Promises vs actions

What happened

The government's stated target is a 2026 return, and no launch date had been announced as of October 2026.

On May 3, 2018, Ford tweeted: "You want the Northlander, and I will deliver it." On May 25, 2021, Transportation Minister Caroline Mulroney's announcement set a potential in-service date in the mid-2020s, and Associate Minister Stan Cho repeated that target on Dec. 15, 2022. The first new trainset arrived in January 2026; on April 9, 2026 the government said full-route testing was underway and service would return 'later this year', but Ontario Northland's CEO said the start date would be announced only after all three trainsets finish testing. As of late July 2026 Ontario Northland said the launch was still on schedule for 2026, with no inaugural date set.

What happened

The province awarded a $198 million design-build contract in June 2026, below the target, but the garage is not built and its final cost is not known.

At the June 24, 2025 announcement, Ford said the garage would cost around $400 million and return about $60 million a year in gross revenue (CTV). On June 11, 2026 the Ministry of Tourism, Culture and Gaming awarded Pomerleau Inc. a $198 million contract to design and build a five-storey, up to 3,500-space structure. The province compared that figure with the '$1.3 billion cost in the Auditor General's 2024 report'. The $1.3 billion figure was the most expensive of seven options the Auditor General listed (a five-level below-grade garage). The two options Infrastructure Ontario short-listed were above-grade garages at Exhibition Place, estimated at more than $400 million (three levels above grade plus one below grade at the Science Centre site) and more than $280 million (four levels above grade).

What happened · Jul 1, 2025

A regulation in force July 1, 2025 lists Canada Disability Benefit payments as income not counted under ODSP, and the Ontario Works directives also exempt it.

O. Reg. 77/25, filed May 29, 2025 and in force July 1, 2025, added 'A Canada Disability Benefit payment under the Canada Disability Benefit Act' to the income ODSP does not count under s. 42 of O. Reg. 222/98. That date matched the first federal CDB payments. Ontario Works policy directive 5.1 likewise lists CDB payments as exempt income. As a result, the federal benefit of up to $200 a month is not deducted from ODSP or Ontario Works payments.

What happened · Feb 11, 2026

Toronto and Ontario signed a contribution agreement for the full $97 million in February 2026, before the tournament. The split between cash and provincial services was left to be finalized, and Toronto disputed that split.

In a letter dated December 2023, the province made a conditional commitment of up to $97 million in funding and in-kind services toward Toronto's estimated $380 million cost to host six matches. In May 2025, the city said about $40 million of that would go to provincial services such as policing, paramedics and transit, more than it expected. Mayor Olivia Chow called this a "clawback". The province said the $97 million had always included its services and refused to add more. In January 2026 the agreement was still unsigned. On February 11, 2026, the city confirmed it had signed the contribution agreement for the full $97 million. A city spokesperson said the allocation between cash and in-kind services was still "to be finalized". Provincial releases in May and June 2026 describe the Centennial Park training site and Fan Festival spending as part of the $97 million. Toronto's final World Cup financial report is expected in early 2027.

What happened · Oct 31, 2025

Both measures happened: taxes could be deferred from April 1 to October 1, 2025, and WSIB credited a second $2 billion surplus rebate to safe employers by October 31, 2025.

The April 7, 2025 release promised about $11 billion: a six-month deferral of select provincial business taxes, giving about $9 billion in cash flow, and a further $2 billion WSIB rebate for safe employers. The 2025 Fall Economic Statement confirmed the interest- and penalty-free deferral ran from April 1 to October 1, 2025 across 10 tax programs, offering up to $9 billion in liquidity to about 80,000 businesses. WSIB announced on November 3, 2025 that every eligible safe employer had received its share of the $2 billion fall rebate by October 31, 2025. The rebate came later than first expected because of a WSIB strike.

What happened · Mar 26, 2026

The commitment covers 10 years, from the 2024 budget onward; several flagship projects have broken ground but none of the new hospitals named here has opened.

The 2024 budget committed 'nearly $50 billion over the next 10 years in health infrastructure', and Ford repeated the '$50 billion supporting more than 50 hospital projects' line at the Peel Memorial groundbreaking on March 28, 2025. In October 2025, Osler and Infrastructure Ontario signed a development agreement with Bird Design-Build for Peel Memorial; no opening date is published. Windsor-Essex's Fancsy Family Hospital broke ground in July 2026 on the first of three phases. The FAO's 2025-26 year-end Expenditure Monitor reports a '$1,982 million decrease for Health Capital Program (Vote-Item 1407-1), largely for Major Hospital Projects' in third- and fourth-quarter spending plan changes, while spending on Major Hospital Projects still rose $1,101 million over 2024-25. The 2026 budget (March 26, 2026) still lists 'approximately $64 billion over the next 10 years in health infrastructure, including nearly $50 billion in capital grants, to support more than 50 major hospital projects that would add approximately 3,000 new beds over 10 years.'

What happened · Mar 11, 2025

Ford suspended the surcharge the next day while U.S. tariffs on Canadian goods stayed in place, and it has not been reimposed.

The 25 per cent surcharge on electricity exports to Michigan, Minnesota and New York took effect March 10, 2025. On March 11, after a call in which U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick invited him to talks in Washington, Ford agreed to suspend it. He called the invitation an "olive branch" and said "cooler heads" needed to prevail. The White House dropped its threat to double steel and aluminum tariffs, but the 25 per cent tariff on Canadian steel and aluminum took effect. The province said the one-day surcharge raised $260,000. As of late August 2026 the surcharge had not been reimposed. Ford said then that it should be reintroduced if the trade war escalated further.

What happened · Sep 18, 2026

U.S. alcohol was pulled from the LCBO on March 4, 2025 and was still off the shelves as of mid-September 2026, with U.S. tariffs still in place.

On March 4, 2025, the LCBO removed more than 3,600 American products from its stores and catalogue on the government's orders. Ford repeated the pledge many times as the U.S. pressed for the ban to end, including on April 22, 2026, when he said "American alcohol will only go back on shelves when the U.S. removes its tariffs". In August 2026 the Star reported the LCBO was getting ready to restock in case a trade deal was reached, but the talks collapsed. On September 18, 2026, CityNews reported that the government was still keeping U.S. alcohol off LCBO shelves. CBC reported that about $79 million of U.S. stock was still in LCBO warehouses, at a storage cost of about $8 million.

What happened · Mar 26, 2026

The 2026 Budget added $300 million over six years to the fund, bringing it to $500 million in total.

The 2025 Budget did not include the top-up. The 2026 Budget (March 26, 2026) provided "an additional $300 million over six years" for the Community Sport and Recreation Infrastructure Fund. On March 31, 2026 Sport Minister Neil Lumsden announced the top-up in Kitchener and said it brings total program funding to $500 million. The fund was launched in 2024 with $200 million, and the release says that round supported 94 projects. The release said eligibility and application guidelines for the new money would be released later in 2026.

What happened · Nov 27, 2025

Bill 68 raised the credit from 10% to 15% and extended a 15% non-refundable version to public and foreign-controlled corporations, an estimated $1.3 billion over three years. It received royal assent on November 27, 2025.

On May 5, 2025 the government announced it would raise the refundable credit for Canadian-controlled private corporations from 10% to 15%, up to $3 million a year. It would also give other corporations, including publicly traded companies, a 15% non-refundable version. The government estimated the cost at $1.3 billion over three years, more than four times the platform's $300 million. The 2025 Budget (May 15, 2025) proposed both changes for eligible investments made from May 15, 2025 until the end of 2029. Bill 68, the Plan to Protect Ontario Act (Budget Measures), 2025 (No. 2), enacted them in the Taxation Act, 2007: a new section 53.3 for the expanded credit and changes to section 97.2. The bill received royal assent on November 27, 2025. The Ministry of Finance's credit page says the amendments were implemented that day.

What happened · Dec 12, 2025

The $500 million fund was put in the 2025 Budget, launched through Invest Ontario on December 12, 2025, and made its first award in September 2026.

The 2025 Budget (May 15, 2025) committed $500 million to create the Critical Minerals Processing Fund. The government officially launched the fund on December 12, 2025, run by Invest Ontario. On September 18, 2026 it named the first recipient: $11 million toward Generation Mining's $410 million copper and palladium processing complex in Marathon. The province said the project would support 800 construction jobs and more than 450 permanent jobs. As of that announcement, $11 million of the $500 million had been committed publicly.

Who benefited

• Generation Mining Limited · $11 million

  Named first recipient of the Critical Minerals Processing Fund: the province is investing $11 million toward its $410 million copper and palladium processing complex in Marathon.

  Source: Ontario Supporting New $410 Million Critical Mineral Processing Facility in Marathon — Ontario Newsroom (Sep 18, 2026), Province invests $11M in northern Ontario critical mineral processing facility — Canadian Mining Journal (Sep 2026)

What happened · Aug 15, 2025

The government funded $750 million for up to 20,500 STEM seats a year and $75 million for construction seats, more than the $705 million total on their own, and expanded the In-Class Enhancement Fund in the 2025 Budget.

On April 22, 2025 the government announced $750 million to fund up to 20,500 STEM seats per year at colleges and universities. That is more than the $450 million promised. The money flows through the institutions' 2025-2030 funding agreements. The 2025 Budget (May 15, 2025) confirmed this as $750 million over five years. The Budget also put $75 million over three years into up to 2,600 new construction-program seats a year. It added $159.3 million over three years for skilled trades programs, including an expanded In-Class Enhancement Fund for apprentices. On August 15, 2025 the government allocated the $75 million to fund up to 7,500 new college and Indigenous Institute construction seats and 300 graduate planning seats by 2028.

What happened · Jun 25, 2025

The grant program was launched, but it was a $15 million program inside a $215 million envelope for shipbuilding and the broader marine sector, not a $200 million grant program.

The 2025 Budget (May 15, 2025) promised "$200 million in the new Ontario Shipbuilding Grant Program." On June 25, 2025 the government announced $215 million "to support shipbuilding and the broader marine sector," including a $15 million Ontario Shipbuilding Grant Program. The program offers non-repayable grants for up to 50% of eligible costs for training, equipment and infrastructure. The release said details of investments beyond the grant program would come "in the coming months." The November 2025 fall economic statement and the March 2026 Budget both repeated the $215 million total and named only the $15 million grant program. A 2026 intake opened in August 2026 with up to $7 million per project. It did not state a total budget.

Who benefited

• Ontario Shipyards (formerly Heddle Shipyards) · $11 million

  Ontario's July 2026 release says the province is investing $11 million into Ontario Shipyards through the Ontario Shipbuilding Grant Program for training, infrastructure and equipment. The promise is rated partly kept.

