Public Engagement Requirements in Canada: Federal and Provincial

Canada has no single statute that governs public engagement. This guide covers three important sources of requirements: the Crown's constitutional duty to consult Indigenous peoples, federal impact assessment law (chiefly the Impact Assessment Act) and selected provincial planning and municipal legislation, which sets the rules councils follow for plans, zoning and public notice. Other legislation and project-specific requirements may also apply. Which ones apply depends on who is making the decision and what is being decided.

This guide is for practitioners and proponents who have to plan engagement around those requirements. It is selective, not exhaustive, and it is general information, not legal advice. It summarizes the duty to consult, public participation under the Impact Assessment Act and a set of verified provincial requirements, then separates what the law says from what good practice adds. For the wider international picture, see our guide to engagement documents required by law.

Public engagement requirements in Canada at a glance

What is the duty to consult?

Section 35 of the Constitution Act, 1982 recognizes and affirms existing Aboriginal and treaty rights. In Haida Nation v. British Columbia (Minister of Forests), 2004 SCC 73, the Supreme Court held that the duty to consult, and where appropriate accommodate, arises when the Crown knows, or ought to know, of a potential Aboriginal right or title and contemplates conduct that might adversely affect it. The depth of consultation scales with the strength of the claim and the seriousness of the impact.

Three points matter for engagement planning:

• It is the Crown's duty, federal and provincial. Haida confirmed that the duty binds provincial governments as well as the federal Crown. It also held that third parties, such as project proponents, do not owe the duty, although the Crown may delegate procedural aspects of consultation to them. The ultimate legal responsibility stays with government and cannot be delegated.

• Municipal roles depend on the legal context. Whether a municipality itself owes the constitutional duty is not settled across Canada. In Neskonlith Indian Band v. Salmon Arm (City), 2012 BCCA 379, the British Columbia Court of Appeal declined to find that a city owed the duty when issuing a development permit. Municipalities can still have roles where legislation gives them one, such as the BC requirement below to consider consulting First Nations on official community plans, and the position can differ with the statute and the facts.

• It has distinct requirements. The duty to consult is a constitutional obligation owed to rights-holding Indigenous nations and communities. General public participation (open houses, surveys, hearings) alone does not establish that its requirements have been met, and an Indigenous nation should not be treated as one stakeholder among many in a public process. The Crown may, however, rely on an assessment or regulatory process to fulfill the duty in whole or in part, where that process provides adequate consultation and, where appropriate, accommodation, as the Supreme Court confirmed in Clyde River (Hamlet) v. Petroleum Geo-Services Inc., 2017 SCC 40.

Proponents are often asked to carry out much of the practical engagement, so the line between the Crown's duty and a proponent's engagement program is worth being clear about from the start.

Public participation under the Impact Assessment Act

The Impact Assessment Act sets up a process for designated projects, typically major resource, energy and infrastructure projects listed by regulation. This section focuses on that designated-project process; the Act also addresses certain projects on federal lands or outside Canada, and regional and strategic assessments. Its preamble refers to an assessment process that fosters meaningful public participation. The sections below describe what the Impact Assessment Agency of Canada must do in the planning phase and in assessments it leads; assessments referred to a review panel have separate requirements under section 51. These are duties on the Agency (or the panel), though in practice proponents carry out much of the engagement the Agency relies on.

Planning phase and assessment

• Planning phase. Section 11 requires the Agency to ensure the public has an opportunity to participate meaningfully in its preparations for a possible impact assessment, including by inviting comments within a period it specifies. Section 14 requires the Agency to give the proponent a summary of issues, including issues raised by the public, and to post it online.

• Tailored guidelines and plans. If an assessment is required and the Minister has not approved the substitution of another process under section 31, section 18(1) requires the Agency to provide the proponent with tailored guidelines and with plans for cooperation with other jurisdictions, for engagement and partnership with the Indigenous peoples of Canada, for public participation and for permitting.

