Doug Ford's PCs promise up to $40B in new spending in election platform
Large portion of proposed spending related to U.S. tariffs; would increase Ontario's deficit
Ontario's Progressive Conservatives released a campaign platform Monday with promises of up to $40 billion in new spending and a warning from party leader Doug Ford that a fight against U.S. tariffs would likely plunge the province deeper into deficit.
The list of election commitments comes just three days before voters are set to go to the polls and consists largely of measures Ford's campaign has already announced, with a few notable exceptions — such as a pitch to get rid of the minimum retail price for liquor.
Most of the new spending would be related to Ontario's response to possible U.S. tariffs and depend on the magnitude and details of the import levies, a senior PC party official said.
Tariff-related proposals include a new $5-billion Protect Ontario Account, $10 billion in support for employers through a tax deferral, up to $3 billion more in payroll and premium relief, up to $40 million for municipalities hard hit by tariffs and up to $120 million to increase bars' and restaurants' wholesale alcohol discount.
Since the platform includes no new major revenue tools, such as taxes or fees, that spending would likely need to be financed primarily by the deficit.
In its fall economic statement, essentially a mini-budget released last November, the Ford government said the province would be on track to balance its budget by 2026-2027.
But Ford cautioned Monday the spectre of tariffs means the path back to black would be in jeopardy.
"If ... the tariffs hit us, yes, we won't be able to balance because, just similar to the pandemic, we're going to invest into the people. I'm going to protect the families, protect businesses, protect jobs," Ford said at a morning campaign stop in Toronto.
Other previously unannounced commitments include $705 million to expand STEM and skilled trades training capacity at post-secondary institutions, and $50 million to support modular housing technology.
The platform also features a number of big-ticket promises without a price tag, such as Ford's plan to build a traffic and transit tunnel under Highway 401 through Toronto. Experts have said the project could cost as much as $100 billion, making it one of the most expensive campaign pledges in Ontario's history.
Ford defended the absence of some key costs, citing his track record from the past seven years in government.
"We've been very fiscally responsible," he said. "We're prudent fiscal managers with the taxpayers' money. Not only haven't we raised taxes, we reduced the cost of paying on debt from previous governments."
He later suggested that economic growth would help offset some of the spending outlined the platform.
Another booze-related promise
Ford also said a re-elected PC government would scrap a long-established minimum retail price for liquor, ostensibly put in place to discourage alcoholism.
Minimum prices for spirits vary based on volume and alcohol content and are indexed to inflation, and the minimum retail price for a 750 millilitre bottle of vodka is currently set to rise this weekend to $31.15.
"Under the Liberals ... they would say, 'You have to charge this much, because if you don't charge this much, then people will drink too much,"' Ford said.
"That's the biggest joke I've ever heard. They don't do it in Alberta. They don't do it in Quebec. So why do we have to have a base? Let's reduce the cost of that, put more money back into people's pockets again, and that's like a tax break."
Ford had not made any public announcements about his alcohol promise, unlike in 2018 when he made setting the price floor for beer at $1 — or Buck-a-Beer — a central part of his campaign. Few breweries took part in Buck-a-Beer after it was implemented.
Meanwhile, noticeably absent from the PC platform was a mention of its 2022 promise to build 1.5 million new homes in Ontario by 2031. To date, progress on that pledge has largely stalled and the pace of housing starts is nowhere near on target to meet the goal.
Ford said a re-elected PC government would "absolutely" retain the goal and pointed to a need for lower interest rates and streamlined municipal permitting processes to boost housing construction.
"We're going to work our backs off. We're going make sure that the municipalities pitch in and reduce the burden of getting a new home," he told reporters.
The Ford government's record on housing has been a primary target for his political rivals on the campaign trail. The New Democrats and Liberals both released their election platforms on Friday, while the Greens released their list of commitments, with a detailed costing, on Feb. 12.
Voters go to the polls on Thursday.
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With files from The Canadian Press