With just three days until election day, Ontario’s Progressive Conservatives (PCs) have unveiled a $40 billion platform, featuring major spending commitments and a promise to eliminate the province’s minimum retail price for liquor.
The platform includes several new proposals, such as:
- $5 billion Protect Ontario Account to respond to U.S. tariffs,
- $705 million to expand STEM and skilled trades training,
- $50 million to support modular housing technology,
- $10 billion in tax deferrals for employers affected by tariffs,
- $120 million to increase wholesale alcohol discounts for bars and restaurants.
Despite the large spending promises, the platform does not include a full costing breakdown on how the government would pay for its commitments. Some projects, including Premier Doug Ford’s proposed tunnel under Highway 401, were not assigned a price tag.
However, Ford defended the spending, pointing to his government’s fiscal management over the past seven years.
“We’ve been very fiscally responsible,” he said at a campaign event Monday. “We’re prudent fiscal managers with the taxpayers’ money. Not only haven’t we raised taxes, we reduced debt costs from previous governments.”
Ford also warned that if U.S. President Donald Trump’s proposed tariffs on Canada move forward, Ontario may not be able to balance its budget.
One of Ford’s more controversial proposals is eliminating the minimum retail price for spirits, which is currently $31.15 for a 750ml bottle of vodka and is set to rise this weekend.
Ford compared the policy to his 2018 “Buck-a-Beer” promise, which saw few breweries participate.
“Under the Liberals, they would say, ‘You have to charge this much, because if you don’t, people will drink too much,’” Ford said.
“That’s the biggest joke I’ve ever heard. They don’t do it in Alberta or Quebec, so why do we need a base price? Let’s reduce the cost, put more money in people’s pockets, and that’s like a tax break.”
Liberal Leader Bonnie Crombie was in Ottawa on Monday, emphasizing her party’s focus on health care, promising to expand and modernize hospitals in the region.
“People are afraid to get sick,” Crombie said. “They know our hospitals are overflowing, underfunded, and wait times are enormous.”
Crombie also addressed a controversy within her party, explaining the delayed decision to remove Oshawa candidate Viresh Bansal over a 2023 social media post responding to the killing of Sikh leader Hardeep Singh Nijjar.
In the post, Bansal wrote: “You can thank India for cleaning trash people. Ask your gay friend @JustinTrudeau to do the same.”
Although Bansal apologized, the World Sikh Organization of Canada and some Liberal candidates demanded his removal.
“He issued a statement, but concerns persisted, so we re-interviewed him and decided to suspend his campaign,” Crombie said. “I think we’ve made the right decision, and that’s it.”
With just days until the Ontario election, the PCs are focusing on economic policies and consumer affordability, while the Liberals push for stronger health care investments.
Voters head to the polls on Thursday, February 27.