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Ontario

Last checked 2026-09-23

Ontario has no province-wide dark-sky statute, but a growing number of municipalities, especially in cottage country, have passed their own outdoor-lighting bylaws requiring shielded, downward-directed fixtures, including Huntsville (2016), Seguin Township, Muskoka Lakes (2023), and Mississauga's nuisance-lighting rule (2012). The province is also home to more RASC-designated Dark-Sky Preserves than any other, including Torrance Barrens, Killarney, and Lake Superior provincial parks.

StatuteCitationYear
Outdoor Lighting By-lawTown of Huntsville2016
Dark Sky By-lawBy-law 2023-009 (amended by 2025-029), Township of Muskoka Lakes2023
Nuisance Lighting By-lawBy-law 262-12, City of Mississauga2012

Municipal codes

  • Huntsville: Requires full cut-off, downward-shielded outdoor fixtures on new construction since January 2016, gave property owners until January 2026 to upgrade existing lighting, and restricts dock lights to warm amber or yellow tones.
  • Muskoka Lakes: By-law 2023-009 regulates exterior lighting intensity, shielding, and hours of use township-wide to protect dark skies.
  • Seguin Township: Adopted a bylaw restricting unshielded and excessive outdoor lighting to protect its "dark sky environment."
  • Mississauga: Nuisance Lighting By-law 262-12 (2012) bans glare-producing fixtures such as floodlights, spotlights, and flashing lights that trespass onto neighboring properties.
  • North Frontenac: Township-wide RASC dark-sky preserve designation (2013) protects the North Frontenac Astronomy Park near Plevna from light pollution.

Sources