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Protect Muskoka Bay

Help Us Protect Muskoka Bay's Future

The glint of sunlight on the water, the scent of pine, the quiet of early morning — this is the Muskoka we love and it’s under threat.

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The Province has entered into a conditional agreement to sell the former Muskoka Regional Centre lands to Cliff Bay Muskoka Corp. Their plan includes:

Up to three hotels
Nearly 1,400 resort/residential units
Ten six-storey buildings
Two restaurants and 33 villas built over the lake
A 262-foot pier and a marina with up to 80 slips

The proposed development will be approved by a Ministerial Zoning Order (MZO), bypassing local, District and Provincial planning requirements. It ignores long-held shoreline, height, density, and floodplain protections that are in place for a reason: to keep development and the lake in balance.

And use of an MZO sets a dangerous precedent that could affect every community in Muskoka.

What is at stake

If this scale of construction proceeds it will:

Increase pressure on water quality
Disrupt shoreline habitat and destroy shoreline views
Change the feel and function of the lake with increased traffic, noise, and boat congestion.
Shift the character of South Lake Muskoka from a place shaped by community to one shaped by a single intensive development.

We are not opposed to development. We know the site should be developed. But we are opposed to overdevelopment that disregards the lake itself.

Once the shoreline is built out, there is no going back.

We Need Your Support Now

The Muskoka Lakes Association in partnership with the Muskoka Bay Property Owner’s Association is actively:

Pressing for the development to be scaled back to conform with Gravenhurst’s Official Plan and zoning protections
Meeting with municipal and provincial officials
Raising the alarm publicly and through media
Promoting petitions and signage campaigns
Working with planning and government relations experts

But to continue this work — and to do it effectively — we need funding.

Your donation will help us

Continue to raise your concerns with local and provincial politicians
Keep sustained public pressure where it matters using social media, traditional media, signs and banners
Engage legal support
Continue to engage planning and government relations experts

Whether your gift is $50, $250, $1,000 or more, you are helping protect the future of South Lake Muskoka.

Below, you may choose between two donation options: the Protect Muskoka Bay Fund, which is dedicated specifically to initiatives related to Muskoka Bay and Cliff Bay, or the Preserve Muskoka Fund (PMF), which supports broader efforts across all of Muskoka. PMF contributions are used in accordance with the PMF Guidelines, including securing technical and legal expertise—such as planners and planning lawyers—to challenge unsustainable waterfront development and to advocate for necessary policy and by-law changes.

Donations may also be made by cheque. Please indicate on the cheque which fund you would like to support, and mail it to: MLA, PO Box 298, 65 Joseph Street, Port Carling, ON P0B 1J0.