AMENDMENT HISTORY OF THE 2024 EDITION

OF THE ONTARIO BUILDING CODE

Legal Disclaimer: Treat this page as a history book. This is a guide to the origins and the development of the current 2024 edition of the Ontario Building Code. While I try my best to ensure that the information is accurate, I cannot be held responsible for errors. Do not rely on this information for legal, design or construction purposes. For accurate reference, recourse should be had to the official volumes. If you sue me because you relied on this information, this paragraph will become "EXHIBIT 1" in my defence.

The Canadian Free Trade Agreement

The Canadian Free Trade Agreement (CFTA) is an intergovernmental trade agreement signed by Canadian Ministers that entered into force on July 1st, 2017. The CFTA commits all Canadian provinces, territories and the federal government to a comprehensive framework aiming to achieve a modern and competitive economic union for all Canadians. 150 years after Canadian Confederation in 1867, Canada still has stiff barriers to interprovincial trade! The CFTA better aligns with Canada’s commitments under international trade agreements such as the Canada-European Union Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA).

An important feature of the CFTA is the creation of the Regulatory Reconciliation and Cooperation Table (RCT) to oversee the regulatory reconciliation process and promote regulatory cooperation across Canada. Since construction codes were identified as a barrier to interprovincial trade, 13 of 14 Canadian jurisdictions signed the Construction Codes Reconciliation Agreement by 2021. When implemented, the agreement is expected to result in:

1. The reduction or elimination of variations in the technical requirements of Construction Codes

Participating parties have agreed to identify variations and exceptions for the current (2015) National Codes and, within six months of the effective date for subsequent editions of Construction Codes going forward. After 2025, any new codes will be further harmonized with applicable National Codes and with leading practices from the provinces and territories, subject to exceptions provided for under the agreement.

2. The timely adoption of Construction Codes

Participating parties agreed to make Construction Codes effective within 24 months of the 2020 National Codes and within 18 months of subsequent codes (2025 and after).

3. A transformed National Code Development System to meet the needs of all jurisdictions.

By 2021, the National Code Development System would be transformed to integrate the provincial/territorial code development processes into the national process. The new code development system will be more responsive, more agile, and will result in fewer variations in the next (2025) edition of the Codes and as future codes are developed. Participating parties agreed to develop an implementation plan and report progress to RCT annually.

4. Freely available National Codes

National Codes are now available for free in a digital format, and with unlimited access.

Since Ontario signed the CFTA and approved the RCT, the drafting of the 2024 edition of the Ontario Building Code was deeply influenced by the goal of harmonizing its code with the model national codes.

The 2024 Edition of the Ontario Building Code

The original Ontario Regulation that establishes the 2024 edition of the Ontario Building Code is O. Reg. 163/24. This 2024 Ontario Building Code regulation is only one page long! All editions of the Ontario Building Code prior to the 2024 edition were made by an Ontario Regulation which contained the entire text of the Building Code.

Ontario Regulation 163/24 states that the 2024 edition of the Ontario Building Code consists of TWO DOCUMENTS:

CCBFC NRCC-CONST-56435E, “National Building Code of Canada 2020”, (First Printing)
Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing “Ontario Amendments to the National Building Code of Canada 2020”

Therefore, it is necessary to:

First, read the National Building Code of Canada 2020 and then,
Secondly, determine if anything is amended by the Ontario Amendments to the National Building Code of Canada 2020.

The new regulatory scheme makes it impractical to use the 2024 Building Code because the user is required to refer to both the National Building Code of Canada 2020 and then to the Ontario Amendments to the National Building Code of Canada 2020 in order determine the requirements of the 2024 edition of the Ontario Building Code.

Ontario has not published a legal consolidated edition containing the National Building Code of Canada 2020 that also includes the Ontario Amendments to the National Building Code of Canada 2020.

