Criteria for Special Economic Zones, Natural Gas Expansion Program Advocacy, Updated Energy Project Guidance for Municipalities, Opposing Bill 30 at Standing Committee

Policy Update • October 10, 2025

Top Insights

AMO will submit feedback to consultations on the province’s proposed criteria for Special Economic Zones, calling on the province to require municipal support of proposed projects.
AMO supports Ontario’s Natural Gas Expansion Program, especially to provide rural, remote and northern communities with clean, reliable and affordable energy. More broadly, AMO continues to call for a balanced approach to energy infrastructure growth that meets local needs, prioritizes cost transparency, and incentivizes clean energy.
AMO’s Municipal Electricity Procurement Toolkit has been updated, and a new tool is available to help municipal officials evaluate proposed energy projects against locally determined criteria.
AMO looks forward to commenting on Bill 30 as part of its upcoming Standing Committee process to express our opposition to the Bill’s proposal to exempt Skills Development Fund Capital Stream recipients from the Planning Act and exempt them, in full or part, from the Municipal Act.

Ontario Consulting on Criteria for Special Economic Zones

The Ministry of Economic Development, Job Creation and Trade is consulting on proposed criteria for the government to designate Special Economic Zones (SEZs) and eligible projects and proponents including:

Limiting SEZs to only the geographic area necessary for projects likely to deliver significant, long-term economic benefits like job creation, trade diversification, or community benefits.
Requiring proponents to have a track record of complying with Ontario laws, demonstrate Indigenous engagement, and requiring Minister’s approval before projects change ownership.

AMO has previously called for SEZs to only be used with municipal support and will be commenting on the proposal, requesting that the province include a formal requirement for a project to have the support of the host municipalities, confirmed through a municipal support resolution.

AMO’s Natural Gas Expansion Program Advocacy

In comments provided to the Ministry of Energy and Mines on their consultation about the Ontario Natural Gas Expansion Program (NGEP), AMO continued to advocate for a balanced approach to energy growth. AMO supports the use of the NGEP in the short-term to deliver affordable, reliable energy and to support growth and economic resilience. This is especially important in rural, remote, and northern communities where building energy infrastructure can be cost prohibitive. At the same time, transparency in costs should be prioritized as the regulatory system changes so consumers can make informed decisions about what fuel sources meets their needs. Similarly, the growing cost of responding to severe climate events should be considered when determining the financial cost of energy infrastructure.

New Energy Project Guidance for Municipalities

AMO has updated its Municipal Energy Procurement Toolkit to better support municipal decision making on energy projects proposed for their communities. Updates include:

More details about the second Long-Term Procurement (LT2) underway now.
New third-party resources, including a new “Multi-Criteria Analysis Tool,” which is also on AMO's energy resources webpage. This tool was developed by The Atmospheric Fund and Sustainability Solutions Group to help municipal officials evaluate how proposed projects align with local interests and criteria.

AMO to Comment Opposition to Bill 30 at Standing Committee

With the legislature resuming on October 20, AMO anticipates Bill 30, Working for Workers Seven Act, 2025, will proceed to Second Reading. With our Board’s full support, AMO looks forward to publicly commenting during this process to express our opposition to the Bill’s proposal to exempt Skills Development Fund (SDF) Capital Stream recipients from the Planning Act and exempt them, in full or in part, from the Municipal Act.

Municipalities understand the need to help enable fast development in light of continued economic uncertainty. However, the exemptions proposed under Bill 30 will likely put development and growth in Ontario at risk. Further encroachment into municipal approval processes proposed by Bill 30 is not justified. Any private employer in Ontario is eligible for the SDF Capital Stream – this sets a very low bar for those who can bypass the Planning Act and the Municipal Act. Further, there’s been significant public scrutiny of SDF, confirmed through recent Auditor General audit findings on the SDF Training Stream, which concluded that the selection process was not fair, transparent or accountable, and that high-ranked applications were not chosen.