Stan Cho

Doug Ford's government sold off 60% of Wasaga Beach Provincial Park — overriding 98% public opposition via an omnibus budget bill — while Bill 5 stripped the last provincial protections from Ontario's most important Piping Plover breeding site. When the Town began mechanically raking critical nesting habitat in April 2026 just days before the endangered birds return, Ecojustice filed a Federal Court lawsuit warning that failure to act will result in the species' extirpation from Ontario.

As Minister of Tourism, Cho co-announced the $38 million "Destination Wasaga" development with Premier Ford in May 2025 — the commercial redevelopment that transferred critical Piping Plover habitat out of provincial park protection and into the hands of the Town of Wasaga Beach for hotel and resort development.

Tourism Minister Stan Cho resigned from Doug Ford's cabinet after billing taxpayers $16,203 for downtown Toronto hotel stays despite living 6 km from Queen's Park — plus nearly $100,000 in riding-funded meals over three years — as reporting revealed a dozen-plus PC MPPs had similarly billed $120,000+ combined since 2023, splitting the caucus over whether they were following internal government instructions all along.

Former Minister of Tourism, Culture and Gaming; resigned from cabinet July 17, 2026 after billing $16,203 in Toronto hotel expenses despite living 6km from Queen's Park, plus nearly $100,000 in riding-association food/beverage spending.

A Toronto Star analysis of Elections Ontario filings found five Ontario cabinet ministers' riding associations spent a combined $356,312 on "meetings hosted" across 2024 and 2025, at venues including a sashimi restaurant, a tequila bar and an axe-throwing establishment. The money came from donations that qualify for provincial tax credits.

The former tourism minister's riding association spent a combined $68,646 across 2024 and 2025 in the "meetings hosted" category, in the Toronto Star's review of Elections Ontario filings by cabinet ministers' associations. The records do not reveal who attended the meetings or who, if anyone, benefited.

The Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corporation struck a deal with MGE Niagara Entertainment Inc. to end its exclusive right to operate casinos in the Niagara gaming bundle, opening a procurement later in 2026 for new casino operators under the Ford government's "Destination Niagara" plan. No compensation figure was disclosed.

As Minister of Tourism, Culture and Gaming, Cho announced the "Destination Niagara" plan alongside Doug Ford on December 15, 2025 (Ontario Newsroom release 1006861). Its five pillars include "World-Class Gaming… explore options to potentially expand the market to multiple world-class casinos" — the commitment the OLG-MGE exclusivity deal later made possible.