Who we are

The Association of Ontario Land Economists is a professional body of persons drawn from a variety of disciplines who are actively concerned with the economic aspects of land ownership, use and development in Ontario.

Voting membership is limited to persons qualified by education, experience and status to work professionally in an occupation requiring competence in land economics.

Besides voting membership, our numbers include :

1. student members who are pursuing approved course work through which they hope to become academically qualified for voting membership;

2. associate members who are academically qualified but short of the work experience required for voting membership.

Provision is also made for election of honorary members.

Persons who retire from practice or locate outside Ontario may continue as voting members at reduced fees.

Professional Status

Founded in 1962, our Association became incorporated in the following year. It's chartered name reflects a long-standing position as the only body in Ontario open to all qualified professionals who work in the field of land economics.

Since incorporation, each voting member has been known as an Ontario Land Economist. More recently, we have adopted for voting members the designation Professional Land Economist with the right to use the letters PLE after their names.

Membership Profile

The following established professions are strongly represented within our memberships:Architects
Certified Property Managers
Economists
Land Use Planners
Management Consultants
Mortgage Brokers
Municipal Assessors
Ontario Land Surveyors
Professional Engineers
Property Tax Agents
Quantity Surveyors
Real Estate Brokers
Real Property Appraisers

Work Settings

Our Association's members work in business enterprises, in professional firms, and at all levels of governments.

We are part of businesses that market real estate; provide mortgage services; arrange other property financing; assemble, subdivide, and develop urban lands; build roads; install urban servicing; construct buildings; manage multiple residential or office properties; maintain large numbers of properties; as for example, retail chain outlets.

We are represented in professional firms practising as consulting economists, planning consultants, land surveyors, professional engineers, architects, property appraisers, quantity surveyors, and management consultants.

Within provincial government, our biggest concentration of members are land use planners in the Ministry of Municipal Affairs and municipal assessors in the Ministry of Revenue.

Most members drawn from local governments are land use planners or economic development officers.

Five Association Objectives

1. To continue attracting to membership quality professionals engaged in land economics pursuits.

2. To broaden and enrich the professional development of our members.

3. To promote and maintain high ethical work standards throughout our membership.

4. To gain public recognition of the worth of our membership.

5. To make submissions to government for the improvements in law and public administration bearing on land economics.

Member Services

We provide frequent opportunities for members to meet and exchange views at stimulating dinner and breakfast meetings, planned workshops, tours of important land developments and an annual two day seminar.

We publish a Journal three times a year that contains meaty statements on subjects of interest to members plus brief notations of member happenings. The Journal is ciculated to all members and a further strategic mailing list.

We are continually reviewing and improving our information on available course work that can:

a) help student members to meet the academic requirements for full membership;

b) provide voting members with opportunities to increase their use of land economics.

We offer an annual prize for a paper on any aspect of land economics by a student at a community college or University in Ontario. The award winning paper is to be available for reproduction in whole or in part for circulation to our members.

Are you interested ?

If you want to learn more about our Association first hand or if you would like to apply for membership please print and complete the Application Form A member will respond to your request.