La semaine dernière, le budget 2025 de l’Ontario a été présenté, révélant une orientation stratégique vers un soulagement tarifaire immédiat et des investissements publics à long terme. Dans un nouvel article, notre expert Yash Dogra analyse les mesures clés et les surprises de ce budget, y compris les changements idéologiques potentiels et les réactions variées des parties prenantes. L'article est offert uniquement en anglais.
Last week, Ontario’s 2025 Budget was tabled and to no surprise, Premier Ford’s commitment to protect Ontario made its way from platform to policy. The budget is primarily focused on two things: near-term tariff relief and long-term public investment, all of which has been positioned as a direct response to addressing the elephant in the room—the rocky trade relationship with our southern neighbours.
Looking beyond some of the big-ticket items announced in the budget, there were a handful of surprising inclusions that are worth delving into as they either signal an ideological shift from Premier Ford’s previous governments or a new path considering our current geopolitical circumstances.
Opposition parties and industry stakeholders have also had their say since, with opinions ranging from excitement to disappointment.
Five interesting highlights
1. Prescriptive healthcare spending: Healthcare spending or lack thereof, which has often been criticized by opposition parties during the Ford government’s first two terms in office, did not often feature in the Premier’s talking points during the election campaign. The only real mention involved improving access to family doctors, since that was also a key feature in each of the opposition party platforms. It is, however, an area that this government has targeted post-election, with several key financial commitments brought forward in the budget, such as the new pilot pathway for select high-priority cancer drugs, the $100 million in additional funding for the continued expansion of the Ontario Fertility Program, or the increased funding for the Ontario Autism Program.
2. STEM programming: Another area that the Ford government has long been criticized for is funding for the education sector, and while there was a commitment for major capital spending towards school infrastructure, they were once again challenged for the lack of dedicated program funding. There was, however, a significant commitment of $750 million over five years to fund up to 20,500 seats in STEM programming at colleges and universities as well as $55.8 million over two years to train 2,600 new teachers by 2027.
3. Indigenous funding: With a laser focus on economic development in Northern Ontario, the Ford government has brought forward several Indigenous funding initiatives that aim to advance economic reconciliation for Indigenous communities across Ontario. As part of the 2025 Budget, Ontario tripled the total amount of loan guarantees through the Indigenous Opportunities Financing Program to $3 billion, expanding eligibility beyond the electricity sector to include projects mining and critical minerals, resource development, energy pipelines and more. Additional funding was also announced for the Indigenous Participation Fund as well as Indigenous scholarships for First Nations postsecondary students.
4. Shipbuilding: An interesting, under-the-radar commitment was the new $200 million initiative aimed at revitalizing the province's shipbuilding industry, which aligns with the federal government’s recent focus in this area. This program will offer non-repayable grants to support skills training, machinery purchases, and infrastructure improvements, to enhance Ontario's competitiveness in the marine sector. Reading between the lines, there is something intriguing about the federal-provincial alignment in this very specific sector.
5. Grape farming: Another strategic financial commitment was a $175 million program to provide up to $35 million annually to eligible wineries with the goal of increasing the proportion of Ontario-grown grapes in wine production, potentially doubling their usage in blended wines. It is likely that this initiative is an attempt to drive out U.S.-made wine from the Ontario market.
Stakeholder reactions
Official Opposition and NDP Leader Marit Stiles criticized the budget as a band-aid solution for Ontarians that are trying to contend with trying economic uncertainty.
Meanwhile, Liberal Leader Bonnie Crombie took more of a pointed jab at the Premier calling out the fact that alcohol was mentioned over 100 times in the budget, suggesting he cares more about it than healthcare.
Ontario Chamber of Commerce President and CEO Daniel Tisch shared encouragement around the province’s focus on boosting competitiveness and capital infrastructure development while calling for a comprehensive fiscal review to ensure we’re on a tangible path towards long-term economic growth.
Burlington mayor and head of the Ontario Big City Mayors, Marianne Meed Ward noted that there was in fact a lot to celebrate in the budget, specifically calling out the significant capital investments in public infrastructure. Like others, she did, however, share concern around the need to equally focus on providing Ontario’s most vulnerable populations with necessary supports and services, an area she feels was lacking.
Canadian Federation of Business shared their disappointed with the limited tax relief committed for small businesses while applauding the province for focusing in on housing development.
As always, our Public Affairs team is available should you require more information on the 2025 Ontario Budget.
