Secret lobbyist texts raise questions about the origin of the Ford government’s controversial Oakville highrise plan

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The text exchange, involving a senior political staffer in Premier Doug Ford’s government and the man given the moniker “Mr. X” for his involvement in the Greenbelt scandal, raise questions about the origin of the province’s involvement with the midtown development.

Between invitations to a Toronto Raptors game and a round of golf at one of Canada’s most exclusive courses, the lobbyist floated an idea to the Ford government staffer on a land development poised to reshape the Oakville skyline.

In a WhatsApp conversation in September 2022, John Mutton messaged the deputy chief of staff to Ontario’s housing minister about the province assigning a special designation to facilitate the development.

The private exchange took place more than a year and a half before the town was blindsided by the Ontario government’s decision to intervene on the project.

In designating the area as a Transit-Oriented Community (TOC), the province overrode Oakville’s vision for the land with a thicket of highrises that town staff have warned will provide “very little to no community benefit.”

Now, the revelation of the back-channel conversation has ignited the anger of local opponents to the controversial project who say the text exchange signals that the plans were on the government’s radar well before they were shared publicly.

“We lost almost two years of time where the residents could have been vocal about it, instead of being surprised when the TOC was announced,” said Michael Reid, president of the Oakville Community Association.

It has also renewed questions about why the province decided to champion a developer’s plan over the town’s.

“It bothers me greatly,” said Oakville Councillor Janet Haslett-Theall. “Respect for the individuals that the public elected was not there.”

Mutton is most recognizable by the moniker “Mr. X,” a pseudonym assigned to him in 2023 by the integrity commissioner for his role in the Greenbelt land swap scandal, in which Premier Doug Ford’s government was found to have given preferential treatment to certain developers with close ties to the Progressive Conservatives.

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