Since becoming Premier of Ontario in 2018, how many times have we heard Doug Ford say this famous line?
“Government doesn’t have a revenue problem, it has a spending problem.”
That is the comment Ford reserves for use when discussing municipal or school board spending. However, the Premier should really look inward, the next time he considers using that line.
The province’s finance minister, Peter Bethlynfalvy tabled his latest budget on March 26 and as expected it is mired in red ink. Ontario’s deficit is projected to be $13.8 billion, which is around double what Bethlynfalvy estimated last year. The provincial debt is also expected to hit the $500 billion mark in this fiscal year. For some perspective, that will put Ontario as the fourth highest sub-national debt in North America, behind only the U.S. states of California, New York, and Texas.
“The party is over with taxpayers’ money,” Ford said during the 2018 provincial election. Eight years later, there is still a party going on in the provincial capital.
“We’re paying a billion a month servicing the debt. Do you know how many families we could help for a billion a month? That’s what we have to start focusing on, taking care of our finances,” Ford also said during that 2018 campaign. According to the 2026-27 budget, Ontario will pay over $17 billion per year in debt servicing costs, which is almost $1.5 billion per month.
“You can’t take care of the most vulnerable people in society when you have billions of dollars in debt,” Ford said of then-Premier Kathleen Wynne during the 2018 election campaign. On that, he is correct.
Ontario’s latest budget spends a few billion on building new schools and hospitals and the province’s inflation rate is around two per cent. Health care program spending is up by 3.74 per cent. Yet, program funding for education increased in this budget by only 0.74 per cent. Any program funding increases that do not keep up with the rate of inflation are, in fact, a cut to that program funding.
In successive budgets, Ford and his finance ministers have projected a budget surplus to arrive at some point a few years down the road. It is one of those lofty goals.
Ontario had a surprise surplus budget in 2021-22, but that was not what the finance minister planned for. That surplus was the result of extra revenue due to inflation and gross domestic product growth. Bethlynfalvy has projected Ontario to have a budget surplus of $600 million in 2028-29 now.
Since 2008-09, Ontario has had budget deficits forecast. There have been some challenges, a recession, a pandemic, and now the Trump effect on the global economy. But there are always issues going on, and being responsible for budgeting and only spending what you take in is possible.
Ford likes to bluster and rail against supposed enemies, but that is just a mask for a government that has a spending problem.
The province does need significant capital investment, but it also needs funding that is stable to operate programs. There is a need for new schools, hospitals, and long-term care homes, but you need people to work in those places too. Yet, Ford is funnelling more money into “investment funds” to provide subsidies for companies that clearly have the money to open or expand plants here already.
Ontario is subsidizing a portion of every person’s electricity bill to the tune of $6.9 billion. That subsidy is not means tested but should be as it goes straight onto the ballooning provincial debt.
If Ford is so concerned about the economy, and where Ontario is, he should try to get the province’s fiscal house in order. The Doug Ford of 2018 seemed to want to do that. And until he does it, Ford should remember that those who live in glass houses should not throw stones.
This column was originally published in the April 1, 2026 print edition of the Morrisburg Leader (and that’s no joke!)
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