  Source: Ontario Investing More than $90 Million to Support Expanded Provincial Shipbuilding Capacity — Ontario Newsroom (Jul 8, 2026), Niagara shipbuilding companies to receive millions from province — CKTB News (Jul 8, 2026)

• Allied Marine and Industrial · Over $8 million

  Ontario's July 2026 release says over $8 million goes to Allied Marine and Industrial in Port Colborne through the Ontario Shipbuilding Grant Program. The promise is rated partly kept.

  Source: Ontario Investing More than $90 Million to Support Expanded Provincial Shipbuilding Capacity — Ontario Newsroom (Jul 8, 2026), Niagara shipbuilding companies to receive millions from province — CKTB News (Jul 8, 2026)

• MetalCraft Marine Inc. · More than $6 million

  Ontario's July 2026 release says more than $6 million goes to MetalCraft Marine Inc. in Kingston through the Ontario Shipbuilding Grant Program. The promise is rated partly kept.

  Source: Ontario Investing More than $90 Million to Support Expanded Provincial Shipbuilding Capacity — Ontario Newsroom (Jul 8, 2026), Ontario Investing Over $90 million to Increase Shipbuilding Capacity — Boatnerd (Jul 9, 2026)

• Connor Industries · $1.1 million

  Ontario's July 2026 release says $1.1 million goes to Connor Industries in Parry Sound through the Ontario Shipbuilding Grant Program. The promise is rated partly kept.

  Source: Ontario Investing More than $90 Million to Support Expanded Provincial Shipbuilding Capacity — Ontario Newsroom (Jul 8, 2026), Ontario Investing Over $90 million to Increase Shipbuilding Capacity — Boatnerd (Jul 9, 2026)

What happened · Jan 27, 2026

The main construction contract was awarded and ground was broken on January 27, 2026. Metrolinx has not published an opening date.

The Bowmanville Extension adds 18.7 km of track east of Durham College Oshawa GO, with four new stations: Thornton's Corners East, Ritson Road, Courtice and Bowmanville. Early works (tree clearing, geotechnical work and a watermain in Oshawa) started in spring 2025. On January 27, 2026 the province announced it had broken ground after Metrolinx awarded the major construction contract. The first phase covers bridge rebuilds, utility relocations and changes at Oshawa GO and the VIA building. Planned service is every 30 minutes at peak, hourly off-peak and every two hours on weekends. Neither the province nor Metrolinx has published a completion or service date.

What happened · Jun 5, 2025

The 2025 budget bill (Bill 24, Royal Assent June 5, 2025) took away the power of Toronto and all other municipalities to toll roads, 'including for the purpose of easing congestion'.

Tolls on new provincial highways were already banned by earlier legislation. Bill 24, the Plan to Protect Ontario Act (Budget Measures), 2025, replaced section 41 of the City of Toronto Act, 2006 and section 40 of the Municipal Act, 2001. Before the change, Toronto could toll a road only once the province made an enabling regulation, and other municipalities had their own tolling provisions. Now the City of Toronto and every other municipality 'does not have the power to designate, operate or maintain a highway as a toll highway'. The law adds that this applies 'regardless of' the purpose, 'including for the purpose of easing congestion on such highway'. Both schedules took effect on Royal Assent, June 5, 2025. This covers the municipal roads where a congestion charge would apply, so together with the existing provincial-highway toll ban, the promise is in law.

What happened · Nov 10, 2025

The province launched a $10-million Pothole Prevention and Repair Program on November 10, 2025. It is open only to municipalities of 10,000 people or fewer, with up to $38,000 each.

The platform gave no dollar figure and no eligibility rules. The program that launched on November 10, 2025 is called the Pothole Prevention and Repair Program and is worth $10 million. Only single- and lower-tier municipalities with 10,000 people or fewer can apply. The province says 263 of Ontario's 444 municipalities qualify. Each can get up to $38,000 for 2025–26. Applications closed December 12, 2025. Toronto, Ottawa, Mississauga, Hamilton and every other larger city are excluded, which includes the GTHA municipalities where the platform's gridlock section focused. The province's release says Bill 212, the Reducing Gridlock, Saving You Time Act, 2024, already committed the government to consult municipalities on the program.

What happened · Sep 30, 2026

The project is in design and site preparation. Bridge construction is scheduled to start in 2027.

On June 11, 2025 the province awarded the detail design contract to Skyway Bridging Partners, a team led by Flatiron Dragados, Demathieu & Bard and Green Infrastructure Partners. Infrastructure Ontario signed the development phase agreement on June 12, 2025, as a progressive design-build. In May 2026 design was 60 per cent complete. Infrastructure Ontario said major construction would run from 2027 to 2028 onward and take 'multiple years', and the cost was reported at $1 billion to $2 billion. The project site said in September 2026 that enabling works (clearing, geotechnical drilling, utility relocations) were under way and the bridge itself 'won't begin construction until 2027'. No opening date has been published.

What happened · Aug 25, 2026

68 km of the 152-km corridor is still two lanes. In August 2026 the province announced a rail relocation as the first step and said four of six remaining sections would be under heavy construction by the end of 2027. There is still no completion date.

On August 25, 2026 the province said it had widened 84 km of the 152-km Parry Sound–Sudbury corridor. The remaining 68 km will be split into six sections, and four of them 'will be under heavy construction by the end of next year'. The first step is moving a CN rail line in Mowat Township and the Municipality of Killarney so a new Highway 522 interchange can be built. No price tag or completion date was given. The Sudbury Star reported this was the first time since 2018 that the government had committed funding to the project. Four-laning was once expected to be finished by 2017. The platform set no deadline, so this cannot be scored yet.

What happened · Apr 1, 2025

The price floor was removed for spirits only. Minimum prices for beer, wine and cider stayed, and the wine and cider floors went up on April 1 in both 2025 and 2026.

On April 1, 2025 the government removed minimum retail prices for all spirits, including spirit-based ready-to-drink products. The same LCBO notice said wine and cider floors would rise that day under O. Reg. 750/21 and the beer floor would stay the same. A year later the LCBO confirmed the beer floor was still unchanged, and the wine and cider floors were indexed upward again on April 1, 2026. The beer tax freeze in the same plank was kept: the government paused indexation of beer basic tax rates again, and the LCBO pushed beer mark-up indexation back to March 2027.

What happened · Apr 30, 2026

The government passed a law in June 2025 giving itself the power to restrict foreign energy suppliers, but as of April 2026 no regulation had been made and major power procurements went ahead with no ban on Chinese components.

Ford announced the ban on February 10, 2025, saying "we'll ban Chinese components from future procurements to keep our grid secure." After the election, Bill 5 (the Protect Ontario by Unleashing our Economy Act, 2025) received royal assent on June 5, 2025. It gave the energy minister power to limit foreign participation in the energy sector by regulation or directive, including by the geographic origin of goods and services. The government's own description of the power is limiting "foreign jurisdictions, such as foreign state-owned entities", without naming China. In June 2025 the minister directed the IESO to give a scoring advantage to Canadian-owned bidders in the first window of its LT2 power procurement. That directive did not bar Chinese components. The Ministry of Energy and Mines consulted on possible restrictions in the fall of 2025, and Bill 40 (royal assent December 11, 2025) let utilities record the cost of complying with any future restrictions. Torys LLP reported in December 2025 that no draft regulation had been released. In April 2026 Torys reported that the country-of-origin regulations had still not been enacted. The April 30, 2026 directive launching the Long Lead-Time procurement added Canadian-content disclosure and incentives but no ban on Chinese components.

What happened · May 15, 2025

The 2025 Budget relaunched the $1 billion Aboriginal Loan Guarantee Program as the $3 billion Indigenous Opportunities Financing Program, open to energy, critical minerals and resource development.

The 2025 Budget (May 15, 2025) relaunched the $1 billion Aboriginal Loan Guarantee Program as the $3 billion Indigenous Opportunities Financing Program. It widened eligibility beyond electricity to energy, pipelines, mining and critical minerals, resource development and other sectors. Administration moved from the Ontario Financing Authority to the Building Ontario Fund on October 1, 2025. The Building Ontario Fund's program page lists energy, resource development and critical minerals as eligible sectors. It says the fund is still consulting Indigenous partners on the financing criteria and the types of guarantees offered.

Who benefited

• Williams Treaties First Nations · $700 million investment

  The seven Williams Treaties First Nations' $700 million investment in the Darlington New Nuclear Project is supported by a provincial guarantee through the Indigenous Opportunities Financing Program, alongside a federal guarantee (Ontario and Finance Canada releases, June 23, 2026).

  Source: Ontario Reaches Historic First Nations Equity Partnership to Build the G7's First Small Modular Reactors — Ontario Newsroom (Jun 23, 2026), Government announces largest Indigenous loan guarantee in Canadian history to support Darlington New Nuclear Project — Department of Finance Canada (Jun 23, 2026)

• Bamkushwada LP · Up to $75 million provincial guarantee

  Bamkushwada LP raised its equity stake in the East-West Tie transmission line from 3.5% to 20% with a provincial guarantee of up to $75 million under the Indigenous Opportunities Financing Program (Ontario Newsroom, May 29, 2026).

  Source: Ontario Supporting Increased First Nations Ownership in East-West Tie Transmission Line — Ontario Newsroom (May 29, 2026)

• Saugeen Ojibway Nation · $250 million investment

  Lexpert reports Ontario announced a provincial Indigenous Opportunities Financing Program guarantee on February 27, 2026 supporting the Saugeen Ojibway Nation's $250 million investment in its expanded Bruce Power partnership, the largest guarantee of its kind since the program began. The Ontario release itself was not retrieved.

  Source: Ontario backs $250M Saugeen Ojibway Nation investment in Bruce Power isotope project — Lexpert (Jun 29, 2026)

What happened · Apr 17, 2026

The deadline is 2028. As of April 2026 the province says 551 residency positions have been added since 2018, for a total of 1,739. That is short of the 742 promised.

In October 2024 the government said its medical school expansion had added 449 residency spots so far and would eventually reach 742 new residency positions. On April 17, 2026 the province said Ontario has added 551 residency training positions since 2018, bringing the total to 1,739. It called that 'a nearly 50 per cent increase' and said more than 270 new residency seats are being added. The same day it announced plans to give Ontario-connected international medical graduates priority for residency positions. Both medical schools named in the platform, at Toronto Metropolitan University in Brampton and York University in Vaughan, are part of the expansion. The 2028 target date has not arrived.

What happened · Oct 7, 2025

A fast-track pilot for cancer drugs launched in October 2025 and the government says drugs reach patients sooner, but no source confirms the promised six-month cut.

