Ottawa's neighbours to the west are about to look a lot different. The Ontario Land Tribunal has given the green light to a large housing development in Perth, a small town roughly an hour southwest of Ottawa, and the approval means a chunk of one of Canada's oldest golf courses will make way for new homes.
What's happening in Perth
The development, put forward by Caivan, will see a significant swath of the historic golf course land converted into residential housing. Given the size of Perth, a town of only a few thousand people, the project stands to noticeably swell the local population once complete. The Ontario Land Tribunal, the provincial body responsible for resolving planning disputes, sided with the developer after review, clearing the way for construction to move ahead.
Why Ottawa should pay attention
Perth sits close enough to Ottawa that it's long been considered part of the capital region's orbit, a quieter, more affordable alternative for people priced out of the city or looking for small town charm without giving up easy highway access to Ottawa. As Ottawa's own housing market stays tight and new builds within city limits struggle to keep pace with demand, towns like Perth are increasingly absorbing the overflow. A project of this scale landing just outside Ottawa's commuter radius is a sign of how far the region's housing pressure is spreading.
It also fits a broader pattern playing out across Eastern Ontario. As Ottawa proper adds density downtown and in its suburbs, smaller communities within driving distance are being asked to take on more growth than they're used to, often testing local infrastructure, schools, and, in this case, longstanding local landmarks.
A historic course caught in the middle
What makes this particular approval sting for some Perth residents is what's being lost. The golf course in question is among the oldest in the country, the kind of institution that's woven into a small town's identity for generations. Losing part of it to a housing subdivision, even one meant to ease a very real housing shortage, is the sort of trade-off increasingly playing out in communities near Ottawa as growth pressures push outward from the capital.
For now, the tribunal's decision stands, and the development is expected to move forward. Ottawa area residents thinking about house hunting slightly further afield, or just curious about how growth in the capital region is reshaping its surrounding towns, will want to keep tabs on how construction unfolds in Perth over the coming months.
Source: CBC Ottawa
