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Eric Davis, Partner and LSO Certified Specialist in Municipal Law, and G...
Eric Davis
Clerks
Practice Areas
Eric’s practice focuses on Municipal & Planning Law.
Since 2013, he has been designated a Certified Specialist in Municipal Law: Local Government / Land Use Planning and Development by the Law Society of Ontario.
He acts for homeowners, businesses, developers, farmers, and other private sector clients. He also represents municipalities and other public bodies across Ontario, including school boards.
Eric regularly assists clients with planning- and zoning-related matters, including re-zonings, plans of subdivision, site plans, minor variances, and severances, as well as Ontario Land Tribunal Appeals.
He also regularly handles municipal conflicts of interest, prosecutions, by-law drafting, municipal tax sales, heritage matters, public procurement, and municipal elections.
He focuses on matters related to municipal governments.
Eric regularly appears before municipal councils, local boards, Municipal Heritage Committees, Committees of Adjustment, the Normal Farm Practices Protection Board, the Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs Appeal Tribunal, and the Ontario Land Tribunal.
Called To Bar
2006
Education
- Certificate in Provincial Offences Court Practice, Osgoode Hall Law School, York University, 2016
- LL.B., University of Ottawa, 2005
- B.A., Wilfrid Laurier University, 2001
Professional Credentials
Memberships & Professional Appointments
- Columnist, Municipal World
- Member, Law Society of Ontario
- Member, Ontario Bar Association
- Member, Wellington County Law Association
- Member and Past Trustee, Waterloo Region Law Association
- Past Member, Ontario Expropriation Association
- Member, International Municipal Lawyers Association
- Member, Waterloo Region Home Builders’ Association
Awards & Accolades
- The Best Lawyers in Canada – Corporate and Commercial Litigation, 2021-2026
- The Best Lawyers in Canada – Lawyer of the Year, Corporate and Commercial Litigation (Hamilton & Area), 2025
- Recipient, King Charles III Coronation Medal, 2025
- Award for Community Impact, Wilfrid Laurier University Alumni Association, 2024
- Recipient, Waterloo Award – the City of Waterloo’s Highest Civic Honour, 2019
- Recipient, Paul Harris Fellowship, 2017
- Recipient, Outstanding Leadership Award, Rotary Waterloo, 2016 & 2020
- Designated by the Law Society of Ontario as a Certified Specialist in Municipal Law: Local Government / Land Use Planning & Development, 2013
- Recipient, Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal, 2012
- Recipient, International Municipal Lawyers Association Canadian Scholarship, 2012
- Selected one of Waterloo Region’s Top 40 Under 40 by the Record, 2011
Community Involvement
- Director of the Board, KidsAbility Centre for Child Development
- Member, Kitchener Rangers Hockey Club Nominating Committee
- Past-President, Rotary Club of Waterloo
- Former Vice-Chair, United Way of Kitchener-Waterloo and Area
- Past President and Chair of the Board, Grand River Branch, Canadian Mental Health Association
- Past Member, City of Waterloo Municipal Heritage Committee
- Former Member of the Federal and Provincial Affairs Committee, Greater Kitchener-Waterloo Chamber of Commerce
- Former Ambassador and Volunteer, Sustainable Waterloo Region
- Past Member of the Speakers Bureau, Canadian Diabetes Association
- Past Member, Community Editorial Board, The Record
- Former Senator, Wilfrid Laurier University
Articles & Publications
- Protection of Livestock and Poultry from Dogs”, Municipal World (136:4) (April 2026) 41
- “No Continuous Duty to Monitor Building Permits”, Municipal World (136:3) (March 2026) 41
- "Protecting Public Lands from Adverse Possession”, Municipal World (136:2) (February 2026) 41
- “Private Interests and Indigenous Rights at Saugeen Beach”, Municipal World (136:1) (January 2026) 41
- “Secrecy of a Ballot”, Municipal World (135:12) (December 2025) 51
- “Running Before You’re Running”, Municipal World (135:11) (November 2025) 39
