As of summer 2025, 159 Ontario municipalities have formally declared themselves Not a Willing Host to industrial wind power generation sites. This action stemmed from remarks made by Premier Kathleen Wynne just days after she became premier, in which she said she would not force wind power projects on communities that don’t want them. A letter from then Wainfleet Mayor April Jeffs started the Unwilling Host movement in 2013.

The Green Energy Act has since been repealed and municipal authority has been restored.

Ideas For Action

• Council can pass bylaws related to noise, setbacks, and shadow flicker.
• Councils can also refuse to grant permits, or business licences.

159 Ontario Municipalities Declared “Unwilling Host”

Effective September 2025, there are 159 municipalities* that have passed resolutions to say they are not willing to host new industrial wind power sites.

With no changes to regulations for setbacks from homes or noise limits, municipalities simply feel they have no other choice.

The list* of Unwilling Host communities is here: (revised September 2025)

“The 159 municipalities that declared themselves Unwilling Hosts did so not out of fear but out of experience,” said Charlotte Cuthbert in a commentary by the Christian Farmers Federation, published in Ontario Farmer.

*NOTE: This list is compiled based on news reports and citizen information. There is no formal registry with the government or any other agency for Unwilling Host municipalities.