The Ford government has rolled out a new four-month advertising campaign promoting its controversial overhaul of Ontario Place — but officials are refusing to say how much taxpayer money is being spent on the promotional push.
The campaign, which began in late August and will run until December, includes commercials and online ads that broadly highlight the government’s redevelopment plans. The message is simple and upbeat: “Get ready for a brand new Ontario Place.”
Tourism, Culture and Gaming Minister Stan Cho defended the marketing effort, saying Ontarians deserve to know how transformational the project will be. “I’m super excited about it,” he said Monday, adding that the new renderings show how the aging waterfront site was “sinking into Lake Ontario” before redevelopment began.
But how much this advertising blitz is costing remains unclear. Cho did not answer questions about the budget, and his office said financial details would become available only through public accounts — long after the campaign ends.
Opposition parties say the secrecy is unacceptable.
Ontario NDP Leader Marit Stiles argued that public funds should not be used to promote what she described as an unpopular and controversial redevelopment. “All they’re trying to do is play defence,” she said. “Ontarians are really, really unhappy about this.”
Critics also point to the Ford government’s 2023 decision to award Austrian spa operator Therme a 95-year lease on prime public land to build a massive private spa and waterpark on the West Island of Ontario Place. The province is spending more than $2 billion to build parking infrastructure for the project, a number that has fueled public backlash.
Stiles said the current ad campaign appears to benefit Therme far more than taxpayers. “Why are taxpayers subsidizing a private company’s ad campaign?” she asked. “Therme should be paying for their own promotions.”
Cho rejected that argument, insisting the redevelopment is primarily about public space, promising 50 acres of accessible parkland — poised to become downtown Toronto’s largest green space.
Two years ago, the province budgeted $2 million for a similar eight-week advertising campaign designed to counter “early negative sentiment” around elements of the Ontario Place plan. With the government refusing to disclose the cost of this year’s renewed campaign, critics say transparency is once again in short supply.
As the ads continue airing across Ontario, questions about cost, accountability and the true beneficiaries of the redevelopment remain at the centre of a heated political debate.