Shoreline Permits in Ontario: Who Approves What

Shoreline work in Ontario can involve several approving bodies at once, and which ones apply depends on the lake and the location of the property. This guide explains who approves what, what an application usually needs, and how to find out which approvals apply to your shoreline.

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The short answer

Most shoreline protection projects need more than one approval. A conservation authority permit is often part of it, but it is rarely the only one. Work on the lakebed can involve the Ministry of Natural Resources or Parks Canada, work that affects fish habitat falls under federal law, and the municipality has its own rules for site alteration, trees and buildings.

This page describes how the system generally works. It is not legal advice. The agency that issues an approval, or a qualified professional, confirms what applies to your property.

Conservation authorities

Under section 28 of the Conservation Authorities Act, development in certain areas needs a permit from the local conservation authority. Those areas include land next to the Great Lakes shoreline or an inland lake that may be affected by flooding, erosion or dynamic beach hazards. Ontario Regulation 41/24, Prohibited Activities, Exemptions and Permits, is the regulation in force today.

Development is defined broadly. It includes building a structure of any kind, site grading, and placing or removing material, which describes a revetment. Along a shoreline, the regulated area runs inland from the water to the limit of the flood, erosion and dynamic beach hazards, plus a further 15 metres. Each authority publishes maps of its regulated areas. Where a map and the written description disagree, the written description governs.

Conservation authorities are consolidating

Ontario is consolidating its conservation authorities into nine regional conservation authorities. The Conservation Authorities Act, as amended in April 2026, sets the transition date as February 1, 2027, or a later date set by regulation. On that date, existing authorities amalgamate into regional ones.

Some examples from the Act. Lake Simcoe Region and Nottawasaga Valley join Grey Sauble, Ausable Bayfield, Maitland Valley and Saugeen Valley as the Lake Huron Regional Conservation Authority. Niagara Peninsula joins Credit Valley, Halton Region and Hamilton Region as the Western Lake Ontario Regional Conservation Authority. Grand River, Catfish Creek, Kettle Creek and Long Point Region form the Eastern Lake Erie Regional Conservation Authority.

The Act provides that a permit application made to an existing authority before the transition date, and not yet decided, continues as an application to the new authority. Because names and boundaries are changing, check which authority covers your property at the time you apply.

Ministry of Natural Resources

The beds of most lakes and rivers in Ontario are Crown land, which the Ministry of Natural Resources manages under the Public Lands Act. A work permit may be needed for work on Crown land and on shore lands, which are the lands below the high-water mark of a lake, river, stream or pond. Building a new erosion control structure, such as a breakwall, revetment or groyne, or changing the dimensions of an existing one, may need a permit. Maintaining, repairing or replacing an existing structure may not, if the work is registered with the ministry before it starts and the conditions are met.

A conservation authority permit or a municipal permit does not replace the ministry work permit. The ministry's shore lands also exclude federal lands and waters, including portions of the Trent-Severn Waterway and the Rideau Canal, so on those waters the federal rules apply. Your deed or survey shows who owns the land beside the water, and the ministry can confirm the status of the lakebed.

Fisheries and Oceans Canada

The federal Fisheries Act prohibits work that results in the harmful alteration, disruption or destruction of fish habitat, unless the work is authorized or falls under an exception. Work in or near the water can affect habitat, so the department's Projects Near Water pages set out a process: avoid harm first, reduce it with standard measures, and submit a request for review where risk remains. An authorization is needed if a project is likely to kill fish or harmfully alter fish habitat. A permit under the Species at Risk Act may also be needed.

Parks Canada and the Trent-Severn Waterway

Parks Canada owns and has jurisdiction over the bed and shoreline of the Trent-Severn Waterway up to the original upper controlled water elevation. A Parks Canada permit is required for work on, under or over the bed and waters, including shoreline stabilization, docks, boathouses and dredging. The application is made online and asks for a detailed plan, a copy of the deed, a copy of the survey plan and a summer photograph. A permit is valid for one year.

