Ontario's Premier Accountability Dashboard · Queen's Park Watch
Jill Dunlop
Ontario's Minister of Education who announced the 2026–27 Core Education Funding allocation. The announcement drew immediate condemnation from CUPE's Ontario School Board Council of Unions and the Elementary Teachers' Federation of Ontario, both of which characterized the funding as failing to keep pace with inflation and triggering school board job cuts across the province.
Connected Scandals
The Ford government's 2026–27 education funding includes a 1% increase below inflation and a $56.2 million cut to the Classroom Staffing Fund, triggering immediate layoffs of 50+ education workers in eastern Ontario and threatening thousands more province-wide when job-protection agreements expire in September 2026.
As Education Minister, Dunlop announced the 2026–27 Core Education Funding that includes a 1% increase below inflation and a $56.2 million cut to the Classroom Staffing Fund. Multiple union press releases responding directly to her ministry announcement — from OSBCU/CUPE and ETFO — condemned the funding as deeply inadequate and documented the resulting job cuts. Dunlop defended the funding levels publicly while school boards began issuing layoff notices.
Ford set Ontario's 2026-27 wildfire firefighting budget at $150 million — nearly half of what was actually spent the year before ($271 million) — right as the province suffered its worst fire season since 2021, forcing 15 northern communities to evacuate and Ontario to beg Ottawa for emergency air support. When called out, Ford called the criticism "despicable and disgusting."
Ontario Minister of Emergency Preparedness; sent the July 16, 2026 formal request for federal wildfire assistance.