Amendment History of the 2024 Edition of the Ontario Building Code

REGULATION	FILED ON	EFFECTIVE ON	NRC CODE DOCUMENT	ONTARIO AMENDMENT DOCUMENT
O. Reg. 163/24 Original 2024 edition of the Ontario Building Code	Apr. 10, 2024	Jan. 1, 2025	The code issued by the Canadian Commission on Building and Fire Codes, part of National Research Council Canada, known as CCBFC NRCC-CONST-56435E, “National Building Code of Canada 2020”	Amendment document entitled “Ontario Amendments to the National Building Code of Canada 2020”, dated April 5, 2024 and issued by the Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing
O. Reg. 203/24	May 29, 2024	Jan. 1, 2025	The code issued by the Canadian Commission on Building and Fire Codes, part of National Research Council Canada, known as CCBFC NRCC-CONST-56435E, “National Building Code of Canada 2020”	Amendment document entitled “Ontario Amendments to the National Building Code of Canada 2020”, dated May 15, 2024 and issued by the Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing
O. Reg. 447/24	Nov. 4, 2024	Jan. 1, 2025 until Jan. 15, 2025	The code issued by the Canadian Commission on Building and Fire Codes, part of National Research Council Canada, known as CCBFC NRCC-CONST-56435E, “National Building Code of Canada 2020”	Amendment document entitled “Ontario Amendments to the National Building Code of Canada 2020”, dated October 8, 2024 and issued by the Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing
O. Reg. 5/25	Jan. 16, 2025	Jan. 16, 2025 until Nov. 2, 2025	The code issued by the Canadian Commission on Building and Fire Codes, part of National Research Council Canada, known as CCBFC NRCC-CONST-56435E, “National Building Code of Canada 2020”	Amendment document entitled “Ontario Amendments to the National Building Code of Canada 2020”, dated January 13, 2025 and issued by the Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing
O. Reg. 247/25	Oct. 31, 2025	Nov. 3, 2025 Enforceable after Nov. 18, 2025 until Apr. 19, 2026	The code issued by the Canadian Commission on Building and Fire Codes, part of National Research Council Canada, known as CCBFC NRCC-CONST-56435E, “National Building Code of Canada 2020”, (First Printing)	Amendment document entitled “Ontario Amendments to the National Building Code of Canada 2020”, dated October 21, 2025 and issued by the Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing
O. Reg. 110/26	Apr. 20, 2026	Apr. 20, 2026	The code issued by the Canadian Commission on Building and Fire Codes, part of National Research Council Canada, known as CCBFC NRCC-CONST-56435E, “National Building Code of Canada 2020”, (First Printing)	Amendment document entitled “Ontario Amendments to the National Building Code of Canada 2020”, dated April 1, 2026 and issued by the Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing
O. Reg. 119/26	Apr. 30, 2026	Apr. 30, 2026	The code issued by the Canadian Commission on Building and Fire Codes, part of National Research Council Canada, known as CCBFC NRCC-CONST-56435E, “National Building Code of Canada 2020”, (First Printing)	Amendment document entitled “Ontario Amendments to the National Building Code of Canada 2020”, dated April 21, 2026 and issued by the Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing. The amendment document references Map Number 390 that is filed at the Toronto office of the Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing.
O. Reg. 242/26	Jul. 22, 2026	Jul. 22, 2026	The code issued by the Canadian Commission on Building and Fire Codes, part of National Research Council Canada, known as CCBFC NRCC-CONST-56435E, “National Building Code of Canada 2020”, (First Printing)	Amendment document entitled “Ontario Amendments to the National Building Code of Canada 2020”, dated July 17, 2026 and issued by the Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing

It is important to note that the legal edition of the Ontario Building Code consists of the ENTIRE 2 volumes of the National Building Code of Canada 2020 (including the Preface, Appendix Notes and Indexes) and the ONLY changes to it are listed in the Ontario Amendments to the National Building Code of Canada 2020.

Since the Ontario Amendments to the National Building Code of Canada 2020 does not change the cover of the National Building Code of Canada 2020, the covers of Volumes 1 and 2 of the legal edition of the Ontario Buidling Code consists of:

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