With expertise in land use planning, environmental and municipal law, Christie offers clients a broad and unique legal perspective into their real property projects and disputes.

Christie Gibson is a partner in McCarthy Tétrault’s Real Property and Municipal Planning groups in Toronto. With a focus on land use planning law that includes expertise in environmental and municipal law, tax assessment appeals and expropriation, Christie brings holistic and comprehensive insights into clients’ biggest and most demanding projects. Consistently recognized by Best Lawyers as “One to Watch,” she delivers outstanding results for clients in a space undergoing rapid change.

Christie has deep experience with redevelopment applications – from assessing redevelopment potential and filing applications, to securing approvals and negotiating post-approvals agreements. She is also experienced in navigating and responding to legislative and policy reform and is regularly engaged in consultation with various branches of government. Additionally, Christie is adept at dispute resolution, having resolved numerous appeals through mediation and private discussions. She regularly represents both public and private clients before the Ontario Land Tribunal and Ontario courts.

Christie’s representative work includes advising and representing:

• Residential developers through the development application process and in appeals of municipally-initiated instruments, touching on heritage, environmental, affordable housing/inclusionary zoning, parkland dedication, Community Benefits Charges and Section 111 agreements (amongst other matters) in the process.
• A major government agency with respect to appeals before the Ontario Land Tribunal
• Universities on redevelopment applications, appeals of municipally-initiated instruments, property assessment, and heritage and environmental matters.
• Major Canadian companies with respect to redevelopment potential and applications, appeals before the Ontario Land Tribunal, conversion requests, and expropriations.
• Municipalities before the Ontario Land Tribunal with respect to heritage appeals and redevelopment applications.
• Clients on Development Charge Act and Education Development Charges Act calculations and appeals
• Individuals with respect to municipal by-law infractions, Orders to Remedy, development applications and appeals before the Ontario Land Tribunal.
• All clients with respect to ongoing legislative and policy reform.

In addition to her practice, Christie is active as a leader in the legal profession and land use industry. She is the Past-Chair to the Ontario Bar Association’s Municipal Law Executive and has served on the Canadian Bar Association’s Municipal Law Executive. She is a mentor with the Osgoode Women’s Network and hosts an annual CPD event for junior female lawyers in the field. She further serves on the steering committee for the Cambridge Forum on Land Use Planning for Emerging Leaders, and is an active member of the Building Industry and Land Development Association and the Urban Land Institute (ULI). She is also the past Vice Chair of the United World Colleges National Committee of Canada.

Christie obtained her law degree from Osgoode Hall Law School and a Bachelor of Arts in Economics from Cornell University. She also has a certificate in Women in Leadership from Cornell University’s SC Johnson College of Business. She was admitted to the Ontario Bar in 2014.