Environmental policy creation, using the Lake Simcoe Protection Plan as a case study of success

Watershed policy is gaining momentum in Canada as water scarcity becomes an increasingly prominent global issue. The Lake Simcoe Protection Plan is Canada's first watershed legislation. This thesis examines what factors led to a successful creation process for the Plan. This research draws on interviews with non-government and government participants involved in the creation phase. This thesis is conducted through a grounded theory methodology with the overall aim to generate theory through constant comparative analysis of the data.;This paper explores the themes of tangibility, inclusion, and resilience in the policy creation phase. The theory generated explores "the modernization of the horizontal and vertical spheres; an acknowledgement of the 'other' in policy creation". The results of this research add to the body of academic literature on water policy creation in Ontario and Canada. This research also puts forward applied roadmaps for future policy makers and theoretical insights from the Lake Simcoe case study.