Ontario’s political parties have been on the campaign trail for more than two weeks as their leaders travel across the province to strengthen their party’s support.
With the Feb. 27 election fast approaching, here’s a look at some of the key campaign commitments made by each of Ontario’s principal political parties.
Progressive Conservatives
Progressive Conservative (PC) Leader Doug Ford is running on a “Protect Ontario” campaign that focuses on responding to and dealing with U.S. tariffs. Other top priorities identified by Ford are job creation, constructing homes and highways, and shoring up health care in the province.The main points of the PC campaign are:
US Tariff Response
Ford has repeatedly talked about the threat of tariffs at the hands of U.S. President Donald Trump and the need to protect Ontario’s interests at a time when leadership is lacking in Ottawa.While Ford has described the 30-day pause on tariffs as a welcome reprieve, he has also expressed skepticism that Canada won’t face U.S. tariffs on its products in the near future, a move that he said could lead to the elimination of as many as 500,000 jobs in Ontario.
The PC leader has vowed to invest “tens of billions of dollars to keep people working.” That includes devoting $38 million for “action centres” to help laid off workers transition into other jobs and $1 billion for a skills development program to aid in transitioning into alternative trades.
An additional $1.5 billion would be allocated to expand training and employment programs as needed and $3 billion in payroll tax and premium relief will be offered to small businesses.
Municipalities that rely on U.S. trade and are most likely to suffer due to tariffs will also be eligible for help under a $40 million fund.
To boost security at the Ontario–U.S. border, the PCs have pledged to spend $50 million to expand the Ontario Provincial Police’s Joint-Air Support Unit with two new H-135 helicopters to assist police services in border towns.
Health Care
Health care has emerged as a hot issue throughout the election campaign. The PC’s plan includes spending $1.8 billion to connect two million Ontarians to a publicly funded family doctor or primary care team within the next four years.The funding includes $1.4 billion in new monies for Ontario’s Primary Care Action Team led by former federal health minister Dr. Jane Philpott and more than $400 million in already-approved financing of primary care, the party said.
The goal of the initiative is to create and expand 305 additional family health teams made up of a family physician or nurse practitioner as well as nurses, physician assistants, social workers, and dieticians while also continuing to recruit and retain doctors and other health professionals and expand the number of community-based primary care teaching clinics.
Infrastructure and Housing
Ford has pledged to construct a new expressway that will run beneath Highway 401, extending from Mississauga in the west to Markham in the east. Feasibility studies are still underway to determine the cost, he said, but argued that the jobs it would create would boost the economy at a time of economic uncertainty created by potential tariffs.The party also committed to constructing a freight rail bypass along the Highway 407 corridor in the Peel Region, widening the Queen Elizabeth Way between Burlington and St. Catharines, and improving transit with GO 2.0. The Go project would deliver a range of new GO lines, enhance two-way, all-day service for Milton and Kitchener, construct new stations, and integrate connections with existing transit systems in the Greater Golden Horseshoe.
Ford has also promised to build 1.5 million new homes by 2031.
New Democrats
NDP Leader Marit Stiles has emphasized improving health care, addressing U.S. tariffs, and implementing various measures to make housing more affordable throughout her campaign appearances.Here’s a brief outline highlighting the main elements of the NDP campaign.
Health Care
Stiles recently introduced her party’s $4 billion Family Health Guarantee, a program designed to ensure that every resident of Ontario has access to a family doctor or nurse practitioner.The party would also “fast-track” solutions within its first 100 days in office to increase the number of family health teams and reduce wait times for specialists, Stiles said.
The initiative aims to add at least 3,500 doctors into the primary care system over the next four years, fast-track the applications for new family health teams, and cut wait times with a central referral system.
Tariffs
Stiles has vowed to “fight” for the protection of Ontario jobs in the face of Trump’s tariffs, should she assume the role of premier. She has been promoting partnerships as key in standing up to the United States and has pledged to work with other premiers and Ottawa as well as unions and employers to protect jobs. She has also described a united front with other countries as being a crucial component in fighting tariffs.The party is promising to defend the auto sector, especially the electric vehicle sector, from U.S. tariffs, and invest in retraining opportunities in post-secondary education and the skilled trades.
A Buy Ontario campaign would also be on the to-do list, Stiles has said. It would enable the party to direct government agencies to source products locally. The NDP would also establish an economic task force and support local farming by eliminating the cap on Ontario’s Risk Management Program.