Lake Simcoe and Lake Couchiching are on the Trent-Severn route, and Parks Canada manages their water levels. Parks Canada's permit page does not say how far its permit area extends around those lakes, so an owner on either lake should ask Parks Canada about the specific property. The Rideau Canal is also federal land and water, and owners beside it should ask Parks Canada whether its rules apply at their address.

Transport Canada

On navigable waters the Canadian Navigable Waters Act can add a step. Transport Canada's pages list erosion-protection works as a class of work whose details must be posted on a public registry with a public notice, unless a federal or provincial review has already covered them. Docks and boathouses that meet the criteria of the Minor Works Order can proceed without an application.

Municipalities

Municipalities add their own rules. These can include site alteration and fill by-laws, tree conservation by-laws, zoning setbacks and building permits. Some municipalities ask for conservation authority clearance before they issue a building permit. A few examples from municipal websites:

Barrie's Site Alteration By-law regulates placing fill, removing topsoil and changing grade.
Ramara requires a fill permit before work begins under its site alteration by-law.
Innisfil requires a community planning permit on Lake Simcoe frontage for new structures, boathouses and docks, and for site work including grading, fill, vegetation removal and shoreline work.
Severn Township's by-law 2024-67 requires a fill permit above 10 truckloads, or 100 cubic metres.
The Township of Muskoka Lakes has site plan control, site alteration and tree conservation by-laws, and Lake of Bays requires a permit for waterfront work under its community planning permit by-law.

Which approvals apply to your property

It depends on the lake and the location. The same lake can have a conservation authority on one shore and none on another. On the Great Lakes and many inland lakes, a conservation authority permit sits alongside a ministry work permit and a Fisheries Act review. Where the lakebed is federal, as on parts of the Trent-Severn Waterway, Parks Canada's permit applies rather than the ministry's. In the Muskoka and Magnetawan watersheds, Ontario states there are no conservation authorities, so the ministry, the district and township, and the federal agencies carry the load.

To find out which apply to your property:

Ask your municipality's planning or building department which by-laws apply, and whether it needs conservation authority sign-off first.
Use the Conservation Ontario directory to find your conservation authority, check its regulation mapping, and speak to its permit staff before drawings are finalized.
If you are on a Trent-Severn lake, contact the Parks Canada permit office with the property address.
Ask the Ministry of Natural Resources whether the work needs a work permit, and check your deed or survey for lakebed ownership.
Read the Fisheries and Oceans Canada Projects Near Water pages.

What an application usually needs

Requirements differ by body, but the same items come up. A pre-submission conversation with the permit staff helps avoid an incomplete application.

Photographs of the shoreline and the site.
A property survey. Parks Canada asks for a copy of the survey and the deed.
Drawings: usually a site plan showing dimensions and setbacks, and a cross-section of the proposed work.
A description of the work, the application form and the fee.
Sometimes engineering. The Niagara Peninsula Conservation Authority says shoreline works may be required to be designed and supervised by a professional engineer with coastal experience, and that slope stability may call for a geotechnical engineer. Larger works and higher banks are the likeliest to need it.

In-water work timing windows

To protect fish, in-water work has to avoid the times when fish spawn. The Ministry of Natural Resources sets the timing windows. They depend on the fish species present, whether those species spawn in spring or fall, and the region of the province, so they vary by area. Where several species are present, the most restrictive window applies. Permits can carry timing conditions, and even work that needs no permit must avoid spawning times.

Fisheries and Oceans Canada gives one example for Southern Ontario: where walleye and bass are both present, the period to avoid work runs from March 15 to July 15. The permit conditions, or the ministry, confirm the window for a given site.

How long approvals take

Only some bodies publish a time, and the figures below are the ones their official pages state.

Conservation authority: it must say in writing within 21 days whether an application is complete. Ontario also describes a 90-day period after a complete application, after which an applicant who has had no decision may appeal to the Ontario Land Tribunal.
Parks Canada: no fixed processing time is stated. Owners are asked to apply several months before the work.
Fisheries and Oceans Canada: no standard review time is published for a request for review. For an application for an authorization, the department's pages state a 90-day period for the decision.
Ministry of Natural Resources and municipalities: no figure is stated here. Ask each one.

