As Minister of Natural Resources Hodgson launched the Lands for Life initiative, which saw the largest increase in parks and protected space in the history of the province. As Municipal Affairs Minister he rewrote the Municipal Act for the first time since the passage of the Baldwin Act in the late 19th century, placed protective status on the Oak Ridges Moraine and began a smart growth program for the entire province, an initiative that was downsized to include only the GTA in the successive Liberal government and renamed Places to Grow.