Ford PC's 2026 Ontario budget earns plaudits, criticism
· Toronto Sun
OTTAWA — In the wake of the Doug Ford government’s eighth budget reveal , the Progressive Conservatives’ fiscal plan is earning mixed reviews from business, community and professional groups.
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The Toronto Region Board of Trade welcomed the budget’s trajectory of continued investment in key areas, but said the real results will be in where the government goes from here.
“Ontario has been making serious investments in productive directions — infrastructure, energy, transit — and this budget continues that commitment while moving forward on the enabling conditions for private sector growth, although not as vigorously as the moment calls for,” said a statement from board president and CEO Giles Gherson.
“The direction is right. Now we need to make sure it reaches the businesses and workers it’s designed to serve.”
While the board says they’re encouraged to see many initiatives they championed in the budget — including the $4-billion “Protect Ontario Account Investment Fund” means to incubate investment in key sectors and the much-praised small business tax cut, they said the results are always in the follow-through.
“The measure of this budget will be whether a manufacturer in Scarborough or a scale-up in Brampton can benefit from these programs and drive investment and growth in the months ahead — without a consultant, without months of paperwork, without uncertainty about whether they qualify,” the statement read.
Health investments praised, but not consumption site closures
The Registered Nurses’ Association of Ontario (RNAO) said they were happy to see investments in primary care and a $1-billion increase in funding for home care, but said “ideological” decisions like cutting funding for supervised drug consumption sites leave vulnerable Canadians behind.
“RNAO welcomes the government’s additional investment of $124 million for clinical and educational funding to expand the number of nursing seats and calls for a further increase of seats across Ontario’s nursing schools to alleviate the nursing shortage,” president Lhamo Dolkar said, but added the organization was “appalled” by the end of provincially funded safe consumption sites.
“It is an ideological decision that leaves people to fend for themselves. Ontario has a toxic drug crisis and SCS sites are essential health services for people who need help with substance use, no different than people who have cancer and require chemotherapy.”
Home affordability help but more needed
The Ontario government’s move to expand eligibility for HST exemptions for new home purchases was praised by the Ontario Real Estate Association (OREA), which called it a concrete example of reducing the cost of home ownership.
“This proposal, pledged in partnership with the federal government, will help move the needle for those on the sidelines and help more Ontario families afford a home,” said OREA president Kim Fairley, adding that incentives and new pathways to home ownership makes big strides in making homes affordable for everyday Ontarians.
“To keep up that momentum, the Government of Ontario needs to prioritize policies that will have the most impact, including addressing the runaway costs of development charges (DCs) — which is why we are pleased to see (Thursday’s) budget commit to working with the federal government to find solutions to reduce DCs.”