Approvals can run side by side or one after another, so plan for months rather than weeks. Approvals should be in place before any stone is ordered.

Work without a permit

Doing regulated work without the required approval is an offence under the statutes. Penalties stated in the Acts today include the following.

Conservation Authorities Act: for an individual, a fine of up to $50,000, up to three months in jail, or both, plus up to $10,000 for each day the offence continues. For a corporation, up to $1,000,000 plus up to $200,000 per day. A court can order the development removed and the site rehabilitated at the offender's expense.
Fisheries Act: for an individual convicted of a first offence on summary conviction, a fine of $5,000 to $300,000. Each day of a continuing offence counts separately.
Public Lands Act, section 70.3: for an individual, a fine of not more than $15,000 for a first offence and an additional fine of not more than $1,000 for each day during which the offence continues.

The Lake Simcoe Region Conservation Authority notes that work done without a permit needs a violation application, and that approval is not automatic.

As one worked example only: that authority's Planning and Development Fees Policy 2026 sets the fee for a retroactive permit on private residential property at 25 percent of the original fee, up to three times the fee with non-compliance. For scale, the same policy's fees for an ordinary permit run from $624 for a routine application to $6,018 for a major one. Every conservation authority sets its own fees, and the authority that covers your property may charge differently.

What Natural Stone Source Ontario does in the permit process

Shoreline work in Ontario typically requires approval from the local conservation authority before construction begins. We can help prepare and submit the application. Permit fees are the property owner's responsibility.

Shoreline work typically runs from about $500 to $20,000 per linear foot, depending on the scope of work, the height of the bank, the size of the lake and the wave exposure the site takes. Permit fees are extra. Every project is quoted after a site visit.

Questions about shoreline permits

Do I need a permit to repair or replace existing shoreline stone?

Not always. The Ministry of Natural Resources says maintaining, repairing or replacing an existing erosion control structure on shore lands may not need a work permit, if the work is registered with the ministry before it starts and the listed conditions are met, including keeping the same footprint. A conservation authority, municipal or federal approval may still apply. Ask before work begins.

Who should I call first?

Start with your municipality's planning or building department and your conservation authority, if one serves your area. On a Trent-Severn lake, also contact Parks Canada. Each can tell you what applies to the property and what else to check.

Does a conservation authority permit cover everything?

No. Ontario states that a conservation authority permit or municipal permit does not replace a ministry work permit where one is needed. Fisheries and Oceans Canada, Parks Canada and the municipality are separate.

Can in-water work be done at any time of year?

No. In-water work has to avoid the times when fish spawn, and the windows depend on the species present, the season they spawn in and the region. Permit conditions confirm the window for a site.

Do I need a permit for a small dock?

It depends on the dock and the water. Ontario's conservation authority regulation exempts a seasonal or floating dock of 10 square metres or less that has no permanent supports and can be removed before flooding. The ministry may require a work permit where a structure is in contact with more than 15 square metres of shore lands. On the Trent-Severn Waterway, Parks Canada requires a permit for docks.

What if my shoreline is in an area with no conservation authority?

Ontario's flood review states that there are no conservation authorities in the Muskoka and Magnetawan watersheds. Work there still involves the Ministry of Natural Resources, Fisheries and Oceans Canada and the municipality, and where the water is navigable, Transport Canada. Your municipality can tell you whether a conservation authority serves your lot.

How long does approval take?

Only some bodies state a time. A conservation authority must tell you in writing within 21 days whether an application is complete. Parks Canada states no fixed time and asks owners to apply several months before the work. Plan for months rather than weeks, and confirm with each body.

Does Natural Stone Source Ontario apply for the permit?

We can help prepare and submit the application. Permit fees are the property owner's responsibility.

Official sources

These pages are published by the agencies named above.

Shoreline pages by lake

Planning shoreline work? Call 1-855-787-8663 or Request a Quote.

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What to send us: photos of the shoreline, the approximate length in feet, the lake and the township.