On October 7, 2025, Health Minister Sylvia Jones launched the Funding Accelerated for Specific Treatments (FAST) program. It is a three-year pilot that starts public funding for seven to ten high-priority cancer drugs a year, all approved through Project Orbis, while pan-Canadian price negotiations are still under way. Normally provinces wait for those negotiations to finish. The government says FAST gets patients these drugs up to a year sooner. By January 22, 2026, six treatments had been funded through FAST, including Tagrisso, Scemblix, Nubeqa, Calquence and two Opdivo-Yervoy combinations. In June 2026 MORSE Consulting, a drug-reimbursement consultancy, reported that in the pilot's first eight months FAST drugs reached Ontario listing over 60 per cent faster (median days from Health Canada approval) than oncology drugs overall. Its public summary did not give the medians in days.

What happened · Jan 1, 2026

Bill 56 passed on November 3, 2025. From January 1, 2026, the As of Right rules cover 16 more health professions, and doctors' and nurses' out-of-province licences are recognized automatically.

Ontario already had As of Right rules before the campaign. Since 2023 they had let nurses, physicians, respiratory therapists and medical lab technologists from other provinces work in Ontario for up to six months while they registered. On October 16, 2025 the government said it would expand the rules, and Bill 56, the Building a More Competitive Economy Act, 2025, amended the Regulated Health Professions Act to do so. It received Royal Assent on November 3, 2025. On January 1, 2026 the rules were extended to 16 more regulated health professions, including pharmacists, dentists, dental hygienists, psychologists and midwives. Ontario's physician and nurse regulators were also set as the bodies whose applicants have their home-province licences automatically recognized. Separately, Bill 2 (Royal Assent June 5, 2025) amended the Ontario Labour Mobility Act. That set up a broader As of Right deemed-certification system for non-health regulated jobs, which also took effect on January 1, 2026. Under the health rules, a worker can practise for one six-month period without first registering, but must register with the Ontario college before that period ends.

What happened · Jul 13, 2026

The park is being created, but the government formally scaled it down from about 250 campsites to 10 paddle-in sites in July 2026.

When the park was announced in 2023 it was to have about 250 campsites, up to 25 roofed units, a visitor hub and an opening around 2026. By July 2025 the ministry said the project was still in 'early planning and design'. On July 13, 2026 Ontario Parks approved the park's management plan. The province's decision notice on the Environmental Registry says the government is moving forward with 'select improvements', namely 10 new paddle-in backcountry campsites, a trail, and upgrades to road access and parking. It says 'the decision to reduce the scale of the original proposal' reflects planning, consultation and value for taxpayers. Asked why the larger plan was missing, a spokesperson for Environment Minister Todd McCarthy told MuskokaRegion.com 'Just the 10 (campsites) for now.' The ministry hopes to have the scaled-down park ready by next season. As of October 2026 the park was still non-operating, with no campground.

What happened · Jul 21, 2026

Direct-to-consumer sales were enabled, but not 'immediately'. The first bilateral deal came about 12 months after the election and the eight-province deal about 17 months after, past the May 2026 deadline the provinces had set themselves.

Bill 2, the Protect Ontario Through Free Trade Within Canada Act, 2025, gave the province power to allow direct-to-consumer alcohol sales with reciprocating provinces. In July 2025 Ontario and 10 other jurisdictions signed a memorandum of understanding that set May 2026 as the implementation deadline. The first deal, with Nova Scotia, was signed on March 2, 2026. On July 15, 2026 CFIB was still urging Ontario to act on those memorandums and start shipping between all provinces. On July 21, 2026 Ford and eight other premiers (B.C., Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, P.E.I., and Newfoundland and Labrador) signed a deal that took effect immediately. On July 24, 2026 the LCBO said producers in those provinces could begin applying for authorization. Quebec and the three territories are not signatories.

What happened · Jun 5, 2025

Bill 24 created the Ontario Fertility Treatment Tax Credit, which received Royal Assent on June 5, 2025. It is refundable and pays back 25% of eligible costs paid from January 1, 2025, up to $5,000 a year.

The 2025 Ontario Budget (May 15, 2025) proposed the Ontario Fertility Treatment Tax Credit. Bill 24, the Plan to Protect Ontario Act (Budget Measures), 2025, added it to the Taxation Act, 2007 as a refundable credit worth 25 per cent of up to $20,000 in eligible fertility treatment expenses. The bill received Royal Assent on June 5, 2025. Ontario's guidance says the credit covers expenses for fertility treatment, fertility preservation and surrogacy paid on or after January 1, 2025, for goods and services provided in Canada. The maximum is $5,000 a year, and it can be claimed on 2025 tax returns.

What happened · Jul 1, 2025

Since July 1, 2025 the registry covers trafficking and sex-trade offences involving victims under 18, but not adult human trafficking. The registry is still not public, so nobody is 'named and shamed'.

On May 1, 2025 the Attorney General said Ontario would strengthen Christopher's Law to put child sex traffickers on the Ontario Sex Offender Registry. O. Reg. 44/25, made April 24, 2025 and in force July 1, 2025, added several Criminal Code offences to the registry. One group covers buying sexual services from, profiting from, or procuring a person under 18. The other covers trafficking a person under 18, profiting from that trafficking, or withholding that person's documents, where a federal sex-offender registration order was made. Older pre-2014 prostitution offences involving minors were also added. General human trafficking (Criminal Code s. 279.01, any age) was not added. The registry remains a police-only database. In its 2026 Budget the government said it was still only 'exploring options' to make part of what it now calls the Ontario Sex Offender and Trafficker Registry public.

What happened · Jul 1, 2025

The requirement took effect on July 1, 2025. Universities must admit at least 95% Ontario residents to MD programs and fill the rest with Canadian citizens, permanent residents or protected persons.

This was first announced on October 25, 2024, before the election. The rule was added to the Ministry of Training, Colleges and Universities Act as section 16.0.1. It says at least 95 per cent of students admitted to a publicly assisted medical health education program each year must be ordinarily resident in Ontario. O. Reg. 130/25, made June 26, 2025, defines 'medical health education program' and 'ordinarily resident in Ontario' and came into force on July 1, 2025. The Ontario Universities' Application Centre now tells medical school applicants that, from July 1, 2025, at least 95 per cent of admissions are reserved for Ontario residents and the other 5 per cent for Canadian citizens, permanent residents or protected persons. In September 2026 Queen's University said 95 per cent of its current MD students are from Ontario and the rest are from other provinces.

What happened · Apr 16, 2025

On April 16, 2025 Ontario said it was removing all of its party-specific exceptions under the CFTA. CFIB later gave Ontario an A+ for having removed every one.

On April 16, 2025, alongside Bill 2, the government said Ontario was 'becoming the first province in Canada to remove all its party-specific exceptions (PSEs) under the Canadian Free Trade Agreement (CFTA) without exception'. Contemporary coverage, including BLG's legal analysis, counted 23 such exceptions. In its 2026 internal trade report card, released July 15, 2026, CFIB said Ontario was 'one of only two jurisdictions to receive an A+ for removing all Canadian Free Trade Agreement exceptions'. In the report card's table, Ontario scores 10.0 (A+) on CFTA exceptions.

What happened · May 26, 2025

The LCBO raised the discount from 10% to 15% on May 26, 2025. It was a temporary measure and ended on December 31, 2025.

Through the 2025 Ontario Budget, the LCBO raised its wholesale discount from 10 to 15 per cent for bars, restaurants and the rest of the hospitality sector, effective May 26, 2025. Licensed convenience stores and LCBO Convenience Outlets got the same increase. It was set to last until December 31, 2025. The higher discount expired then, and the rate went back to 10 per cent on January 1, 2026, the day the LCBO became Ontario's sole alcohol wholesaler. The platform did not promise any particular length of time.

What happened · Sep 30, 2026

By September 30, 2026 the 110 km/h limit covered what the province calls 'nearly 89 per cent' of its highway network, not the whole network as promised.

On June 24, 2026 Transportation Minister Prabmeet Sarkaria announced 110 km/h on another 938 km of provincial highway, rolled out in stages from June 26 to September 30, 2026. Before the change, 873 km were posted at 110 km/h, which the province said was 43 per cent of its highway network. The government said that once the change took effect, 'nearly 89 per cent of the province's highway network' would be posted at 110 km/h. Its own release title promised 'Most', not all, provincial highways. CBC reported the last nine sections were raised on September 30, 2026, completing the push. The province says limits are raised only on highways designed to handle the higher speed.

What happened · Oct 2, 2026

All of the promised hubs are open, plus two more. The 29th, in Kingston, opened on October 2, 2026.

The government had already announced the 27-hub, $529-million plan on January 27, 2025, before the campaign, with a goal of having every hub running by April 1, 2025. The platform repeated that plan. The network later grew to 28 hubs and then 29. On October 2, 2026 the province said the new Kingston hub had opened, replacing the last provincially funded drug injection site. It said all 29 HART hubs were now open, backed by more than $560 million, and had served more than 46,000 clients since April 2025. HART hubs do not offer supervised consumption, safer supply or needle exchange.

What happened · Aug 10, 2026

Construction has not started. An August 2026 study notice says it is expected to begin in 2028, 'subject to funding and approvals'.

In April 2024 the province announced $5 million for the interchange and said it would work with the City of Ottawa to plan and design it. The environmental assessment and preliminary design had been finished in 2023. The platform promised to speed up construction. Eighteen months later, the latest public milestone is a Notice of Study Commencement dated August 10, 2026. It says the Ministry of Transportation has hired a consultant (Egis) for the detail design and Class Environmental Assessment study. It also says: 'Construction is anticipated to begin in 2028, subject to funding and approvals.' The platform set no completion date, so the promise cannot be scored yet, but there is no construction to speed up so far.

What happened · Oct 27, 2025

All six lanes between Dufferin Street and Strachan Avenue reopened on October 27, 2025. The province and city put that at 18 months ahead of the original schedule.

The $73 million was committed in July 2024, before the campaign. The money was conditional on the City of Toronto allowing construction around the clock. The platform repeated the commitment. The project, Gardiner Section 2, rebuilt 700 metres of elevated expressway between Dufferin Street and Strachan Avenue. In April 2025 the province said work on the last two lanes had started 'months ahead' of the July 2024 accelerated schedule. On October 27, 2025 all six lanes reopened; CityNews and Mayor Olivia Chow described this as 18 months ahead of the original schedule. A provincial release on June 4, 2026 said the $73 million 'led to the completion of repairs more than 18 months ahead of schedule'. The City of Toronto's project page lists Section 2 as completed in 2026, after the lanes reopened.

What happened · Mar 26, 2026

Free tuition continues and was extended in 2026. The 2025 Budget committed $1 billion for the Aylmer college and an Orillia academy, but neither is built. No yearly graduate count was found to check against 2,080.

