During Ontario’s February electoral campaign, Doug Ford capitalised on domestic and international stories which affectionately dubbed him “Captain Canada.” Donning a “Canada is Not for Sale” hat and engaging in open criticism of the U.S. President Donald Trump, Ford captured a third consecutive majority government. In the months since, however, the governing Progressive Conservatives have struggled to translate these slogans into tangible policy objectives.
Critics may be quick to say that such is to be expected. Outside of general allusions to cutting red tape and taxes, the Ford era has been marked by numerous blunders, both in policy and rhetoric. If privileged government contracts and attacks on the judiciary sound familiar, they should—they are reminiscent of affairs south of the border.
This brings us to the matter of Bill 5, the Protect Ontario by Unleashing our Economy Act, 2025, which the provincial legislature passed into law on June 4. As a massive omnibus bill, it contains provisions relating to the rollback of environmental assessments and protections (Schedules 3 and 4) and the gutting of the Endangered Species Act, 2007 (Schedule 2). It also exempts the Ontario Place redevelopment project from parts of the Environmental Bill of Rights, 1993 (Schedule 8).
There is also Schedule 9 or the Special Economic Zones Act, 2025, which will, as the name suggests, create “special” economic areas that allow a company or project to be exempt from provincial laws, regulations, and municipal bylaws. How this will materialise in practice is anyone’s guess, but the legislation is absurdly broad, meaning that it could translate into anything from the suspension of basic workplace protections, environmental standards, or Indigenous rights.
As Mark Winfield argues, this is to be expected as officials dabble in authoritarian populism. Much of Bill 5 hinges on redirecting regulatory oversight to cabinet, meaning that decisions rendering something a special economic zone could occur without debate in the legislature.
Bill 5 is a unique threat to Indigenous rights
Bill 5 faced significant pushback from Indigenous communities as their rights are directly in its crosshairs. With an eye on the Ring of Fire in northern Ontario, the law will likely be used to speed up development in the area, bypassing environmental assessment or consultation with local communities.
In a statement by the Chiefs of Ontario, First Nations groups called for the Bill’s reversal, citing the threats to their sovereignty, inherent rights, and treaty obligations. With the act having passed, Indigenous communities are likely to follow through with promises to mobilise and protest, in addition to launching legal challenges.
In response to this pushback, the Ontario government amended Bill 5 to include provisions relating to the duty to consult. Indigenous groups continue, however, to call for the act to be suspended, cautioning that their rights are not for sale.
The Crown’s obligations to Indigenous treaty rights are prescribed in Section 35 of the Constitution Act, 1982 and the Supreme Court has held that the Crown owes an equal duty to consult Indigenous groups when contemplating acts that would affect their rights or title. The unilateral creation of special economic zones on Indigenous lands could contravene these responsibilities.
While the recent amendment reflects an effort to make the bill constitutionally compliant, its wording remains too vague in practice, failing to outline the ways that these communities can actually engage in consultation. Indigenous leaders have reason to be skeptical of the Ontario government’s intentions, with Bill 5 being its latest effort to bypass consultation.
Bill 5 is the latest assault on the environment
Given its track record, it would be fair to say that the current government has never had an appreciation for the environment. Whether that be in efforts to sell parts of the Greenbelt, cut environmental protections, or ram highways through environmentally sensitive areas, the Ontario government has championed a reckless developmental agenda. Bill 5 is the latest and perhaps most concerning continuation of this trend.
As noted by the Canadian Environmental Law Association, if passed, the law would exempt projects like “…the Dresden landfill and Eagle’s Nest Mine from Environmental Assessment Act reviews, weaken oversight of mining activities, and even repeal the Endangered Species Act.” The latter two projects are explicitly outlined under Schedule 3 and these exemptions are likely to be extended to other controversial projects in the Ring of Fire as well.
Again, the sweeping nature of Bill 5 particularly relating to SEZs is cause for additional concern as Ministers could extend legal and regulatory exemptions to other fraught projects, like Highway 413 or the Bradford Bypass.
The development of the Ring of Fire, however, is particularly important, not only because of the aforementioned threat to Indigenous rights, but the region’s environmental significance. Northern Ontario’s peatlands store a significant amount of carbon, 35 billion tons or the equivalent annual emission of 39 billion cars. They are also highly sensitive, meaning that nearby development jeopardizes the thousands of years it took them to develop.
On this front, the Ontario government fails to appreciate what is at stake. Once this ecosystem is gone, it’s gone. Endangered species, many of which are culturally significant to Indigenous peoples will lose regulatory protections and likely face mass habitat loss. Boreal forests and peatlands, hundreds of years in the making, will be torn apart with limited to no regulatory oversight.
As the Canadian Environmental Law Association correctly notes: good jobs and a healthy environment can co-exist. The idea that deregulation is necessary for growth is a fallacy that the Ontario government has long relied on and must be rejected. In practice, this method offers no assurances other than the likely continued consolidation of corporate profits at the expense of vital green spaces.
Bill 5 is the latest government effort to privatize the environment and sell what, frankly, isn’t theirs to give away in the first place.
Bill 5 is a threat to basic labour standards
Workers and their organizations have also expressed concern about how Bill 5 will affect workers’ rights. Again falling under the sweeping mandate of Schedule 9, the Special Economic Zones, the Ontario government is considering the creation of lawless areas where basic workplace protections, minimum wages, and health and safety requirements do not apply.
As CUPE has argued, if passed, Bill 5 would render the province eerily similar to so-called “right-to-work” states in the U.S., known for being weak when it comes to labour standards. It would also raise the possibility of a “two-tiered labour system,” as CUPE researcher Venai Raniga noted in a hearing on Bill 5, with firms engaging in a race to the bottom in wages and working conditions to compete with their SEZ counterparts.
The Ontario government has touted the importance of cutting red tape to deal with tariffs and attract investment. As evidenced by the bill, however, the only “barrier” to investment seems to be some of the most basic, and essential, protections granted to working Ontarians.
Considering this in tandem with the fact that the decision to classify something as an SEZ rests solely with cabinet, the potential for abuse is overwhelming.
So much for “Captain Canada”?
Despite having filibustered Bill 5 at committee, opposition parties were unable to delay for as long as they might have hoped. The Progressive Conservatives hold a majority and ultimately there was little that could be done in the legislature outside of stalling.
Bill 5 is a power grab. For all of their campaigning, the government’s response to Trump boils down to a bid to be more like him. Centralizing power in the hands of a few cabinet ministers directly threatens the normal regulatory oversight and legislative debate that would accompany such decisions.
There is also the general potential for abuse when it comes to the SEZ. The Greenbelt scandal seems to have faded from the public memory but let’s not forget this government’s close connections with commercial interests and previous efforts to accommodate them. Giving developers and industrialists exemptions from basic legal obligations, whether they be related to the environment, human rights, or labour rights is dystopian.
Is this the best “Captain Canada” has to offer the people of Ontario? The trampling of Indigenous rights, the gutting of environmental protections, and the creation of corporate-friendly legal grey zones? It’s all very Trump-like, and perhaps by design. The bluster surrounding Bill 5 does an excellent job of masking the government’s lack of vision for the province’s future. Vague promises that it will lead to economic growth remain just that: vague. As one authoritarian populist tries to mimic another, Ontarians may have more to fear than Donald Trump.
