The government of Prime Minister Doug Ford is ready to release this year’s Ontario budget on Thursday afternoon – but this is not a typical budget.
Instead, Ontario residents should view the document as an electoral platform priced by Ford’s progressive conservatives, something the party did not create before winning a majority government in the 2018 election.
The Ford government will not adopt this financial plan for the province. There is simply not enough time to go through the process before next Wednesday, when the legislature is dissolved and the election campaign officially begins.
If the RS is re-elected on June 2nd, they will be able to return the budget to the legislature and adopt it then.
A senior government official told CBC News that the budget would be “doubled for construction” and would largely consist of elements announced by Ford and its ministers in recent weeks.
The Canadian Press reports that the budget includes a plan to spend $ 158 billion on infrastructure over the next decade, including $ 21.5 for highway planning. These projects include a new twin bridge over the Queenland Canal on Queen Elizabeth Road and the widening of Highway 401 in eastern Ontario, starting from Pickering and Oshawa.
The government has announced billions of dollars for future hospital construction and long-term care since early March, along with its pre-announced plans to build new transit lines and highways.
A senior government source told Radio Canada that the budget would also include expanding the low-income and family tax credit (LIFT) to include workers earning less than $ 50,000 a year.
The loan was first introduced in 2019 and currently applies to approximately 400,000 Ontario residents earning up to $ 38,500 a year. The news of the government’s intention to expand the scope of those eligible for a tax credit was first announced by the Toronto Star.
Publicly, Treasury Secretary Peter Bethlenfalvi – whose name appears on discount checks mailed to Ontario drivers after the government lifted license renewal fees – previously called the plan a vision of a “better, brighter future.”
- CBC News will have full coverage on all platforms around 16:00 ET
Even if pocket extras are announced, there are good reasons to pay attention when the budget is released. Here are a few:
- The budget will give a good look at how Ontario’s economy is doing as it recovers from the COVID-19 pandemic.
- The document will show how much the government plans to spend on key areas such as health, education, transport and more.
- We will find out how the Ford government intends to pay the billions of dollars in campaign expenses it has announced in recent months – and there is room for the government to go further as accessibility becomes a major issue for more people amid record inflation.
Meanwhile, opposition parties will look for budget gaps.
Andrea Horvat’s NDP, which unveiled its platform on Monday this week, will offer the clearest comparison at the moment.
NDP leader Andrea Horvath launched his party’s platform in downtown Toronto on Monday. The NDP says it will provide cost estimates for the platform as soon as it can review the province’s budget on Thursday. (Alex Lupul / CBC)
The NDP platform includes major promises such as universal pharmaceutical care and coverage of mental health support under the province’s OHIP plan. It also includes cash incentives for people who buy electric vehicles, and a promise to raise Ontario Works and Ontario Disability Support Program rates by 20 percent.
The price label? To be determined after personal computers announced the budget, Horvat swore, saying he needed to know the current state of Ontario’s finances before his team could provide cost estimates.
Horvath said earlier this week that the COVID-19 pandemic revealed how the government disappointed Ontario residents by leaving them to struggle with the cost of living.
“For too long, the government just doesn’t work for the people, and COVID has really revealed that,” she told supporters and candidates. “We can fix what’s most important to people.”
Meanwhile, Stephen Del Duca’s Liberals have not provided details on when their full platform will be released, except that they say it will be soon.
The Liberals have made some big promises of their own for tickets, most recently promising to increase basic funding for home care by $ 2 billion by 2026 and build another 15,000 homes to support themselves (the Ford government also said it would spend this week another $ 1 billion in home care over the next three years).
Similarly, Mike Schreiner’s Green Party has unveiled several campaign promises, including a climate action plan that includes a number of financial incentives to help Ontario residents reduce their carbon footprint, but has yet to create a platform with price.
Ontario seems on track to balance the budget
The Ontario Financial Accounting Office released a report earlier this month saying the province is currently on track to balance its budget by next year, but spending plans may change due to the upcoming election.
A new party may be in power after June 2, and even if progressive conservatives win re-election, they have not provided recent information on when they will seek to close the deficit.
The FAO estimates the deficit for 2021-22 to be $ 8.7 billion, below the $ 13.1 billion the government projected when Bethlenfalvy released finances for the third quarter earlier this year.
At the time, the government projected net debt at $ 395 billion.
The budget was originally scheduled to be submitted by March 31st, but the government changed the legislation to postpone it, a move he said will provide more time to assess the impact of the pandemic recovery.
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