The 2025 Ontario Budget (May 15, 2025) committed $1 billion to expand and renovate the Ontario Police College in Aylmer and to build a new Ontario Provincial Police Academy in Orillia. It said the Basic Constable Training program can now take 80 more recruits a year, for a total of 2,080, and added $8.8 million in 2025-26 for a one-time extra intake of up to 300 recruits. In 2025 the infrastructure minister approved demolishing old buildings at the former Huronia Regional Centre site in Orillia, and the OPP commissioner said planning for the new academy was under way. The 2026 Budget extended free Basic Constable Training tuition for another three years. It said 6,277 recruits had been trained since the tuition waiver began in 2023, and that the college and academy projects were still being advanced. Neither facility has been completed.

What happened · Sep 1, 2026

Removal has started on one stretch of Bloor Street West. Yonge and University are still waiting on a design contract, and no replacement bike lanes on secondary roads have been announced.

The removal power and the provincial veto over new bike lanes that take away a car lane were already law before the campaign. Bill 212, the Reducing Gridlock, Saving You Time Act, 2024, received Royal Assent on November 25, 2024. The 2025 budget bill (Bill 24, Royal Assent June 5, 2025) changed the wording from 'removal' to 'reconfiguration' while a court challenge was under way. In July 2025 an Ontario Superior Court judge ruled the removals unconstitutional. On August 14, 2026 the Court of Appeal for Ontario overturned that ruling, which cleared the province to act on about 19 km of protected lanes. In December 2025 the province had restored a car lane on a 600-metre stretch of Bloor West (Resurrection Road to Clissold Road) and kept the bike lane there. On September 1, 2026 it issued a request for proposals for design options to restore car lanes on Bloor, Yonge, University, Queen's Park, Queen's Park Crescent and Avenue Road. It also said it was 'immediately beginning' to restore car lanes on Bloor Street West east of Clissold Road. Cycle Toronto said on September 9 that the RFP closes in December and the remaining work is set to start in spring 2027. No provincial plan to rebuild these lanes on secondary roads has been announced. The transportation minister has only said that streets like King and College would be better alternatives.

What happened · Apr 22, 2026

The requirement was created and applies from 2026-27 to students who started Grade 9 in 2025-26 or later. They must score at least 70% on TVO modules in Grade 10 Career Studies. It was introduced a year later than first planned.

The requirement was first announced on May 30, 2024, when the government said it would start in 2025 inside the Grade 10 math course. In June 2025 Education Minister Paul Calandra paused that and some other curriculum changes to give teachers more time. On April 22, 2026 CBC reported the new design. The requirement stays in the compulsory Grade 10 Career Studies course instead of math, and it comes with a mandatory test. Ontario's financial literacy page says that, starting in the 2026-27 school year, students who began Grade 9 in 2025-26 or later must meet the requirement to earn their diploma. They complete TVO-developed modules, need at least 70 per cent, and get up to two attempts. The result counts for 5 per cent of the course mark and is recorded on the Ontario Student Transcript.

What happened · Feb 8, 2026

The line did not open in 2025; passenger service on Line 5 Eglinton began on February 8, 2026.

On February 7, 2025, during the provincial election campaign, Ford said the Crosstown would be open that year; Metrolinx said the same day that testing and commissioning were still underway. The line did not open in 2025. Ford said in January 2026 that he was confident it would open in early February, and passenger service began on Sunday, February 8, 2026, as a phased opening with introductory service levels. The line was originally scheduled to open in 2020.

What happened · Jun 1, 2025

Tolls on the provincially owned Highway 407 East were permanently removed effective June 1, 2025, and the gas tax cut was made permanent from July 1, 2025.

On May 13, 2025 the government announced it would remove tolls from Highway 407 East (Brock Road in Pickering to Highway 35/115) effective June 1, 2025. The 2025 budget bill (Bill 24, royal assent June 5, 2025) repealed the Highway 407 East Act, 2012. The 2026 Ontario Budget confirms the tolls came off June 1, 2025, and that the 5.7-cent gasoline tax cut became permanent July 1, 2025. The privately leased 407 ETR is still tolled; that was never part of this promise.

What happened · Apr 13, 2026

A Procurement Restriction Policy has been in force since March 4, 2025, but it is narrower than the promised ban on "American companies". U.S.-headquartered firms with 250 or more full-time employees in Canada, and existing vendor-of-record arrangements, are exempt.

Ford's Procurement Restriction Policy, in force since March 4, 2025, restricts U.S. businesses from new Ontario public-sector procurements. As BetaKit reported in April 2025, the policy only counts a company as a "US business" if it is headquartered in the U.S. and has fewer than 250 full-time employees in Canada. It does not apply to existing vendor-of-record arrangements, and U.S. firms can still be used where they are the only viable source. On April 13, 2026, the policy was folded into the binding Buy Ontario Procurement Directive. The directive keeps the restriction and adds a new exception for U.S. service providers that commit to having at least 90 per cent of their staff in Canada.

What happened

The deadline is 2029. The government says it beat its first-year target of attaching 300,000 people, but it has not confirmed that it cleared the Health Care Connect backlog by its spring 2026 interim deadline.

The Jan. 27, 2025 plan committed $1.8 billion to attach two million more people to a family doctor or primary care team within four years, with interim goals of attaching 300,000 people in 2025-26 and clearing everyone on the Health Care Connect waitlist as of Jan. 1, 2025 (about 235,000 people) by spring 2026. The ministry's Budget 2026 update (March 2026) reported about 330,000 people attached in calendar 2025 (an interim estimate with incomplete data) and the January 2025 waitlist cohort reduced by more than 87%. On Aug. 18, 2026 the government said more than 437,000 people had been connected since the plan began. It did not say whether the waitlist cohort had been fully cleared.

What happened · Aug 27, 2025

Ford's staff refused to give the figure right after the news conference, and as of June 2026 the government had still never said what Highway 413 is expected to cost, even after awarding its first contracts.

On September 25, 2024, The Trillium asked Ford whether he would release Highway 413's projected cost, and he promised an exact figure. After the news conference his staff declined, saying the estimate had to stay confidential until procurement was finished and contracts were awarded. The first two Highway 413 contracts were announced on August 27, 2025, but Ford and Transportation Minister Prabmeet Sarkaria again would not give a budget or completion date. On June 5, 2026, The Trillium reported that the government 'has never said how much the project is estimated to cost', after the opposition parties asked the Financial Accountability Office to cost the highway.

What happened · May 25, 2026

2028 hasn't arrived, but the government's own releases now say the new centre is on track to open in 2029.

In its December 3, 2024 Ontario Place audit, the Auditor General wrote that 'The new building is expected to open in 2029', using a date supplied by Infrastructure Ontario. On February 26, 2026 the province awarded the $1.04 billion construction contract and said the building would be finished 'as early as 2029'. On May 25, 2026 the province broke ground and said the facility 'is on track to open in 2029'. The province also says the interim Harbourfront Centre site will run until 2029.

What happened · Jun 29, 2026

An interim Science Centre opened at Harbourfront Centre on June 29, 2026, about two years after the Don Mills closure.

The Science Centre's KidSpark space opened at Harbourfront Centre in December 2024, and a pop-up ran at CF Sherway Gardens until January 4, 2026. On December 10, 2025, Tourism Minister Stan Cho announced that an interim location would open at Harbourfront Centre 'by summer 2026'. On June 29, 2026 the province opened the first phase of the interim site. It said the site would cover about 86,000 square feet once fully running (the Don Mills building was about 568,000 square feet) and would operate until 2029.

What happened · Nov 25, 2024

Within seven months the government passed Bill 212, whose Schedule 3 (Highway 413 Act, 2024) exempts Highway 413 and its early works from the Environmental Assessment Act.

On April 15, 2024, a joint Canada-Ontario release announcing that the federal impact-assessment designation would be set aside said the project 'is subject to Ontario's Environmental Assessment Act', and the province repeated this on April 30, 2024. On October 21, 2024, Transportation Minister Prabmeet Sarkaria introduced Bill 212, the Reducing Gridlock, Saving You Time Act, 2024. Its Schedule 3, the Highway 413 Act, 2024, exempts the highway, its extensions and its early works from the Environmental Assessment Act. It also disapplies Part II of the Environmental Bill of Rights to permits for the project and replaces the EA with a ministry-run environmental impact assessment report. The bill received royal assent on November 25, 2024; the draft report was open for comment from December 1, 2025 to January 6, 2026, and the final report was published on March 12, 2026.

What happened · Aug 27, 2025

Work began in August 2025, but on existing roads (Highway 10 resurfacing and the 401/407 interchange); the bid to build the first stretch of the new highway opened only on September 1, 2026.

On August 27, 2025, Ford announced in Caledon that the first two Highway 413 construction contracts had been awarded: resurfacing Highway 10 to prepare for a bridge over the future highway, and an embankment at the Highway 401/407 interchange that will be the highway's western terminus. A December 9, 2025 release said the 401/407 interchange upgrades were complete. These were early works on existing highways; the notice of procurement to design and build the first mainline section (the east third, Highway 400 to west of The Gore Road) was issued on September 1, 2026. Ford and Transportation Minister Prabmeet Sarkaria declined in August 2025 to give a completion date or total cost.

Who benefited

• Fermar Paving

  CBC reported Fermar Paving was awarded the first Highway 413 construction contract, for an embankment at the Highway 401/407 interchange.

  Source: Construction starting on Highway 413, Ontario premier says — CBC Toronto (Aug 27, 2025), Ontario begins Highway 413 construction despite Greenbelt, endangered species concerns — GTA Construction Report (Aug 29, 2025)

• Pave-Al

  CBC reported Pave-Al was awarded the second Highway 413 contract, for resurfacing Highway 10 in Caledon to prepare for a bridge over the future highway.

  Source: Construction starting on Highway 413, Ontario premier says — CBC Toronto (Aug 27, 2025), Ontario begins Highway 413 construction despite Greenbelt, endangered species concerns — GTA Construction Report (Aug 29, 2025)

What happened · Jul 30, 2024

The $965 million, four per cent increase was allocated to hospitals in 2024-25, and the 2026 budget announced another four per cent increase.

The Ontario Hospital Association's 2024-25 review says the March 2024 budget allocated 'a four per cent increase ($965 million) in base funding for hospitals', and in July 2024 the province announced allocations to individual hospitals, with every hospital getting at least two per cent. In January 2026 the OHA said sector costs have been rising about six per cent a year, leaving a structural deficit of about $1 billion, and in March 2026 the province gave another four per cent ($1.1 billion). In September 2026 the FAO projected that the 2026 budget plan would fund 33,443 hospital beds in 2028-29, 2,407 fewer than the 35,850 funded in 2025-26. The same month, Hamilton Health Sciences said it planned to cut about 413 positions to close a projected $150 million deficit.

