EventAction
Ontario's Bill 5 (Protect Ontario by Unleashing our Economy Act) receives Royal Assent: special economic zones and faster approvals for mining and energy projects
Ontario's Bill 5, the Protect Ontario by Unleashing our Economy Act, 2025, received Royal Assent on 5 June 2025. It enacts the Special Economic Zones Act, which lets cabinet exempt designated areas, 'trusted proponents' or projects from provincial and municipal rules; replaces the Endangered Species Act with a registration-first Species Conservation Act; and allows exemptions from archaeological assessment. The government presented it as speeding up critical-mineral and energy projects in response to US tariffs (Legislative Assembly of Ontario; Norton Rose Fulbright).
- Date
- Kind
- Legislation
- Where
- Ontario
- Evidence
- Action: Something was done: a law switched on, a tariff imposed, money committed. How evidence is weighed
- Who
- Government of Ontario (acted); Progressive Conservative Party of Ontario (subject)
Sources
- nortonrosefulbright.com, “Bill 5 protect ontario by unleashing our economy act 2025 receives royal assent” (external site). source record
- Wikipedia, “Protect Ontario by Unleashing our Economy Act (Wikipedia)” (external site). source record
- Legislative Assembly of Ontario, “Bill 5, Protect Ontario by Unleashing our Economy Act, 2025: status” (external site). source record
- Legislative Assembly of Ontario, “Bill 5, Protect Ontario by Unleashing our Economy Act, 2025” (external site), . source record
- Government of Ontario (e-Laws), “Protect Ontario by Unleashing our Economy Act, 2025, S.O. 2025, c. 4 (as enacted)” (external site), . source record
Quotes
“to protect Ontario’s economy from the impact of existing and threatened tariffs on Canadian goods”
Laws and agreements
- Protect Ontario by Unleashing our Economy Act (Bill 5 (ON)): this event is its “Royal Assent” stage