Town Calls On Province to Place Wasaga Beach and Nancy Island Under the Ontario Ministry of Tourism

Town of Wasaga Beach Calls For Provincial Task Force to Place the Longest Freshwater Beach in the World and Nancy Island Historic Site Under the Care and Oversight of the Ontario Ministry of Tourism

As it celebrates turning 50, Wasaga Beach is proposing a re-set and re-alignment with the Province for the next 50 years that will help the Town develop into a complete community and year-round tourism destination

“The Town of Wasaga Beach believes there is a better way to manage the unique aspects of the world’s longest freshwater beach and Nancy Island historic site – to protect and promote these assets and unlock greater value for the Town, our full-time residents, and the Province. Wasaga Beach and Nancy Island are unique in the world – they do not belong under the Provincial Parks Act, which is one size fits all – they belong under a ministry with the expertise and funding envelope to collaboratively oversee and inspire the development of world-class attractions and destinations. This will help the Town of Wasaga Beach deliver on Provincial priorities and achieve our goals of becoming a complete community, and a world-class, year-round Ontario destination.” – Mayor Brian Smith

WASAGA BEACH – As it prepares to welcome Canadian rock legend Tom Cochrane and over 15,000 residents and visitors to its annual, beachfront Memories of Summer concert on September 1, the Town of Wasaga Beach is calling on the Province to take action to move the World’s Longest Freshwater Beach and Nancy Island historic site out of the Ontario Ministry of the Environment, Conservation and Parks (MECP) and into the portfolio of the Ontario Ministry of Tourism, Culture and Gaming (MTCG).

Last week, Mayor Brian Smith introduced the motion, which outlines the opportunity for the Province and Town to come together to review two of the three pillars and guiding principles under which the world’s longest freshwater beach was originally expropriated and turned into a Provincial Park: To provide outdoor recreation opportunities for the people of Ontario, together with year-round tourism and economic opportunities for the Town of Wasaga Beach.

Highlights from the Town’s motion include a reference to the original Park Management Plan for Wasaga Beach Provincial Park that was established on June, 1978, which states the Province’s focus is to maintain and further develop the beach for recreational opportunities, and support year-round tourism and economic development within the Town of Wasaga Beach:

• “To expand the seasons of use of the Wasaga Beach community changing the “peak weekends in summer” to a year-round recreation community.”

The original Plan also commits the Province to revisit the Park Management Plan every five years to ensure that the vision of the municipality and the operating practices of the province remain in sync. 

Now, as the Town celebrates its 50^th anniversary and prepares to get shovels in the ground on its Downtown Redevelopment Master Plan, which will transform the Town’s commercial beachfront area, it is proposing a re-set and re-alignment with the Province for the next 50 years that will help the Town develop into a complete community and world-class, year-round tourism destination.

The Town also estimates that millions of dollars of fully-serviced, provincially-owned parcels of land have been sitting vacant and underutilized, not contributing anything to the provincial or municipal tax base for over fifty years.

Provincial Task Force

The motion calls for a provincial task force to be immediately struck with representatives from the Town of Wasaga Beach, The Ministry of the Environment, Conservation and Parks, The Ministry of Tourism, Culture and Gaming and the Ministry of Infrastructure (Infrastructure Ontario) to review all provincial landholdings within Wasaga Beach and determine which lands should be transferred out of the Ministry of the Environment portfolio and put into either the Ministry of Tourism,  Infrastructure Ontario, or the Town’s portfolios before the end of March, 2025.

In or before the next Provincial Budget, the Town is requesting at a minimum, that Nancy Island, Beach Areas 1 and 2, a portion of Beach Area 4, and all of the remaining non-Beach Area and non-environmentally sensitive parcels of land be transferred out of the MECP portfolio.

Council approved the motion unanimously.

This comes on the heels of Mayor Brian Smith meeting with Premier Doug Ford at the 2024 Association of Ontario Municipalities (AMO) Conference last week, where he spoke about the challenges facing the Town and the opportunity for the Town and Province to work together to unlock greater value from the longest freshwater beach in the world and Nancy Island historic site, including year-round jobs, recreational opportunities and regenerative tourism.

Council and senior staff joined more than 2,500 participants from across the province at the AMO conference, which was held in Ottawa, from August 19-21. The Mayor, members of Council and senior staff attended seven meetings over two days. Meetings included:

• Doug Ford, Premier of Ontario
• Kinga Surma, Ontario Minister of Infrastructure
• Stan Cho, Ontario Minister of Tourism
• Neil Lumsden, Ontario Minister of Sport
• Paul Calandra, Ontario Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing
• Pragmeet Sarkaria, Ontario Minister of Transportation

Quick Facts

• Within a thirty minute drive of Wasaga Beach, there are two world-class historical sites with year-round appeal, overseen by the Ontario Ministry of Tourism, Culture and Gaming: Saint-Marie among the Hurons and Discovery Harbour. Like Nancy Island in Wasaga Beach, Discovery Harbour in Penetanguishene has links to the War of 1812.
• Other natural wonders of the world, like Niagara Falls, are overseen by Parks Commissions, which are overseen by the Ontario Ministry of Tourism, Culture and Gaming.
• Wasaga Beach Provincial Park is a 1844.3 hectare recreational class provincial park located fully within the Town of Wasaga Beach. It was established in 1959 through expropriation and is regulated under the Provincial Parks and Conservation Reserves Act.
• The Park Management Plan for Wasaga Beach Provincial Park acknowledges that Wasaga Beach Provincial Park is unique as a result of it being the first urban provincial park in Ontario, located entirely within the boundary of the Town of Wasaga Beach.  
• $1 million: The amount the Ministry of the Environment, Conservation and Parks has invested, since 2017, in Wasaga Beach Provincial Park, which continues to be the most highly visited provincial park in Ontario (a “recreation class” park with almost two million visitors in 2023).
• $70 million: The amount the Ministry of the Environment, Conservation and Parks has committed to invest, in the 2024 Budget, to create a new urban provincial park in Uxbridge and turn Bigwind Lake Provincial Park into a year-round operating park (currently an “environmental class”, non-operating park with no visitation numbers).

Additional resources

Read the Town's Tourism Destination Management Plan.

Background

The Town of Wasaga Beach aims to be a place where people come to create memories that will last a lifetime. Attending the 2024 AMO Conference and engaging in advocacy with other levels of government supports Council’s priorities: to create opportunities to diversify the economy, create jobs and build a complete community. It’s part of the Town’s plan to become a leader in sustainability, creativity, innovation and fun – a place with thriving businesses and safe, inclusive and complete neighbourhoods where we celebrate our rich history, diversity of cultures and natural beauty, including the Nottawasaga River, Georgian Bay and the longest freshwater beach in the world.

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For more information about the Town of Wasaga Beach’s participation at AMO contact:

Sandra Watts, Director of Communications and Intergovernmental Affairs, sandra.watts@wasagabeach.com  

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