What happened · Feb 12, 2026

On Feb. 12, 2026 the government ended the freeze and allowed domestic tuition increases of up to 2 per cent starting in 2026-27, the third year the 2024 promise covered.

On Feb. 26, 2024, the ministry said the tuition freeze in place since 2019 would be extended for at least three more years. The Canadian Press reported this as running until at least 2026-27, which means 2024-25, 2025-26 and 2026-27. On Feb. 12, 2026, Minister Nolan Quinn announced the end of the freeze. Publicly assisted colleges and universities may raise domestic tuition by up to 2 per cent a year for three years, starting in 2026-27. The same announcement capped OSAP grants at 25 per cent of a student's aid; they had been as high as 85 per cent.

What happened · Oct 31, 2025

The end-of-2025 deadline passed without universal access; the government itself moved the target to 2028.

In late October 2025 Global News reported, and the government confirmed, that Ontario would miss its end-of-2025 target for connecting every community to high-speed internet. The new deadline is mid-2028. Officials blamed construction delays in remote areas and the March 2025 cancellation of the $100-million Starlink satellite contract, which left no ready replacement for about 15,000 remote northern homes. Ford said in November 2025 that he did not regret cancelling the Starlink deal. The province's own progress page said that as of April 2026, 96% of Ontario had access, and it now describes the goal as connecting every community 'by the end of 2028'.

Who benefited

• SpaceX (Starlink)

  Ontario cancelled the roughly $100 million Starlink satellite internet contract and agreed to pay SpaceX a fee to formally end it. The government says the fee is significantly less than the contract value, and ministers have refused to disclose it. The payment is a cancellation settlement, not a delivery of service.

  Source: Ontario won't meet rural broadband target, partly due to cancelling Starlink deal — Global News (Oct 31, 2025), Starlink deal with Ontario government formally cancelled — CTV News (Jul 30, 2025), Ontario ministers defend secret payout to Elon Musk's SpaceX over nixed Starlink deal — CBC Toronto (Sep 30, 2026)

What happened · Mar 31, 2026

Six of the eight orders proposed for revocation or amendment were revoked in April 2024 and one was amended, but no decision has been posted on the 14 housing orders put under 18 months of 'enhanced monitoring', and the government reposted that proposal in March 2026 as still open.

On December 13, 2023, the province proposed revoking or amending eight non-housing zoning orders and put 14 housing orders under 'enhanced monitoring' for 18 months. On April 9, 2024, Calandra made O. Reg. 165/24, which revoked six of them (Oro-Medonte, Brampton, Kingston, Markham 482/22 and two in McNab/Braeside). He amended the Pickering order and decided not to revoke Markham O. Reg. 599/21. In December 2024 the Auditor General found that 'The Ministry has not defined what constitutes sufficient progress, or the timeline that such progress needs to be achieved.' The enhanced-monitoring notice was 'reposted on March 31, 2026 to tell the public that the proposal remains open,' and no decision has been posted on those 14 orders.

What happened · Dec 3, 2024

The Auditor General found the relocation's estimated cost had risen $397 million (47%) to $1.444 billion by November 2023, but said the cost of staying would also have risen, without giving a figure.

The March 2023 business case put the cost of staying at Don Mills at $1.304 billion and the cost of moving to Ontario Place at $1.047 billion (both 50-year net present value), a gap of $257 million. On December 3, 2024 the Auditor General reported that 'As of November 2023, based on the latest available cost information, the total cost estimate for building and maintaining the new OSC at Ontario Place increased by $397 million (or 47%)... If these costs are added to the $1.047 billion above, the total is now $1.444 billion.' The Auditor added that 'costs of rehabilitating and remediating the existing OSC site would also have increased', without giving a figure. In February 2026 the province signed a fixed-price $1.04 billion contract to design, build, finance and maintain the new building, which is a different basis from the 50-year estimate.

What happened · Jan 1, 2026

Since January 1, 2026, the Employment Standards Act has required employers to include expected pay or a pay range in publicly advertised job postings.

On November 6, 2023, Piccini announced legislation requiring expected salary ranges in job postings and disclosure of AI use in hiring. It was enacted as the Working for Workers Four Act, 2024 (Bill 149), which added Part III.1 to the Employment Standards Act. Section 8.2 requires postings to state expected pay or a range. Ontario Regulation 476/24 set the start date as January 1, 2026, and limited the rules to employers with 25 or more employees. A posted range can be no wider than $50,000, and the pay requirement does not apply to jobs paying over $200,000.

What happened · Aug 24, 2026

A September 2024 ministry briefing note said no decision had been made on reimbursement and the ministry had not asked municipalities for their costs; Guelph and Wellington County, both covered by the statement, told CBC in August 2026 they had not been reimbursed.

Calandra's October 23, 2023 statement reversed provincial changes to the official plans of 12 municipalities, including Guelph and Wellington County, and pledged help with the resulting planning and staffing costs. A briefing note obtained by CBC News through freedom of information says that, on Calandra's direction about five months later, 'the ministry has not done any proactive outreach to municipalities to solicit cost submissions' and that 'no decision has been made on reimbursement.' In August 2026 Guelph and Wellington County confirmed to CBC they had not been reimbursed; Guelph put its cost at nearly $64,000. Pickering, Durham Region and Grimsby, whose separate claims relate to the Greenbelt removals, also say they have not been paid. The province did not respond to CBC's request for comment.

Who was hurt

• City of Pickering · $360,000 requested (city's figure)

  Told CBC and CTV it has not been reimbursed by the province for staff, legal and consulting costs it incurred because of the Greenbelt removals and their reversal, after the housing minister's October 2023 pledge to help municipalities with such costs. The city said it had requested about $360,000.

  Source: 5 Ontario communities still waiting for reimbursement after Greenbelt scandal — CBC Toronto (Aug 24, 2026), Several municipalities say Ontario hasn't paid them for Greenbelt-related expenses — CTV News (Aug 2026)

• City of Guelph

  Confirmed to CBC and CTV that it has not been reimbursed by the province for costs from the Greenbelt and official-plan reversals, despite the housing minister's October 2023 pledge of help with planning and staffing costs.

  Source: 5 Ontario communities still waiting for reimbursement after Greenbelt scandal — CBC Toronto (Aug 24, 2026), Several municipalities say Ontario hasn't paid them for Greenbelt-related expenses — CTV News (Aug 2026)

• Regional Municipality of Durham

  Confirmed to CBC and CTV that it has not been reimbursed by the province for costs tied to the Greenbelt removals and their reversal, which the province's own briefing note listed among municipal claims.

  Source: 5 Ontario communities still waiting for reimbursement after Greenbelt scandal — CBC Toronto (Aug 24, 2026), Several municipalities say Ontario hasn't paid them for Greenbelt-related expenses — CTV News (Aug 2026)

• Town of Grimsby

  Confirmed to CBC that it has not been reimbursed by the province for costs tied to the Greenbelt removals and their reversal, which the province's own briefing note listed among municipal claims.

  Source: 5 Ontario communities still waiting for reimbursement after Greenbelt scandal — CBC Toronto (Aug 24, 2026)

• Wellington County

  Confirmed to CBC that it has not been reimbursed by the province for costs tied to the official-plan reversals covered by the housing minister's October 2023 statement.

  Source: 5 Ontario communities still waiting for reimbursement after Greenbelt scandal — CBC Toronto (Aug 24, 2026)

What happened · Aug 28, 2026

The 2023 act that restored the lands added immunity provisions that wiped out related claims, the Court of Appeal upheld them on August 28, 2026, and no compensation payment has been reported.

The Greenbelt Statute Law Amendment Act, 2023 (Royal Assent December 6, 2023) 'strengthens immunity provisions', according to the ministry's decision notice. It also ended the province's 2022 settlement with Minotar Holdings. The Superior Court dismissed Minotar's constitutional challenge in March 2025. On August 28, 2026, the Court of Appeal dismissed the appeal 2-1. Minotar filed a separate claim in November 2025 seeking $300 million for breach of contract, and that claim has not been decided.

What happened · Oct 26, 2023

The government never called its own motion for debate or a vote, and the government House leader told the House on October 26, 2023 he had "no intention of moving forward beyond that."

On August 30, 2023, Integrity Commissioner J. David Wake found that Steve Clark contravened sections 2 and 3(2) of the Members' Integrity Act, 1994 and recommended that the Assembly reprimand him. On September 25, 2023, Government House Leader Paul Calandra filed a motion to approve that recommendation and the same day sought unanimous consent to put it to a vote without debate or amendment, which was refused. On October 26, 2023, asked when the motion would be debated, Calandra said that because Clark had accepted responsibility and resigned, he had "no intention of moving forward beyond that." The motion was still listed on the Orders and Notices Paper, never debated or voted on, as of December 5, 2024.

What happened · Dec 6, 2023

The Greenbelt Statute Law Amendment Act, 2023 put all 15 removed sites back in the Greenbelt and made future boundary changes require an act of the legislature, and e-Laws shows no amendment to the Greenbelt Act since.

Calandra introduced Bill 136 on October 16, 2023, and it received Royal Assent on December 6, 2023. The ministry's decision notice says the act 'restore[s] the 15 areas of land that were redesignated or removed from the Greenbelt in December 2022' and 'ensures that any future changes to the Greenbelt boundary can only be made through legislation.' The Greenbelt Act, 2005 on e-Laws lists no amendment after the 2023 act (checked October 2026).

What happened · Jun 24, 2025

On June 24, 2025 the government announced a five-storey, above-ground parking structure on the waterfront in place of the underground facility.

Surma's September 14, 2023 statement presented an underground public parking facility as part of the updated plan; CTV reported in April 2023 that the plan was a five-storey underground garage, which Ford said the province would own. The Auditor General's December 3, 2024 report listed a five-level below-grade garage at the new Science Centre site at more than $1.3 billion. On June 24, 2025 the Premier's Office announced a publicly owned, above-ground structure of up to 3,500 spaces at the existing surface lot south of Lake Shore Boulevard. On June 11, 2026 the province awarded Pomerleau a $198 million contract for an 'open-to-air, above-ground, five-storey' garage.

Who benefited

• Pomerleau Inc. · $198 million fixed-price design-build contract

  Awarded a fixed-price $198 million contract by Infrastructure Ontario and the tourism ministry to design and build the five-storey, above-ground Ontario Place parking structure that replaced the promised underground facility.

  Source: Contract Awarded for Ontario Place Redevelopment Parking Structure — Infrastructure Ontario, Ford government signs $200M contract to build 5-storey parking garage at Ontario Place — Global News (June 2026)

• Arcadis Professional Services (Canada) Inc.

