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Ontario's New Bill Puts Polar Bears at Risk
15 Oct
Summary
- Ontario's Endangered Species Act repealed, replaced by weaker Species Conservation Act
- Polar bear habitats could be damaged by exemptions for mining and infrastructure projects
- Climate change remains the biggest threat to Ontario's polar bear population
As of October 15th, 2025, Ontario's new Bill 5, known as the Protect Ontario by Unleashing our Economy Act, has come into effect. The legislation repeals the province's Endangered Species Act and replaces it with the new Species Conservation Act, which environmental groups argue provides weaker protections for threatened species like polar bears.
Under the previous Endangered Species Act, the government was required to develop recovery strategies for threatened species. Additionally, it was prohibited to harm or damage polar bear habitats. However, the new Species Conservation Act grants cabinet the power to create "special economic zones" where projects like mining or transportation infrastructure can be exempt from complying with provincial laws and regulations.
Environmentalists are concerned that this could lead to the destruction of polar bear habitats near Hudson Bay, where an estimated 800 to 1,000 polar bears reside in Ontario. The manager of the Cochrane Polar Bear Habitat warns that mining companies, in particular, could damage these critical areas if they are given free reign to develop resources without adhering to environmental regulations.
While the new legislation promises $20 million per year for an "enhanced species conservation program," experts argue that the weakened protections and exemptions pose a significant threat to the province's polar bear population, which has already been on a steady decline for the past 10 to 20 years due to the impacts of climate change.
