Who owns the shoreline road allowance next to my cottage in Ontario?

It depends on whether the strip still exists as public land. A shore road allowance is a strip one chain (66 feet) wide around some lakes and rivers, set aside in the 1800s for public roads, and a cottage lot fronting one does not reach the water's edge unless the allowance has been closed and conveyed to the owner.

Inside a municipality, road allowances, including shore road allowances, are under the municipality's jurisdiction unless legally stopped up and sold, and the owner applies to the municipality to buy one. In unorganized territory, they are under the Minister of Natural Resources instead. A Crown shoreline reserve is under the Minister's jurisdiction in both settings. If the allowance is under water, the municipality needs Ministry of Natural Resources consent under section 43 of the Municipal Act before conveying it.

The Ministry will generally approve selling a road allowance or shoreline reserve to the adjacent upland owner unless there are compelling site-specific reasons to refuse, such as loss of access or public water access. On a Crown sale, the applicant pays the greater of the Ministry's administrative fee or market value, plus survey, plan and registration costs. Municipal prices vary, so a lawyer can confirm your case.