  Named by Infrastructure Ontario as design lead on the Pomerleau team that won the $198 million Ontario Place parking structure contract.

  Source: Contract Awarded for Ontario Place Redevelopment Parking Structure — Infrastructure Ontario, Contract awarded for Ontario Place parking garage — Ontario Construction Report (Jun 18, 2026)

What happened · Dec 10, 2025

The Auditor General reported in December 2025 that the review had made "little or no progress" with no planned course of action or target date, and the Integrity Commissioner called the reviews "long overdue" in July 2026.

The Premier's Office accepted the Auditor General's Recommendation 15 in the August 9, 2023 Greenbelt report and committed to a review of all three ethics and lobbying statutes at an independent legislative committee. On September 6, 2023, the Attorney General's office said the government would review lobbying legislation "in the coming weeks" and that the Premier had recommended increased penalties "up to and including jail time." In her follow-up report released December 10, 2025, the Auditor General rated Recommendation 15 "Little or no progress," reporting that as of July 2025 the government "continues to consider" a review and had no planned course of action or target date. In her 2025-2026 annual report (July 2026), Integrity Commissioner Cathryn Motherwell again called for reviews of the three acts, saying they "are long overdue"; the Lobbyists Registration Act's offence penalties remain fines of up to $25,000 for a first offence and $100,000 for subsequent offences, with no jail term.

What happened · Aug 20, 2024

The final Provincial Planning Statement, 2024 dropped the 2023 draft's plan for up to three new residential lots per farm parcel. It keeps the older single-lot rule for a residence surplus to a farm operation.

The April 2023 draft Provincial Planning Statement would have allowed up to three new residential lots to be severed from each farm parcel in prime agricultural areas. Farm groups opposed it, and in late May 2023 the government backed off. Flack, then parliamentary assistant to the agriculture minister, told the legislature on June 1, 2023 that severances were "off the table". In July 2023, Minister Lisa Thompson told farm groups the policy would be removed from the final document. The final Provincial Planning Statement, 2024 was released on August 20, 2024 and took effect on October 20, 2024. Under policy 4.3.3, lot creation in prime agricultural areas is "discouraged". It is allowed only for agricultural uses, agriculture-related uses, infrastructure, and "one new residential lot per farm consolidation for a residence surplus to an agricultural operation". There is no three-lot severance.

What happened · Dec 13, 2023

The government abandoned the dissolution before the Jan. 1, 2025 date and later amended the law to remove it.

Bill 112, the Hazel McCallion Act (Peel Dissolution), 2023, received Royal Assent on June 8, 2023 and set Jan. 1, 2025 as the date Peel Region would be dissolved. On Dec. 13, 2023, Clark's successor as housing minister, Paul Calandra, announced the province would no longer dissolve the region. He said municipal leaders had made it clear that full dissolution would bring significant tax hikes and disrupt critical services. Bill 185, the Cutting Red Tape to Build More Homes Act, 2024, received Royal Assent on June 6, 2024. It amended the act, renamed it the Hazel McCallion Act (Peel Restructuring), and limited the transition board to recommending transfers of specific services such as land-use planning, water and roads.

Who was hurt

• Region of Peel · $4.4 million in costs (as of May 2024)

  The Region of Peel says it spent $2.7 million dealing with the fallout of the abandoned dissolution and was billed about $1.5 million by the provincially appointed Transition Board. FOI briefing notes reported by Global News say it could not borrow in 2023 or 2024 because of uncertainty over the restructuring, and about 300 staff, including the treasurer, left after the announcement. The sources do not say whether the province ultimately reimbursed it.

  Source: Peel Region split costs grow to $4.4M as council demands reimbursement — Global News (May 9, 2024), Province suggest it will cover bill to Region of Peel for work on dissolving the upper-tier government — The Pointer (Jun 29, 2024), Peel Region paused borrowing because of 'perceived uncertainty' from Ontario policies — Global News (Jun 19, 2025)

What happened · Sep 10, 2026

On September 10, 2026 the Ontario Science Centre laid off about 30 workers, including its entire science department.

After the Don Mills site closed in June 2024, contractor food-service and cleaning staff were laid off. On September 12, 2024 Ford said of the cleaners, 'We'll find jobs for those people within the system'; in November 2024 the head of OPSEU Local 549 said that never happened. On September 10, 2026 the Science Centre laid off 30 workers, including the entire science department (OPSEU later put the number at 31: 27 permanent and four contract roles). The Tourism minister's office said 'New roles will be available for some of the impacted individuals' at the interim and permanent sites. OPSEU said only one of the 30 had been offered another permanent public-service job, and that the cuts took the unionized workforce from 166 to 136.

What happened · Dec 3, 2024

The province says it is putting no capital or operating money into Therme's facility, but the Auditor General found more than $20 million in provincial contributions to Therme's shoreline and public realm, which Ford's stated exceptions do not cover.

On October 3, 2024 the province said that under the lease it 'has not provided or committed to any operational subsidy or capital contributions to the Therme Canada facility'. Infrastructure Ontario's briefing that day said the province was on the hook for up to $25 million in site-readiness obligations such as flood mitigation and shoreline repair (CBC). The Auditor General's December 3, 2024 report itemized provincial costs that include a 'Government contribution to Therme shoreline and Therme public realm' of more than $20 million and more than $25 million to relocate a Therme-impacted combined sewer overflow (CSO-1). These come on top of parking and site servicing. The report put total projected provincial costs for the redevelopment at $2.237 billion, much of it for the Science Centre, public realm and site servicing.

Who benefited

• Therme Group · >$20M provincial contribution to Therme shoreline and public realm (Auditor General)

  The Auditor General's 2024 Ontario Place report lists a provincial 'Government contribution to Therme shoreline and Therme public realm' of more than $20 million, plus more than $25 million for the Therme-impacted CSO-1 work, and notes the lease places no obligation on Therme to make any capital investment. CBC independently reports the province must supply 1,800 parking spaces and is on the hook for up to $25 million in site-readiness costs.

  Source: Ontario Place Redevelopment — Auditor General of Ontario (2024 Annual Report), Province reveals details of multi-million dollar, 95-year Therme lease at Ontario Place — CBC Toronto (Oct 3, 2024)

What happened · Jun 21, 2024

The province had the Science Centre closed with less than two hours' notice on June 21, 2024, years before any replacement was built, after an engineering report that did not itself recommend full closure.

On June 21, 2024 the province announced the Ontario Science Centre would close immediately, citing an engineering report on its RAAC roof panels; the Ministry of Infrastructure urged the centre's board to shut it, and the board did. The report rated 2-6% of roof panels high-risk and safe only until Oct. 31, 2024, and did not specifically recommend closing the building; the province put roof repairs at $22-40 million. In December 2024 the Auditor General reported the new Ontario Place building is expected to open in 2029, and that building and maintaining it would cost about $1.4 billion, more than the $1.3 billion estimate for keeping the old site. Ground was broken at Ontario Place on May 25, 2026.

What happened · Sep 21, 2026

Bill 97 passed in June 2023, but its tenant changes were left unproclaimed for three years, and the qualified-person report requirement Clark described was still not in force as of October 2026.

Clark announced the measures on April 5, 2023, and Bill 97 received Royal Assent on June 8, 2023. None of its Residential Tenancies Act amendments took effect in 2023. Order in Council 617/2026, made April 16, 2026, brought some of them into force: air-conditioning rights, doubled maximum fines and other changes on July 1, 2026. The right-of-first-refusal notice duties and longer filing window for renovicted tenants followed on September 21, 2026. The requirement that a renoviction notice come with a qualified person's report (Schedule 7, s. 2) and the related Board provision (s. 7) were still awaiting proclamation in e-Laws as of October 5, 2026.

What happened · Feb 26, 2024

One Fare launched fully funded by the province, but on February 26, 2024, about two months after the promised end-of-2023 launch.

Cho, then associate transportation minister, made the pledge about a week after the 2023 budget promised to expand co-fares. In November 2023, Global News reported the end-of-year target had been dropped internally after Metrolinx found the Presto software work would take months longer. In September 2023, Associate Minister Todd McCarthy publicly gave February 2024 as the target. Ford announced the finished program on February 5, 2024, and One Fare took effect February 26, 2024 for the TTC, GO Transit, Brampton Transit, Durham Region Transit, MiWay and York Region Transit. The province, through Metrolinx, reimburses agencies for lost fares. In December 2025 the government extended the program for two more years.

What happened · May 9, 2024

The TDSB confirmed that Metrolinx built the noise wall at Pape Avenue Junior Public School, and Metrolinx later posted a notice for its removal.

In a FAQ dated May 9, 2024, the Toronto District School Board said Metrolinx had changed its work in response to the school community's concerns, "including building the noise wall." Metrolinx posted a construction notice on August 28, 2025, saying crews would start removing the noise wall at the eastern edge of the school as early as September 15, 2025. The Toronto Star later reported that Ontario Line construction pushed the TDSB to relocate the school. MPP Peter Tabuns had asked the minister to hold Metrolinx to World Health Organization classroom noise standards. Mulroney answered that the province was following Ontario standards.

What happened · Jul 1, 2024

The income thresholds were raised and annual indexing began on July 1, 2024, as promised.

The release said the expanded program 'would begin in July 2024'. On July 1, 2024, the maximum GAINS payment rose from $83 to $87 a month for a single senior. The annual private-income limit to qualify rose from $1,992 to $4,176 for single seniors, and from $3,984 to $8,352 for couples. The government estimated this would make about 100,000 more seniors eligible. The benefit is now adjusted each July: the maximum is $92 a month for the 2026–27 benefit year, with an income limit of $4,416 for a single senior.

What happened · Sep 26, 2025

The planned 2024–25 surplus was dropped in the next budget, and the audited 2024–25 result was a deficit.

The 2023 budget projected surpluses of $0.2 billion in 2024–25 and $4.4 billion in 2025–26. The 2024 budget, tabled March 26, 2024, replaced the 2024–25 surplus with a projected $9.8 billion deficit. The 2024–25 Public Accounts, released September 26, 2025, recorded a $1.1 billion deficit. In its note on the 2026 budget, the Financial Accountability Office said the 2026 budget was the third in a row to push back the balanced-budget date. That date has moved from 2024–25 to 2026–27, then 2027–28, then 2028–29.

What happened · Dec 2, 2025

Insured procedures at private clinics are billed to OHIP, but the Auditor General found in December 2025 that limited oversight let patients be charged out of pocket, including for add-ons at cataract clinics without being told a free OHIP option existed.

