Ford’s spending spree is driving Ontario deeper into debt

Ontario vowed to stop the borrowing. The numbers tell a different story

Doug Ford promised to rein in Ontario’s debt. Instead, his government is borrowing more and spending faster than ever.

Year after year, Premier Doug Ford and his Finance Minister, Peter Bethlenfalvy, have promised Ontarians they would stop running up the provincial debt.

In 2023, the Ford government promised not to borrow more money in 2024. In 2024, Bethlenfalvy failed to achieve this goal and pushed the target to 2026.

Instead of correcting course and living within the government’s means, Bethlenfalvy and Ford are digging Ontario deeper into debt. Revenues are projected to drop by $1.7 billion this year, yet the government has increased spending by $4.9 billion. Now Bethlenfalvy is planning to borrow another $14.6 billion.

Ford’s reluctance to rein in spending has pushed Ontario’s debt up $53 billion since 2023-24. That’s $108 billion since his government took office.

Even worse, the government’s chronic borrowing shows no sign of ending.

The province’s budget watchdog reported the government will continue to borrow billions of dollars every year until at least 2030, and likely longer. The biggest driver is Ontario’s ballooning debt interest charges, which are projected to rise 6.1 per cent each year.

Ontarians are already paying $16.2 billion in debt interest payments this year. It’s hard to visualize that much money. Consider this: Ontario’s interest costs could pay for about 324 new schools.

During the legislature’s summer vacation, Ford picked fights instead of fixing finances. This included sparring with U.S. President Donald Trump in a rhetoric war, threatening to pull popular alcohol brands from LCBO shelves and clashing with municipalities over speed cameras.

Whether or not these issues warrant the premier’s attention, it’s troubling how little focus provincial politicians give to Ontario’s deteriorating finances. With politicians now returning to Queen’s Park, that lack of focus is even more glaring.

The new session gives Ford a chance to pull Ontario’s debt problem off the back burner and make it a top priority. That means taking bold action to axe wasteful spending and get the province’s books back on track.

Ford needs to scrap his government’s habit of handing out billions of dollars in corporate welfare. The Progressive Conservatives once called such giveaways “crony capitalism at its best.”

Despite the sharp comments directed at the Kathleen Wynne government’s corporate welfare schemes, corporate welfare has jumped by 182 per cent since 2017-18. This makes Ontario the corporate welfare king of Confederation.

Instead of doling out billions of taxpayer dollars to Ontario businesses, Ford can cut Ontario’s $9.5 billion in corporate welfare spending. If he wants the province to stay competitive against American tariffs, he can deliver meaningful business tax cuts to actually compete with the U.S.

Ford can also cut the welfare scheme for political parties by ending the per-vote subsidy. When Ford was initially campaigning for the premiership, he said, “corporate welfare is wrong, and political party welfare is equally wrong; I will put an end to both.” Instead, the per-vote political welfare scheme was extended by Ford until the end of 2026.

Rediscovering his 2018 promise would save taxpayers millions of dollars each year on a program that serves only politicians.

The premier has shown some willingness to control government spending by freezing hiring at government agencies. But he should go further. Cutting wasteful agencies outright would help curb the growth of Ontario’s bureaucracy.

Ontario needs strong leadership to tackle chronic government borrowing. Ford needs to cut spending and opposition MPPs need to hold him accountable when he wastes money. Ontario’s deteriorating finances must be the top issue for MPPs returning to Queen’s Park.

Noah Jarvis is the Ontario Director of the Canadian Taxpayers Federation.