• Assessment. For an assessment the Agency leads, section 27 requires it to give the public a meaningful opportunity to participate. Section 22 lists factors the assessment must take into account, including Indigenous knowledge, community knowledge and comments received from the public.

• Draft and final reports. For an Agency-led assessment, section 28 requires the Agency to post the draft report, or an indication of how to obtain a copy, with a notice inviting public comment, and the final report must set out a summary of public comments.

• Review panels. Where a project is referred to a review panel, section 51 requires the panel to hold hearings that offer the public a meaningful opportunity to participate, and its report must set out a summary of public comments.

The Agency's public participation guidance says the Agency prepares a Public Participation Plan during the planning phase, setting out objectives and engagement opportunities for later phases, and that proponents undertake and document early engagement. The guidance is not the Act, and the Agency notes it may not reflect current practice, so check it against the live project record.

Participant funding

Section 75 requires the Agency to establish a participant funding program to help the public take part in planning, assessments of certain designated projects, follow-up programs and regional and strategic assessments. The section 75 funding obligation does not apply to a designated project for which the Minister has approved the substitution of another process under section 31. According to the Agency's Participant Funding Program page, individuals, non-profit organizations and Indigenous communities and organizations can apply, with caps that vary by phase.

Indigenous engagement and partnership

During the planning phase, section 12 requires the Agency to offer to consult any Indigenous group that may be affected by the carrying out of the designated project. The Agency's Indigenous participation guidance describes an Indigenous Engagement and Partnership Plan developed collaboratively with potentially affected communities early in the planning phase, with the Agency acting as Crown Consultation Lead for the federal government. It also expects proponents to engage potentially affected Indigenous communities and document that engagement. This is separate from, and runs alongside, the general public participation plan.

Recent changes: the 2024 amendments and the Building Canada Act

After the Supreme Court's 13 October 2023 advisory opinion in Reference re Impact Assessment Act, 2023 SCC 23 found the designated-project scheme largely unconstitutional, Parliament amended the Act effective June 20, 2024 to focus on adverse effects within federal jurisdiction. Sections 11, 12 and 27 were unchanged by those amendments.

Separately, the Building Canada Act, part of the One Canadian Economy Act (assented June 26, 2025), lets the federal Cabinet designate national interest projects by adding them to Schedule 1. Before Cabinet adds a project, subsection 5(1.1) requires a 30-day notice in the Canada Gazette and consultation with the province or territory where the project will be carried out, including its written consent if the project falls within exclusive provincial or territorial jurisdiction. Before recommending the order, the Minister must consult Indigenous peoples whose section 35 rights may be adversely affected (subsection 5(7)). Before the Minister issues the document deemed to constitute the federal authorizations specified in it under the Building Canada Act, section 7 requires those Indigenous peoples to be consulted through a process that allows their active and meaningful participation, and the Minister must make a report of the consultation process and results public within 60 days after that document is issued.

The two Acts interact. For a national interest project that is also a designated project under the Impact Assessment Act, section 19 of the Building Canada Act disapplies sections 9 to 17 of the Impact Assessment Act, including the planning-phase participation and offer to consult in sections 11 and 12, and deems an impact assessment to be required. The Building Canada Act's own Indigenous consultation requirements apply to those projects.

Provincial planning and municipal requirements

Municipal engagement duties come from provincial law, and they differ widely. Among the provinces below, some require a standing policy or program, and several set procedural steps, such as consultation, notice or a hearing, for particular planning decisions. The provinces below are those where we verified a specific requirement.

British Columbia

Under section 475 of the Local Government Act, a local government developing, amending or repealing an official community plan must provide opportunities for consultation with those it considers affected, and consider whether that should be early and ongoing and include First Nations. Since late 2023, section 464(3) has prohibited a public hearing on a zoning bylaw where an official community plan is in force, the bylaw is consistent with it, its sole purpose is to permit a development, and residential use accounts for at least half of the proposed gross floor area. Separate prohibitions apply to specified small-scale multi-unit housing bylaws.

