Finance Minister Peter Bethlenfalvy receives D- on Finance Minister Report Card

The Canadian Taxpayers Federation released its Finance Minister Report Card today, ranking provincial finance ministers on spending, debt and tax relief in the latest provincial budgets.

Ontario Finance Minister Peter Bethlenfalvy received an overall grade of D-.

“Permanent gas tax relief is great to see and will keep families saving for the long haul,” said Gage Haubrich, the CTF communications director that authored the report. “But Bethlenfalvy needs to stop irresponsibly borrowing money and racking up debt.”

Bethlenfalvy received the following grades in each category:

Debt: F

• The Ontario government is increasing the debt by almost $22 billion compared to last year’s budget. By the end of the year, the debt will reach $461 billion, or about $28,472 per Ontarian, the second highest in the country.

Debt interest payments: D

• Debt interest payments will cost taxpayers $16.2 billion this year, working out to $1,001 per person, the fourth highest in the country

Spending Increase: F

• The government is spending about 7.9 per cent more this year compared to last year’s budget. That’s the third highest in the country

Tax Relief: B

• The budget featured significant gas tax relief. Ontario made its temporary 5.7 cents per litre gas tax cut permanent this year. The average family has saved more than $1,000 since the tax was originally cut in 2022.

“Ontario taxpayers are stuck paying more than a billion dollars a month to cover interest charges on the debt,” Haubrich said. “Bethlenfalvy needs to rein in spending and stop piling more debt onto Ontario taxpayers.”

Overall ranking of provincial finance ministers: