OAA Council, the Association’s governing board of directors, assembled at the Toronto headquarters on Thursday, September 18 for its regularly scheduled meeting to discuss various items related to the Association and the architecture profession in the context of regulating for the public interest. 

The open session kicked off with Council approving its 2026 meeting dates as: 

• January 22–23 (includes the Strategic Plan review and Council’s governance workshop planning session); 
•  March 5; 
•  May 12 (in the Kitchener-Waterloo region, as part of the OAA Conference); 
•  June 25; 
•  September 17; and
• December 4. 

Further, it agreed that the 2026 Annual General Meeting of Members (AGM) would be held online on Wednesday, April 15 from 1 to 2:30 pm. (To see the 2025 AGM, check out the OAA’s YouTube Channel.)

 
Council also approved the draft program and schedule for the 2026 OAA Conference, while recognizing elements may evolve as further planning takes place. More information about the event, themed Collaboration Powering Innovation, will be shared in the months to come as the May 2026 event approaches.  

 
At the meeting, Council endorsed the new OAA-OGCA Document 100-2025, which deals with take-over procedures; it will be posted shortly. (Council also directed the withdrawal of the previous 2019 reissue as well as the 2010 Guide to Project Closeout Procedures.) Council also endorsed the revised OAA Practice Tip (PT) 36.3, OBC SB-12 Energy Efficiency for Housing–Prescriptive Compliance. 

As well, an OAA policy dealing with use of artificial intelligence (AI) tools by Association staff, Committees, and Council was approved and will be posted on the website shortly. Another policy on submission guidelines related to Exemption Requests to Council was also approved in principle, but there will be some housekeeping amendments made first. 

During the meeting, OAA President Ted Wilson spoke about his recent visits to the Local Architectural Societies, sharing positive feedback about the well-attended sessions and reflecting on certain common challenges across the province, including procurement. 

The OAA Council will next come together at the Association’s Headquarters on Friday, November 28. This last meeting of the year will also include some new faces, as the winners of this fall’s OAA Council elections sit in.