Alberta

Section 216.1 of the Municipal Government Act requires every council to establish a public participation policy. The Public Participation Policy Regulation says it must identify the types or categories of approaches and circumstances for engaging municipal stakeholders, be available for public inspection and be reviewed at least once every four years. As a practice recommendation, that policy is the natural starting point for an Alberta municipal project's engagement plan.

Saskatchewan

Part X of the Planning and Development Act, 2007 is headed Public Participation. Under section 207, a council must give public notice before considering a bylaw adopting, amending or repealing an official community plan, zoning bylaw and certain other planning bylaws, and must hold a public hearing after first reading and before second reading. The first notice must appear at least two clear weeks before the hearing, or four clear weeks for adopting an official community plan or zoning bylaw. Section 209 requires written notice to owners of affected land for amendments respecting zoning districts and for replacement zoning bylaws that substantially change permitted use or intensity of use, unless the Minister, on the council's application, grants an exemption. Section 210 requires the council to hear everyone who wishes to make relevant representations and to keep minutes. Under section 206, councils declared approving authorities that have passed a public notice bylaw under section 24 follow that bylaw instead. The province's guide to amending planning bylaws explains the process.

Manitoba

The Planning Act requires public hearings to receive representations from any person on development plan bylaws (section 46) and zoning bylaws (section 74). A hearing may take place before or after first reading, but must precede second reading. A proposed alteration to a zoning bylaw after the hearing generally requires a second hearing, but section 74(3) exempts a minor alteration that does not change the bylaw's intent. Section 168 specifies publication or posting requirements, notice to specified recipients and additional notice where a bylaw amendment affects a specific property; section 167 says the notice must state that anyone may make a representation, and section 173 allows oral or written submissions and requires a record of them. Section 174.1 requires written reasons for certain refusals, such as a decision not to adopt a plan or zoning amendment applied for by the owner. The Act generally does not apply to the City of Winnipeg, which has its own legislation.

Ontario

Subject to statutory exceptions and permitted alternative procedures, the Planning Act requires at least one public meeting, with information made available to the public, before a council adopts an official plan (section 17(15)) or passes a zoning bylaw (section 34(12)). Section 270 of the Municipal Act, 2001 requires municipalities governed by that Act to adopt and maintain policies on the circumstances, form, manner and timing of public notice. The Municipal Act, 2001 generally does not apply to Toronto, which has its own legislation.

Ontario's Environmental Assessment Act also sets consultation duties for proponents. Since February 22, 2024, projects designated for comprehensive environmental assessment have been governed by Part II.3, which replaced the former individual assessment provisions. Section 17.3 requires the proponent to consult with such persons as may be interested while preparing the proposed terms of reference and the assessment. Section 17.4(3) requires the proposed terms of reference to be accompanied by a description of the consultations and their results, and section 17.6 governs the content of the assessment, including consultation reporting, subject to the approved terms of reference.

Part II.4, a new streamlined assessment regime for municipal infrastructure projects, is scheduled to take effect on January 1, 2027. Its implementing regulation, Ontario Regulation 258/26, has already been made and sets out the requirements proponents must meet, including consultation and documentation, according to the province's August 2026 decision notice.

Quebec

Under sections 80.1 to 80.5 of the Act respecting land use planning and development, a municipality may choose to adopt a public participation policy that meets the requirements of a provincial regulation. A compliant policy exempts instruments adopted under the Act from referendum approval, subject to transitional protection for processes already under way, and supplements the Act's ordinary information and consultation requirements. Where a participation process includes at least one consultation or active participation measure, a feedback report must be tabled before the municipal council before the instrument is adopted, and the report must be made publicly available, according to the Quebec government's guide.

