Navigating Canada’s building codes, fire codes, and municipal zoning bylaws is no easy task, even for professionals who work with them every day. Lawtonica, a new regulatory technology platform launched in 2025, aims to change that by making the process faster, clearer, and easier to manage.
“At its core, Lawtonica is a zoning, building code, and compliance workflow platform,” explained Walelign Sumoro, CMO and co‑founder. “AI is one of the tools we use, but the goal is bigger than AI. We are helping people understand regulations, organize project research, and work through compliance faster.”
According to Sumoro, the platform achieves this by bringing municipal zoning bylaws, provincial codes, national codes, and project‑based tools together in one place. Users can read full documents in the Code Library, browse extracted diagrams, ask document‑specific questions, compare code versions, and collaborate with team members in project workspaces. It also supports address‑based zoning queries, allowing users to enter a property address to see whether a duplex, café, or other use may be permitted, what zoning applies, and which setbacks or requirements are relevant.
Other key features of Lawtonica include an AI assistant, a compliance checker, and a deficiency notice parser where users can turn project deficiencies into structured tasks and RFIs.
Home-grown innovation
The concept of a tech‑based regulatory platform first took shape in 2025 at Queen’s University, where Sumoro and his teammates Zain Al‑Sudani, Ethan Stassen, and Yafet Beyene began developing AI tools to simplify access to Kingston’s bylaws. Their early work won the Kingston Mayor’s Innovation Challenge and demonstrated a clear need for better regulatory accessibility.
Today, Lawtonica is expanding its platform for architects, planners, builders, consultants, municipalities, landlords, homeowners, and anyone who needs to understand zoning and code requirements more efficiently.
For more information and to sign up for a 7-day free trial, visit lawtonica.ca
