Community Groups Ask Ottawa to Turn Kanata Golf Course into a City Park

It’s the sort of thing that makes long‑time Kanata residents pause and wonder: could the 173‑acre Kanata Golf and Country Club become a park instead of a housing subdivision? Three community groups think it’s worth a serious look.

The Kanata Lakes Community Association, the Kanata Greenspace Protection Coalition and the Kanata Beaverbrook Community Association have teamed up and, on July 19, presented a motion to Ottawa City Council. Their ask is straightforward – ask the city to commission a feasibility study that would examine the cost, logistics and long‑term implications of acquiring the golf course from its owner, ClubLink, and converting it into an urban park.

Why now? In 2018 ClubLink announced a partnership with Minto Group and Richcraft Homes to re‑zone the property for roughly 1,500 new homes. That plan has already cleared a series of legal hurdles. In January 2025 the Ontario Court of Appeal ruled that a 1981 agreement – signed when the former City of Kanata sold the land to Campeau Corporation and that required at least 40 % of the site to remain greenspace – was no longer enforceable. The Supreme Court of Canada later refused the city’s request to hear an appeal, effectively sealing the decision on September 18 2025.

Since then, the Ontario Land Tribunal has moved forward. In a January 2026 draft decision the tribunal gave the development a tentative go‑ahead, attaching 192 conditions ranging from storm‑water management to affordable‑housing targets. The city’s planning staff have been tasked with reviewing those conditions, and the community groups say the next logical step is to ask whether preserving the land as a park might be a better outcome.

“We’re not saying the city has to buy the land outright tomorrow,” said Barbara Ramsay, chair of the Kanata Greenspace Protection Coalition. “But a thorough, transparent study would let everyone see the real numbers – purchase price, lifecycle maintenance, any hidden liabilities – and compare those with the benefits of keeping a sizable natural space right in the heart of the city.”

The motion also directs Mayor Mark Sutcliffe to write to Premier Doug Ford and Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing Rob Flack, requesting that the province consider one of three tools that could help the city act: a Section 47 order under the Planning Act, special legislation, or another mechanism that could unlock funding or authority.

If the city were to go ahead with a purchase, the groups suggest a collaborative working group that would include municipal officials, provincial representatives and local residents. They’d look at everything from valuation and financing to long‑term stewardship – essentially, a playbook for turning a former private club into a public amenity.

Of course, it’s not a simple decision. Developers argue that the housing project will address Ottawa’s growing need for affordable homes, while the city points to the legal certainty the tribunal’s conditions provide. Yet the community groups argue that the social and environmental value of a large, accessible park could outweigh the fiscal upside of new tax revenue.

For now, the proposal sits on the council agenda. Whether Ottawa will commission the study, and what the results might reveal, remains to be seen. What’s clear, however, is that the conversation about the future of the Kanata Golf and Country Club is far from over.