Toronto, ON: The Canadian Taxpayers Federation is calling on Premier Doug Ford to rein in government spending in the wake of a new Financial Accountability Office report showing the government’s deficit is soaring.

“The FAO numbers show the Ford government’s spending is set to keep going up by billions and that means even more debt,” said CTF Ontario Director Jay Goldberg. “Ford has only balanced the budget once in six tries and the FAO is showing that the province’s timetable to balance the budget is nothing more than wishful thinking.

“It’s time to get spending under control.”

The report shows that Ontario’s deficit for 2024-25 will grow by a billion dollars to $5.6 billion. The province will not return to the black until 2026-27, even though the government promised to balance the budget in 2024-25. Spending over the next five years is $33.4 billion more than forecasted last spring.

“Ford has added $80 billion to the province’s debt and has brought the province to a point where we are spending more on debt interest than post-secondary education,” said Goldberg. “The spending parade at Queen’s Park must end.”

Ford could control spending by scrapping the Ontario Infrastructure Bank, ending corporate welfare and bringing government employee pay and compensation in line with the private sector. Additional recommendations to rein in government spending can be found in the CTF’s 2024-25 pre-budget proposal HERE.