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A controversial development proposal near the Nanticoke steelworks will not be on the ballot when Haldimand County voters elect their next municipal council in October 2026.
Published Dec 19, 2025 • Last updated 3 days ago • 3 minute read
Signs like this one spotted along the highway outside Jarvis popped up throughout Haldimand County during Shelley Ann Bentley’s successful mayoral campaign in 2022. Some of the signs have stayed put ever since, conveying some residents’ continued opposition to building 15,000 homes on industrial land in Nanticoke. Photo by J.P. Antonacci /Local Journalism Initiative Reporter
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A controversial development proposal near the Nanticoke steelworks will not be on the ballot when Haldimand County voters elect their next municipal council in October 2026.
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Mayor Shelley Ann Bentley said she wanted to have a referendum-style question added to the ballot to ask voters if they support having the province issue a minister’s zoning order (MZO) to change the zoning on industrial lands ringing Stelco’s Lake Erie Works.
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Empire Communities has applied to the province for an MZO that would allow the developer to formally pitch a plan to build 15,000 new homes on 2,500 acres of farmland while reviving 1,700 acres of industrial land.
Upon completion, if approved, Empire’s plan would turn Nanticoke into Haldimand’s biggest community.
Critics of the proposed development say bringing 40,000 new residents to Haldimand would irrevocably change the county’s rural character while straining infrastructure and causing traffic chaos.
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But proponents note the development would happen over decades, and in the meantime, Haldimand would benefit from Empire’s pledge to fund badly needed water and wastewater infrastructure while servicing long-unused…


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