- “Limits to an Integrity Commissioner’s Powers”, Municipal World (135:10) (October 2025) 35
- “Balancing the Past and the Future”, Municipal World (135:9) (September 2025) 39
- "Fees That Aren’t Appealing”, Municipal World (135:8) (August 2025) 35
- "Municipal Discretion, Not Obligation”, Ontario Bar Association Municipal Law Section Newsletter (24 Jul 2025)"
- "One Mayor to Rule Them All”, Municipal World (135:7) (July 2025) 39
- "Gaming a Municipal Election: The Challenges with Registered Third Party Corporations”, Municipal Monitor (Q3 2024)
- “Section 440 of the Municipal Act, 2001 and the Modified Statutory Injunction Test”, Ontario Bar Association Municipal Law Section Newsletter (26 Jun 2024)
- “He’s Just Not That Interested: A Review of Yorke et al. v. Harris under the Municipal Conflict of Interest Act”, Municipal World (132:9) (September 2022) 16
- “The Application (Or Lack Thereof) of Municipal By-laws to Normal Farm Practices: An Overview of the Powers of the Normal Farm Practices Protection Board” (2022) 10 D.M.P.L. (2d), January 2022, Issue 13
- “Failing to File Financial Statements Under the Municipal Elections Act, 1996: A Post-Karygiannis World” (2020) 9 D.M.P.L. (2d) July 2020, Issue 19
- “Bill 68’s Recent Changes to Municipal Investment Powers Part II: The Regulation Cometh”, Ontario Bar Association Municipal Law Section Newsletter (7 Jun 2018)
- “Bill 68’s Recent Changes to Municipal Investment Powers”, Ontario Bar Association Municipal Law Section Newsletter (13 Jun 2017)
- “Failing to File Financial Statements Under the Municipal Elections Act, 1996“, Ontario Bar Association Municipal Law Section Newsletter (28 June 2016)
- “Security of the Property of the Municipality: Interpreting Section 239(2)(a) of the Municipal Act, 2001” Ontario Bar Association Municipal Law Section Newsletter (16 June 2015)
- “It’s An Honour Just to be Nominated: Hill v. Di Lullo & Nomination Requirements of Municipal Elections” (2015) 7 D.M.P.L. (2d) February 2015, Issue 2
- “Magder v. Ford: A Call to Reform the Ontario Municipal Conflict of Interest Act” Municipal Lawyer 54:1 (January/February 2013) 17
- “All Aboard the Conflict Train: Ontario’s Municipal Conflict of Interest Act and Light Rail Transit in Waterloo Region” Municipal World 122:4 (April 2012) 13
- “Landslide Victory: How One Vote Made the Difference” (2011) 5 D.M.P.L. (2d), March 2011, Issue 3
- “Fun with Fluoride: Three Plebiscites for the City of Waterloo” Municipal World 121:3 (March 2011) 13
- “Vagueness & Uncertainty in Noise By-Laws: Objective vs. Subjective Tests” (2009) 4 D.M.P.L. (2d), November 2009, Issue 11
Representative Work & Notable Transactions
- Charles Stephen Gingerich (Re), 2026 ONAFRAAT 11 (CanLII)
- Adelaide Metcalfe (Township) v Director, MECP, 2026 CanLII 35713 (ON LT)
- R. v. Timpson, 2025 ONCJ 738 (CanLII)
- Horst v Mapleton (Township), 2026 CanLII 1360 (ON LT)
- Buurma v Adelaide Metcalfe (Township), 2024 CanLII 81261 (ON LT)
- Red Maple Land Company Inc. v. Wellington North (Township), 2024 CanLII 54711 (ON LT)
- MFL Properties Ltd. v Lambton Shores (Municipality), 2023 CanLII 53999 (ON LT)
- Jacob van Den Akker and Kristen Bartman v Fort Erie, 2023 CanLII 50950 (ON LT)
- GSP Group Inc. v Cambridge (City), 2023 CanLII 50955 (ON LT)
- AOCP v. Ontario Broiler Hatching Egg & Chick Commission and Chicken Farmers of Ontario, 2022 ONAFRAAT 20 (AFRAAT)
- Tracey Adams v South Bruce Peninsula (Town), 2021 CanLII 134583 (ON LT)
- Southbridge Health Care GP v Shelburne (Township), 2021 CanLII 102665 (ON LT)
- David Buurma and 1838107 Ontario Ltd. v The Municipality of Brooke-Alvinston, 2021 ONNFPPB 9 (NFPPB)
- Yorke et al v Harris, 2020 ONSC 7361 (S.C.J.)
- Hallman Construction Ltd. v Cambridge (City), 2018 CanLII 70303 (ON LPAT)
- Cooper et al. v. Wiancko et al., 2018 ONSC 342 (S.C.J.)
- Rivett v. Braid et al., 2018 ONSC 352 (S.C.J.)
- Stirling v. North Perth (Town), 2015 CanLII 65030 (ON LPAT)
- Horne & Jeffrey v. Perth (County), 2015 CanLII 68534 (ON LPAT)
- Hill v. Di Lullo et al., 2014 ONSC 6416 (S.C.J.)
- Gammie v Turner, 2013 ONSC 4563
- Geil v North Dumfries (Township), (2009) 62 MPLR (4th) 294 (OCJ)
- Schell Re, (2007) 56 OMBR 257 (OMB)