The OAA’s Policy and Government Relations (PGR) team had a quiet start to the year as government returned to the Legislature on March 23, 2026. During this time, the OAA took the opportunity to refresh its internal knowledge base, set priorities for the year ahead, and build relationships with both provincial and municipal government staff. Once the Legislature returned, PGR staff got to work as housing legislation was tabled promptly.

This article summarizes the work accomplished thus far this year.

Queen’s Park Picks 2026

Planning for this year’s Queen’s Park Picks (QP Picks) is well underway, with the evening reception at Queen’s Park scheduled for November 3. For the third year in a row, MPPs were invited to nominate a building in their riding that aligned with the 2026 OAA’s conference theme: Collaboration Powering Innovation. Twenty-eight MPPs nominated 41 buildings across nine Local Architectural Societies. The OAA’s Policy Advisory and Coordination Team (PACT) determined this year’s top nine picks at its meeting on June 24. Following that, research will take place over the summer in preparation for the November 3 event. PGR looks forward to sharing this year’s QP Picks; in the meantime, you can see the 2025 selections on the OAA Website.

Legislative Response:

With government returning to the legislature later than usual, there were fewer bills tabled for the OAA to respond to. As expected, housing legislation was introduced on March 30 by Hon. Rob Flack, Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing. Bill 98, Building Homes and Improving Transportation Infrastructure Act, introduced changes to a variety of legislation impacting the planning application process.

The OAA’s 2024 Delays in Site Plan study was quoted in the news release, in the Minister’s remarks in the House, and in the regulatory posting. The OAA made a submission to the Standing Committee on Heritage, Infrastructure, and Cultural Policy. The submission offers support for the standardization of Official Plans, as the Association has long encouraged predictability in the planning process. It also confirms the Association’s support in principle for the removal of barriers to getting housing built and to speeding up the Site Plan Approval process, including reducing the scope of Site Plan. It cautions that the spirit of enhanced building standards, such as municipal green standards, should be maintained. To this end, the submission strongly recommends government consider the integration of a province-wide green standard in the Ontario Building Code. Read the full submission here.

At the City of Toronto’s April 15 Executive Committee meeting, the report, “Towards a Beautiful City: Update on Priority Items” was tabled. The report featured initiatives to improve the public realm and, as part of that, promoted the use of qualifications-based selection (QBS) as part of the City’s evaluation for design services and its implementation of a median-priced scoring approach. The OAA submitted a letter of support strongly urging City Council to adopt a holistic understanding of qualifications that include quality metrics as a current and forward-looking demonstration of a proponent’s qualifications. To read the full letter, click here.

Government Consultations:

As part of the Ministry of Long-Term Care’s (MLTC) initiative to streamline the long-term care home design development and approvals process, it has undertaken the creation of a Catalogue of Standardized Designs. As part of this work, the MLTC procured the services of Montgomery Sisam Architects Inc. (MSA) to lead the development of detailed design options for essential LTC building components in accordance with the requirements of the 2015 Design Manual.

The OAA was invited to stakeholder consultation, which took place on May 13, where elements of the new catalogue were shared and feedback was gathered on the content and usability of this new resource. At that consultation, the MLTC confirmed plans are in place to make updates to the 2015 Design Manual. The OAA will update the membership when the catalogue is released and share any related updates on the topic.

Following its submission on Bill 98, OAA staff met with staff from the Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing’s office to discuss its recommendations in more detail. Ministry staff confirmed that they will include Architects as part of the expert third-party advisory group that they strike to review Ontario’s Building Code.

There was also some discussion about the topic of professional coordination, and the Ministry’s appetite to explore it further.

Further Reading

For further insights into the OAA’s Policy and Government Relations work and correspondence, explore the OAA’s GR Portal.