison, an important distinction lost among many in the media, political, and talking head classes. No matter how hard they try, they cannot make this attack stick to him. The broader public, as shown in polling, simply does not care.

For one, many people think politicians are, let’s say, ethically compromised, so the fantasy of seeing a politician in chains and forced to do a perp walk would be gratifying for many Canadians regardless of their political stripe. But the lack of outrage on Main Street compared to the pearl clutching on Wellington Street is highly indicative of an emerging political environment in the country that is not unlike the conditions under which President Trump emerged victorious in 2016. A mostly male, under-50 cohort that is highly engaged online, was promised great things ten years ago, only to slowly watch what feels like the managed decline of the country.

This voting demographic does not care about comments made by Pierre Poilievre. They want to know how the Prime Minister is going to improve their station in life now, not some indeterminate time in the future with an increasingly unrealizable payoff.

Carney’s challenge now is to turn promise into proof. The patience of voters, especially younger ones, is wearing thin, and faith in the political class is even thinner. His message of renewal will only resonate if it translates quickly into results people can feel in their daily lives. Otherwise, this “hinge moment” may swing in a very different direction.

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ONpoint Strategy Group is all about helping clients make an impact where it counts. Specializing in government relations and strategic execution, our team—Nico Fidani-Diker, Mariana Di Rezze, Krystle Caputo, David Morgado, Christopher Mourtos, Ellen Gouchman, and Brandon Falcone—works closely with clients to navigate complex political landscapes and bring their goals to life. With a practical, results-driven approach, we build strong relationships, craft winning strategies, and make sure every step brings clients closer to meaningful outcomes. We’re passionate about making sure our clients are heard, supported, and positioned for success.