Nova Scotia

Section 204 of the Municipal Government Act requires councils governed by the Act to adopt, by policy, a public participation program for preparing planning documents. Section 205(4) requires the program to be completed before the first newspaper or website notice of the public hearing.

What these requirements have in common

The instruments above were written for different purposes, so the patterns are limited, but a few repeat:

• Most attach to a decision, not a project. The statutes set duties for adopting a plan, passing a bylaw or assessing a designated project. A project that needs several approvals may trigger several overlapping processes, each with its own notice and timing.

• Notice and an opportunity to be heard are the common floor. Saskatchewan, Manitoba and Ontario planning law, for example, set notice and a hearing or meeting. These are minimums. Meeting them does not by itself show that engagement was effective or that every other duty was met.

• A record is often required. Manitoba requires a record of representations, Saskatchewan requires minutes, the Impact Assessment Act requires a summary of public comments in the final report, the Building Canada Act requires a public report on Indigenous consultation, and Ontario's comprehensive assessment requires a description of consultations and results to accompany the proposed terms of reference. Quebec's optional regime can require a feedback report.

• Indigenous consultation has distinct requirements. The duty to consult, the Impact Assessment Act's offer to consult and the Building Canada Act's consultation requirements are distinct from general public participation, with different holders, standards and records. General public participation alone does not establish that those requirements have been met, although the Crown may rely on an assessment or regulatory process that provides adequate consultation and, where appropriate, accommodation.

• Standing instruments differ. Among the regimes covered here, Alberta requires a public participation policy, Nova Scotia a public participation program for planning documents and Ontario a public notice policy. As a practice recommendation, review the applicable local policy when preparing an engagement plan.

Applying these requirements across projects

The legal requirements tell you the minimum for each decision. The practice questions are about consistency: whether every project team knows which requirements apply, plans for them early and can show what it did. The suggestions below are practice recommendations, not legal requirements.

• Map the decisions first. For each project, list the approvals it needs and the engagement steps each one carries: hearings, notice periods, comment windows, participant funding deadlines and any Indigenous consultation process led by the Crown. Build the timeline from that list.

• Keep Indigenous engagement distinct. Plan it with the nations concerned, on their terms and timelines, and record it separately from general public input. Be clear about which parts are the Crown's consultation and which are the proponent's or municipality's own engagement.

• Start from your policy, where you have one. In Alberta, the council's public participation policy should shape each project's community engagement plan. Organizations without a statutory policy can adopt their own standard so that projects do not each reinvent the approach.

• Identify who is affected, not just who must be notified. Statutory notice requirements (owners within a set distance, newspaper notices) may not reach everyone affected by a proposal. A proper stakeholder analysis helps identify additional people and groups to engage.

• Report back in a form you can reuse. Several regimes require summaries of comments, records of representations or feedback reports. A consistent community engagement report format makes those easier to produce and easier to show to decision-makers.

This is the problem CE Canvas is built for: turning an organization's engagement framework, including the legal requirements that apply to it, into the way every project is planned, delivered and reported, so that teams are not rebuilding their approach from scratch each time. See how that works for organizations with an established engagement practice.

Sources

Selected legislation and official guidance reviewed on 20 October 2026. This is not an exhaustive account of applicable requirements; check current requirements with the relevant authority.

• Constitution Act, 1982, section 35, Justice Laws Website

• Haida Nation v. British Columbia (Minister of Forests), 2004 SCC 73, Supreme Court of Canada

• Neskonlith Indian Band v. Salmon Arm (City), 2012 BCCA 379, Court of Appeal for British Columbia

• Clyde River (Hamlet) v. Petroleum Geo-Services Inc., 2017 SCC 40, Supreme Court of Canada

• Duty to consult and accommodate, Department of Justice Canada

• Impact Assessment Act, Justice Laws Website, and Reference re Impact Assessment Act, 2023 SCC 23, Supreme Court of Canada

