EN FR

Ford’s budget is a spending parade

Author: Jay Goldberg 2023/03/23

Toronto, ON: The Canadian Taxpayers Federation is criticizing the Ford government for taking Ontario back into deficit territory with a big-spending budget.

“After Ontario finally balanced the books for the first time in over a decade, Ontario Premier Doug Ford is plunging the province back into deficit,” said CTF Ontario Director Jay Goldberg. “Ford had a strong hand dealt to him with higher revenue and a budget that was already balanced last year and he tossed away the cards.”

Ontario Finance Minister Peter Bethlenfalvy is expecting a deficit of $2.2 billion in 2022-23 and a deficit of $1.3 billion in the coming fiscal year as well. The Ford government expects to balance the budget in 2024-25.

“This province is throwing away over a billion dollars a month on debt interest payments to bondholders on Bay Street because Ontario governments have continuously run deficits instead of making tough choices,” said Goldberg. “With that amount of money, we could be building a dozen brand-new hospitals a year. The government could balance the budget this year, and it should.”

Debt interest payments for 2023-24 are anticipated to be $14.1 billion.

“The government also failed to deliver on tax relief,” said Goldberg. “Government revenue is soaring because of inflation, but Ford isn’t giving any of it back to the people who need it most. This budget was a missed opportunity to help Ontarians through the current inflation crunch.”


A Note for our Readers:

Is Canada Off Track?

Canada has problems. You see them at gas station. You see them at the grocery store. You see them on your taxes.

Is anyone listening to you to find out where you think Canada’s off track and what you think we could do to make things better?

You can tell us what you think by filling out the survey

Join now to get the Taxpayer newsletter

Franco Terrazzano
Federal Director at
Canadian Taxpayers
Federation

Join now to get the Taxpayer newsletter

Hey, it’s Franco.

Did you know that you can get the inside scoop right from my notebook each week? I’ll share hilarious and infuriating stories the media usually misses with you every week so you can hold politicians accountable.

You can sign up for the Taxpayer Update Newsletter now

Looks good!
Please enter a valid email address

We take data security and privacy seriously. Your information will be kept safe.

<