Bill 60 (Your Health Act, 2023, 43rd Parliament) passed in May 2023, expanding OHIP-funded procedures at private community surgical and diagnostic centres; it bars clinics from refusing patients who pay with their OHIP card. The Auditor General's 2025 annual report (December 2, 2025) found 'limited oversight' leading to patients paying out of pocket, noted that 'patients are not always aware of what can and cannot be charged by a physician', and reported cases where physicians charged patients for optional or unnecessary add-ons such as upgraded lenses without telling them about their right to a basic cataract surgery entirely funded by OHIP. The province has since expanded the model to private hip and knee replacement clinics (December 2025).

What happened

The deadline is Dec. 31, 2026. In September 2026 the province was just under 60,000 spaces, and the education minister said it now aims to reach the target by March 31, 2027.

The Auditor General reported in October 2025 that 36,287 new spaces had been added by Dec. 31, 2024, measured from March 2019. That was about 75 per cent of the ministry's own target of 48,127 for that date. In December 2025 the federal government said Ontario reported about 41,000 net new spaces as of June 2025. On Sept. 29, 2026, CBC reported the province was 'just shy of 60,000.' Education Minister Paul Calandra said the province now aims to meet the target by March 31 instead of the end of 2026. The CWELCC agreement's interim milestone was 76,700 new spaces by March 31, 2026.

What happened · May 8, 2025

The 2028 date has not passed, but the government has since said the first reactor will finish construction at the end of 2029 and come online in 2030.

On May 8, 2025, Energy Minister Stephen Lecce approved OPG's plan to start building the first of four BWRX-300 reactors at Darlington. CBC reported that day a total project cost of $20.9 billion, $7.7 billion for the first unit (including $1.6 billion of shared infrastructure), and a timeline to finish the first reactor by the end of 2029 and connect it to the grid in 2030. An Ontario release on October 23, 2025 said construction began in May 2025, 'with the SMR expected to come online in 2030.'

What happened · Jun 6, 2024

The province cancelled the audits meant to measure losses and never paid dollar-for-dollar compensation; in 2024 it reversed part of the Bill 23 fee cuts, which municipalities said helped but did not make them whole.

Clark's November 30, 2022 letter promised audits of select municipalities and said there should be no infrastructure funding shortfall 'provided municipalities achieve and exceed their housing pledge levels and growth targets.' Audits of six municipalities began in summer 2023, but the province cancelled them without releasing the results and refused a freedom-of-information request for them. Bill 185 (Royal Assent June 6, 2024) eliminated Bill 23's five-year phase-in of development charge rates and restored studies as chargeable costs. Mississauga, Newmarket and Peel Region told Global News in May 2024 that the changes did not fully make them whole. Housing Minister Paul Calandra cited the $1.8-billion infrastructure fund and the $1.2-billion Building Faster Fund as addressing municipal needs.

What happened · Nov 14, 2022

CUPE ended its walkout and the legislature passed Bill 35 on November 14, 2022, repealing Bill 28 and deeming it never to have been in force.

Bill 28, the Keeping Students in Class Act, passed on November 3, 2022. It imposed a four-year contract on 55,000 CUPE education workers, banned their strike and used the notwithstanding clause to shield the law from Charter challenge. On November 7, after workers walked out anyway, Ford offered to repeal it if CUPE ended the strike, and the union returned to work the next day. On November 14, 2022, the government tabled and passed Bill 35, which repealed Bill 28 retroactively and deemed it never to have been in force.

What happened · Dec 31, 2031

The deadline is 2031, but the province missed its own annual targets in 2024 and 2025, and internal ministry notes from fall 2024 say '1.5 million homes not reach target'.

The province set interim annual targets of 110,000 (2023), 125,000 (2024), 150,000 (2025) and 175,000 a year from 2026. It met 2023 only after counting long-term care beds, reached 94,908 of 125,000 in 2024 by its own tracker, and, per a briefing note obtained by Global News, 86,760 of 150,000 (58%) in 2025, even after counting basement suites, long-term care beds, retirement suites and student beds. Handwritten housing ministry notes from October–December 2024, obtained by Global News in June 2026, read '1.5 million homes not reach target'. Finance Minister Peter Bethlenfalvy has called the goal a 'soft target'.

What happened · Jul 18, 2023

No construction started in 2022. The $3.6-billion contract was awarded in February 2023, and the official groundbreaking that began construction was on July 18, 2023.

Ford's May 20, 2022 campaign release promised shovels in the ground 'this year'. It also said the 469-bed hospital was 'expected to start construction in Fall 2022.' In February 2023, EllisDon Infrastructure Healthcare won the $3.6-billion contract to design, build, finance and maintain it. On July 18, 2023, Ford, Health Minister Sylvia Jones and Infrastructure Minister Kinga Surma broke ground. Niagara Health said the groundbreaking 'officially marks the beginning of construction', about seven months after the end of the year Ford named. The hospital is being built, and Niagara Health expects it to open in 2028.

What happened · Sep 9, 2025

One of the five lines was finished in late 2024, a year early, and a second is under construction for 2028. The other three are still in planning, with dates from 2030 to 2032 or none set.

On May 13, 2022, Ford's campaign promised $1 billion for five new transmission lines to Windsor and southwestern Ontario, and promised to fast-track them. Cabinet had already declared three of the lines priority projects on March 31, 2022, before the campaign. The government's April 4, 2022 release said the five projects would be 'developed in phases through 2030.' The first, the 49-km Chatham to Lakeshore line (estimated $237 million), was finished a year ahead of schedule, and the province celebrated its completion on January 13, 2025. Hydro One called it 'the first of five new transmission lines in southwest Ontario.' The second, the $471.9-million St. Clair line from Lambton to Chatham, broke ground in September 2025 and is due in 2028. Hydro One expects the first Longwood to Lakeshore 500-kV line in 2030. The second Longwood line has no in-service date. The Windsor to Lakeshore line is in environmental assessment for 2032, after the government's own 2030 horizon. As of October 2026, one line is in service and one is under construction.

What happened · Oct 13, 2023

GO train service to London ended on October 13, 2023 and had not returned as of September 2026, so there is no London–Toronto GO service to make faster or more frequent.

On May 12, 2022, Ford's campaign promised an extra $160 million to improve the speed and frequency of GO trains between London and Toronto. At the time, the London pilot ran one weekday round trip of about four hours. In June 2023, Metrolinx confirmed that the London pilot would end on October 13, 2023, because its arrangement with CN and VIA Rail to use their tracks and stations was ending. In January 2024, CBC asked about the $160 million promise. The premier's office referred the question to the transportation minister's press secretary, whose reply did not address it. On July 6, 2026, GO service was extended west to Stratford, with one daily round trip, but not to London. In September 2026, the transit group TriTAG wrote that the London pilot had been discontinued in 2023 and that southwestern Ontario had not been included in GO expansion plans.

What happened · Jul 1, 2023

ODSP core rates rose 5% in September 2022 and have been raised every July since 2023 under an inflation-indexing formula.

The re-elected government raised ODSP income support by 5% starting September 2022 (from $1,169 to about $1,227 a month for a single person). Indexing was put in place by regulation (O. Reg. 2/23, amending O. Reg. 222/98), which adjusts basic needs and shelter amounts each July 1 using Ontario CPI. Increases followed in July 2023 (6.5%), July 2024 (4.5%), July 2025 (2.8%) and July 2026 (1.9%); the province says rates are up more than 22% since September 2022. Indexing applies to core rates only. Allowances such as the Special Diet Allowance were not indexed. Ontario Works rates got neither the increase nor indexing.

What happened · Mar 2, 2023

The province's $73.8 million over eight years for the Highway 101 Connecting Link is paying for the rebuild, which the city moved up to finish in 2030.

On May 8, 2022, Ford promised in Timmins that a re-elected PC government would invest $74 million to rebuild the 21.4-km stretch of Highway 101 through the city. The money was first announced in the April 28, 2022 budget. In March 2023, Timmins council heard that the provincial funding, $73.8 million over eight years, had let the city move the project's finish date up from 2033 to 2030. In March 2025, council awarded a $21.7-million contract to rebuild Segment 13, from Crawford Street to the Porcupine River bridge, and CTV reported that the full project is expected to be done by 2030. The money is committed and the work is under way. The rebuild itself is not finished.

What happened

Construction began in January 2026 with no completion date. The government's own service plan is a train every 30 minutes at peak and every hour off-peak, not every 15 minutes.

On May 6, 2022, Ford's campaign promised $730 million for 'two-way, all-day 15-minute' GO train service to Bowmanville, with four new stations east of Oshawa. The province broke ground on the extension on January 27, 2026. Its release that day said the line will run from Durham College Oshawa GO to Bowmanville GO, 'offering service every half hour during peak periods, hourly during off-peak periods and every two hours on weekends.' Metrolinx's project page describes the same service. The four stations, at Thornton's Corners East, Ritson Road, Courtice and Bowmanville, are still planned. In May 2026, Metrolinx told Clarington council that work on the Green Road rail bridge was starting, and Durham Region News reported that there was still no final completion date. No trains run to Bowmanville yet, so the promise is not yet due. But the published plan runs trains half as often at peak, and a quarter as often off-peak, as Ford promised.

What happened

The 2028 deadline has not arrived. The government's own figures show it is far behind the pace its 2022 budget projected.

The 2022 budget included a chart projecting cumulative new long-term care beds opening: 13,075 by 2024, 24,399 by 2025, 30,549 by 2026 and 31,705 by 2028. The Ministry of Long-Term Care's 2025–26 published plan reported that 322 net new beds opened between April 1, 2024 and March 31, 2025. It counted 13,052 net new beds as 'opened, under construction or approved to construct' since 2018. That combines open beds with beds not yet built. CBC reported on November 6, 2025 that the fall economic statement showed nearly 6,700 beds built, with about 18,000 more in the pipeline. That is against the wider goal of 58,000 new or upgraded beds by 2028. CBC also reported that the Financial Accountability Office counted 79,212 long-term care beds in 2024–25 and projected an increase of only 4,276 beds by 2027–28 under the province's spending plans. Finance Minister Peter Bethlenfalvy said the province would 'not waver from achieving that goal.'

What happened · May 16, 2023

Applications for the Ontario Learn and Stay Grant opened on May 16, 2023, for the 2023–24 year, as promised for spring 2023.

On January 20, 2023, the government said applications for the 2023–24 year would open that spring, 'targeting 2,500 postsecondary students'. It also widened eligibility beyond nursing to paramedic and medical laboratory technology programs. Applications opened on May 16, 2023, with $61 million set aside. The grant pays tuition, books and other direct costs up front for students in eligible programs in northern, eastern and southwestern Ontario. In return, students commit to work in the region where they studied after graduating. Applications have reopened each year since, and the program now also has a medical education stream.

