Toronto, ON: The Canadian Taxpayers Federation is calling on the Ford government to jumpstart Ontario’s economy by cutting taxes and balancing the budget in its 2025 pre-budget submission.

“The Ontario government has been running up debt and imposing big tax bills for two decades and the economy has suffered as a result,” said CTF Ontario Director Jay Goldberg. “Tax relief that leaves more money in taxpayers’ pockets is the real way to kickstart economic growth.”

The CTF is calling on the Ford government to deliver historic tax relief by cutting the HST by three percentage points, from 13 per cent to 10 per cent; making the province’s gas tax cut permanent; and ending tax-on-tax at the gas pump. These three measures would save the typical Ontario family over $2,100 a year.

The pre-budget proposal also outlines avenues for the government to find savings, including ending corporate welfare, eliminating the Ontario Infrastructure Bank, and returning non-health and education spending to 2022-23 levels.

Taken together, these measures would deliver a $8.5-billion surplus in 2025-26, compared to the Ford government’s projected $1.5-billion deficit.

“Millions of Ontarians are living paycheque to paycheque and it’s time to put government, not taxpayers, on a financial diet,” said Goldberg. “Premier Doug Ford must rightsize government to deliver desperately-needed tax relief while balancing the books and paying down debt.” 

The CTF is also calling on the Ford government to implement accountability and budgeting reforms, including passing recall legislation, implementing a strong balanced budget law, and reducing the number of politicians in the province. 

The CTF’s full 2025 pre-budget proposal can be seen HERE.