• Budget Implementation Act, 2024, No. 1, Justice Laws Website

• Building Canada Act and One Canadian Economy Act, Justice Laws Website

• Guidance: Public Participation for Impact Assessment under the Impact Assessment Act, Impact Assessment Agency of Canada

• Guidance: Indigenous Participation in Impact Assessment, Impact Assessment Agency of Canada

• Participant Funding Program, Impact Assessment Agency of Canada

• Local Government Act (British Columbia), Part 14, BC Laws

• Municipal Government Act (Alberta) and Public Participation Policy Regulation, Alberta King's Printer

• The Planning and Development Act, 2007 (Saskatchewan) and Amending Planning Bylaws guide, Saskatchewan King's Printer and Government of Saskatchewan

• The Planning Act (Manitoba), C.C.S.M. c. P80, Manitoba Laws

• Planning Act (Ontario), Municipal Act, 2001 (Ontario) and Environmental Assessment Act (Ontario), e-Laws

• Ontario Regulation 258/26, e-Laws, and the decision notice on the streamlined municipal infrastructure assessment process, Environmental Registry of Ontario

• Act respecting land use planning and development (Quebec), LegisQuebec, and the Quebec government guide to the public participation regulation (in French)

• Municipal Government Act (Nova Scotia), Nova Scotia Legislature

Frequently asked questions

What is the duty to consult?

It is the constitutional obligation of the Crown, federal and provincial, grounded in section 35 of the Constitution Act, 1982, to consult and, where appropriate, accommodate Indigenous peoples when it contemplates conduct that might adversely affect their asserted or established Aboriginal or treaty rights. The Supreme Court set out the framework in Haida Nation (2004): the duty arises when the Crown knows, or ought to know, of the potential right, and its depth depends on the strength of the claim and the seriousness of the impact. Proponents can be delegated procedural aspects, but the legal responsibility stays with the Crown.

Does the Impact Assessment Act require public participation?

Yes, for designated projects. Sections 11 and 27 require the Impact Assessment Agency of Canada to give the public a meaningful opportunity to participate in the planning phase and in assessments the Agency leads, and section 28 requires it to invite public comment on the draft report. Review panels have separate hearing and reporting requirements under section 51. Section 75 requires a participant funding program, except for projects where the Minister has approved a substituted process under section 31. Section 12 separately requires the Agency to offer to consult Indigenous groups that may be affected. For national interest projects under the Building Canada Act, sections 9 to 17 of the Impact Assessment Act, including sections 11 and 12, do not apply. These are duties on the Agency (or the panel); proponents usually carry out much of the engagement it relies on.

Do municipalities in Canada have to adopt a public participation policy?

It depends on the province. Alberta councils must establish a public participation policy under section 216.1 of the Municipal Government Act, reviewed at least every four years. Nova Scotia councils must adopt a public participation program for planning documents, and Ontario municipalities under the Municipal Act, 2001 must have a public notice policy. In Quebec, municipalities may adopt a public participation policy. A policy complying with the provincial regulation exempts instruments adopted under the Act respecting land use planning and development from referendum approval, subject to protection for processes already under way. In the other provinces covered in this guide, the provisions we reviewed set consultation, notice and hearing steps for particular decisions. Check current requirements with the relevant authority.

Is public engagement the same as Indigenous consultation?

No. The duty to consult is a constitutional obligation of the Crown owed to Indigenous rights holders, with its own standard of depth and accommodation. General public engagement is open to everyone, and on its own it does not establish that the duty has been met, although the Crown may rely on an assessment or regulatory process that provides adequate consultation and, where appropriate, accommodation. In practice, plan Indigenous engagement separately, with the nations concerned, and record it separately from public input.

Is this article legal advice?

No. It is a general summary of selected requirements as of 20 October 2026, not an exhaustive account of what may apply to a particular project or municipality. Laws, regulations and guidance change, so confirm current requirements with the responsible government department, regulator or your legal counsel before relying on them.