Why Some Municipalities Amend the Code Locally

Provincial building codes set the baseline for the whole province, but many jurisdictions allow — or require — municipalities to adopt local amendments addressing conditions the provincial code doesn't specifically account for. A coastal city might tighten wind or seismic provisions; a community with a wildland-urban interface might add wildfire-resistant construction requirements the provincial baseline doesn't include.

This layering is exactly why "what does the code require" doesn't have one universal answer even within a single province — the honest answer is usually "check with your municipality," since it's the local building department that knows which amendments actually apply to your address.