Stiles has not put a dollar figure on any of these initiatives so far.
Infrastructure and Housing
The NDP has said it would develop 60,000 new supportive housing units to help secure housing for people living in encampments, either construct or purchase at least 300,000 affordable rental homes, and put an end to “renovictions” and “demovictions.”The party also announced its plan to buy back Highway 407 and eliminate all tolls on provincially owned portions of the road.
The NDP also pledged to expedite infrastructure initiatives, particularly in transportation, to ensure employment opportunities remain available should jobs be impacted by tariffs.
Liberals
Liberal Leader Bonnie Crombie’s campaign has centred around health care and the family doctor shortage as well as transit safety.The following is an overview of the key elements of the Liberal campaign.
Health Care
Crombie has focused on health care throughout her election campaign, promising to connect every Ontarian with a family doctor over the next four years.The Liberal health-care plan focuses on four measures, Crombie said. They are training and retaining more doctors, improving the Ontario health team network and establishing a centralized referral system, decreasing the administration burden of physicians, and ensuring “no one has to choose between using a walk-in clinic and having a family doctor.”
Crombie has acknowledged that it has yet to be figured out how much her party’s health-care promises will cost.
Infrastructure
The Liberal leader has vowed to make all subway stations in the Toronto region safe and affordable.An elected Liberal party would install platform barriers at every Toronto Transit Commission (TTC) station, invest in more cameras and safety equipment, and expand crisis intervention teams, Crombie said. She also promised to increase the number of constables assigned to transit services within the province.
The Liberals are also pledging to provide an all-day, two-way GO Train service connecting Kitchener and Toronto and extend the Kitchener-Waterloo ION light rail system by 17 kilometres into downtown Cambridge.
On the housing front, the Liberals have said they would scrap the provincial land transfer tax for first-time homebuyers, seniors who are downsizing, and charities, as well as eliminate development charges on housing for the middle class.
Tariffs and Affordability
Crombie has promised to double the Ontario Disability Support Program and index it to inflation if she becomes the next premier.She has also promised to tackle interprovincial trade barriers and establish a “fight tariff fund” aimed at providing Ontario businesses with reduced interest rates.
The Liberals are also prepared to pay a $150,000 bonus to Canadian nurses and doctors currently practising in the United States as an incentive to relocate to Ontario.
Green Party
Green Party Leader Mike Schreiner is pledging to reduce taxes for lower and middle income households in Ontario.Taxes
A Green government would cut income taxes for individuals earning less than $65,000 and families bringing in less than $100,000 per year, saving a middle income worker as much as $1,700 a year, Schreiner has said.The Greens said they would make up the difference by increasing taxes for individuals in the highest tax bracket.
Tariffs
The Greens have promised to establish a task force aimed at addressing tariffs, introduce an investment tax credit, and implement a Buy Ontario strategy.The party has also announced its intention to establish a Protect Ontario Fund aimed at assisting businesses that have been disproportionately affected by tariffs, while also striving to diversify Ontario’s trade partnerships.
Environment
The Green party has promised to protect watersheds in rural Ontario and collaborate with indigenous communities towards a conservation goal of 30 percent of natural areas over the next five years.The party is promising to protect farmland by creating an Ontario Foodbelt, establish public sector purchasing guidelines that emphasize the importance of locally sourced food, and create a fund dedicated to fostering innovation in food and agriculture.
Ontario Party and New Blue Party
The Ontario Party is running on the three pillars of “faith, family, and freedom” as well as the “need to make Ontario Prosperous Again.”The party led by former Conservative MP Derek Sloan has said it would “negotiate in good faith” with Trump on tariffs and trade issues to protect Ontarians and the economy.
The party also advocates for keeping biological males out of women’s sports and promised to make women single-sex sports and single-sex locker rooms a reality if elected.
The New Blue Party of Ontario bills itself as the “only true blue option on the ballot” in the upcoming election. New Blue, led by former Conservative leadership candidate Jim Karahalios, has said it wants to strengthen Ontario’s borders, cut red tape and taxes for businesses, and make Ontario more competitive on the global stage.
The party also pledges to stop “woke” activism by eliminating critical race theory, gender identity theory, and all diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) from health care, education, and other government-run bodies.