What happened · Aug 17, 2024

Neither ferry was in service in June 2022. The Wolfe Islander IV started full-time service on August 17, 2024, more than two years late. The Amherst Islander II made its first passenger crossing, a training trip, on July 2, 2024.

The 2022 budget said the Wolfe Islander IV and Amherst Islander II, which arrived in Canada in September 2021, were 'expected to be in service in late June 2022.' Kingstonist reported that start dates were pushed back repeatedly. The Wolfe Islander IV began full-time service on August 17, 2024, more than 1,000 days after it arrived in Kingston. It sailed from the old Dawson Point dock because the new Marysville terminal was not ready. The Amherst Islander II made its first trip with passengers on July 2, 2024. Loyalist Township's deputy mayor described that trip as 'the beginning of another phase of training'. Since entering service, the Wolfe Islander IV has been out of service for long stretches. CTV reported hull damage in 2024 and electrical problems in 2025. An electrical failure in December 2025 knocked out half its power and steering and kept it off the route until August 31, 2026. CBC reported that it has spent 'more time damaged, undergoing repairs, or docked than it has transporting people' in its roughly two years of official service. While it was out, the 50-year-old diesel Wolfe Islander III covered the route.

What happened · Sep 3, 2025

Toronto Metropolitan University's School of Medicine opened in Brampton in 2025: postgraduate residents in July, and the first class of 94 MD students in September.

On September 3, 2025, the province announced it had opened the new medical school at Toronto Metropolitan University's Brampton campus, built with nearly $180 million in provincial money. The province said 176 students would start that fall. TMU says its first MD class has 94 students, chosen from more than 6,400 applicants; postgraduate residents started in July 2025. At full capacity the school is to have 94 undergraduate seats per year and 117 postgraduate entry positions. CBC reported that workers were still finishing parts of the building as the first class arrived in September 2025. The second GTA school in the budget, the University of Toronto's Scarborough Academy of Medicine and Integrated Health, is not yet open. U of T said in 2022 it was 'scheduled to open in 2025'. Scarborough Health Network now says its first undergraduate MD cohort at UTSC will start in 2027.

What happened · Sep 8, 2022

Bill 2, the Plan to Build Act (Budget Measures), 2022, received Royal Assent on September 8, 2022. It raised the LIFT credit maximum from $850 to $875 and created the Ontario Seniors Care at Home Tax Credit, both from the 2022 tax year.

After the election, the government reintroduced the budget's tax measures as Bill 2 in August 2022, and it received Royal Assent on September 8, 2022. Bill 2 changed the Low-income Individuals and Families Tax (LIFT) Credit from the 2022 tax year: the most a person can deduct rose from $850 to $875. CityNews reported that it also raised the income limit for qualifying from $38,000 to $50,000. Bill 2 also created a refundable Ontario Seniors Care at Home Tax Credit worth up to $1,500 a year, based on eligible medical expenses. The '$300 on average' for 1.1 million workers was the government's own estimate, and no later figure confirming it was found.

What happened · Jul 1, 2022

The 5.7-cent gas tax cut and the 5.3-cent fuel tax cut took effect on July 1, 2022. They were extended four times and made permanent from July 1, 2025.

Bill 111, the Tax Relief at the Pumps Act, 2022, received Royal Assent on April 14, 2022. It cut the gasoline tax by 5.7 cents a litre and the diesel fuel tax by 5.3 cents for July 1 to December 31, 2022. The cuts took effect on July 1, 2022, which left Ontario's rate at 9 cents a litre. The government extended the cut four times. The 2025 budget then introduced legislation to keep the rate at 9 cents permanently, effective July 1, 2025. The province estimated the temporary cuts saved households and businesses $1.7 billion through June 2025. It now says the cut has saved households an average of $435 since 2022.

What happened · Nov 26, 2025

The WSIB moved its head office into the former 3M building at 300 Tartan Drive in London in June 2025. About 500 people worked there by November 2025.

On September 28, 2023, the government and the WSIB named the former 3M office at 300 Tartan Drive in London as the new head office, bought for $21 million. They said it would open in 2025 with at least 500 workers, save the WSIB $70 million a year, and generate at least 2,000 jobs in the London area over five years. The London Free Press reported the move meant a net gain of only about 100 jobs for London at first: about 400 WSIB workers were moving from the downtown London office. According to that report, the 2,000 figure referred to 'spin-off jobs in support industries'. CTV News reported on November 26, 2025 that the WSIB had been in the building since June, with close to 500 people working there, half of them relocated from offices around the province. WSIB CEO Jeffery Lang said up to 1,000 people are eventually expected there.

What happened · Jan 27, 2026

In January 2026 the Ministry of the Solicitor General said it plans for the Thunder Bay Jail and the Thunder Bay Correctional Centre to keep operating after the new complex opens.

In April 2022, when Sylvia Jones announced the $1.2-billion complex, the government said it would replace the century-old Thunder Bay District Jail (built in 1926) and the Thunder Bay Correctional Centre. In January 2026, staff were told both old facilities would stay open, to deal with overcrowding. A ministry spokesperson confirmed to CBC News that 'the ministry is planning for [the] Thunder Bay Jail and Thunder Bay Correctional Centre to continue to operate after the new correctional complex is open.' Later CBC coverage says the jail will stay open for at least another five years. Later in 2026, days after the coroner's inquest into Kevin Mamakwa's 2020 death at the old jail, Ford called the new facility a 'fancy-dancey jail' and asked whether the old one should be renovated 'because we need more cells.' The separate target of finishing construction by fall 2026 is not judged here: as of October 2026, the union expects substantial completion around November 23, 2026, with inmates moving in by about June 2027.

What happened · Sep 29, 2026

Ontario raised the wage floor for registered early childhood educators in the $10-a-day system to $23.86 an hour in January 2024 and $25.86 by 2026, above the agreement's schedule ($18 in 2022 rising to $21 in 2025), and kept paying the $1-an-hour annual raises.

Under the 2022 agreement, Ontario committed to a wage floor of $18 an hour for registered early childhood educators (RECEs) in 2022, rising $1 a year to $21 in 2025, plus $1-an-hour annual raises up to $25 an hour. In November 2023, Education Minister Stephen Lecce raised the floor to $23.86 an hour from January 2024, instead of the planned $20, and promised another $1 a year through 2026. CBC reported on September 29, 2026 that the current wage floor is $25.86. The annual raise has also continued: an eligible RECE could get up to $4 an hour more in 2026, with the ceiling lifted to $28. Ontario met and beat its wage commitment. The commitment only covers RECEs in centres that joined the national program, not all child care staff.

What happened · Nov 10, 2025

Average fees were held at about $19 a day; in November 2025 Education Minister Paul Calandra said the new extension 'doesn't bring us down to $10 on average'.

Fees fell in stages and, from January 1, 2025, were capped at $22 a day, an average of about $19 a day. The September 2025 date passed without the $10 average being reached. On November 10, 2025 Ontario and Ottawa signed a one-year extension with $695 million in new federal money, which Calandra said would hold fees at $19 on average but not lower them. A four-year extension announced September 29, 2026 commits Ontario only to keep average fees at $19 a day until June 30, 2027, and sets no new date for $10.

What happened · Jul 1, 2025

The Digital Platform Workers' Rights Act, 2022 came into force on July 1, 2025, entitling ride-share, delivery and courier platform workers to the general minimum wage for each work assignment, excluding tips.

The minimum wage guarantee was part of the Working for Workers Act, 2022 (Bill 88), which received royal assent in April 2022. The government did not bring it into force then. It proclaimed the act on September 5, 2024, and the act took effect on July 1, 2025, more than three years after it passed. The minimum wage covers only engaged time, from accepting an assignment to completing it, not time spent waiting between assignments. CityNews reported that limit on the day the bill was announced.

What happened · Apr 28, 2022

Renewal fees for passenger vehicles, light trucks, motorcycles and mopeds ended on March 13, 2022, and refund cheques went out from late March through April 2022, as promised.

Bill 84 (the Fewer Fees, Better Services Act, 2022) passed on March 3, 2022 and gave the minister power to refund validation fees paid from March 1, 2020. Fees ended on March 13, 2022, and the April 28, 2022 budget confirmed cheques were mailed from the end of March through April. Owners with unpaid fines or tolls got no cheque until they paid (the offer ran until March 13, 2024), and business-owned vehicles got no refund. The budget shows vehicle and driver registration fee revenue falling from $1.95 billion in 2020-21 to $80 million in 2021-22 because of the elimination and rebate. Announced about 14 weeks before the June 2, 2022 election, it drew Green leader Mike Schreiner's label of a "billion-dollar election boondoggle".

What happened · Dec 22, 2022

An internal ministry progress report obtained by Global News shows 3,304 children enrolled and only 1,511 with funding agreements by Oct. 31, 2022; the ministry instead said it had met a target of 'registering' 8,000 children.

In August 2022 officials told The Canadian Press that about 888 children were in core clinical services, and the minister's office then stopped publishing the count. On Dec. 22, 2022 The Canadian Press reported the government had missed the target. Fullerton's spokesperson said the ministry had met 'our target of registering 8,000 children and youth in core clinical services' but did not say how many had funding. An internal progress report dated Oct. 31, 2022, released to Global News under freedom of information (reported Feb. 5, 2023), showed 3,304 children enrolled and 1,511 funding agreements, about 19 per cent of the 8,000 target. FOI data reported by The Trillium in March 2024 shows the ministry reached 8,000 children with funding sometime between January and June 2023.

What happened · Oct 31, 2024

On March 30, 2022, Ontario awarded the Section 1 construction contract, with work expected to begin that spring. The province says it finished twinning the 6.5-km first section in October 2024.

On March 30, 2022, the province awarded Moncrief Construction a contract worth about $31.7 million (MTO project 2021-6052) to twin the 6.5-km first section of Highway 17, from the Manitoba border to Highway 673. The government said construction was expected to begin that spring and finish by summer 2025. Moncrief lists the project as completed in fall 2024, and the province says it finished this first phase in October 2024, ahead of the contract's summer-2025 date. The other roughly 33 km to Kenora (Sections 2 and 3) is not built. As of April 2026, Section 2 was still in environmental assessment and preliminary design, with no construction timeline.

Who benefited

• Moncrief Construction · About $31.7 million

  Awarded the Section 1 construction contract (Manitoba border to Highway 673, 6.5 km) to twin Highway 17 on March 30, 2022. TBNewsWatch, citing the company, put the contract at roughly $31.7 million; Moncrief's own project page lists the work (MTO project 2021-6052) as completed in fall 2024.

  Source: Highway 17 twinning project hits 'milestone' as contract awarded — TBNewsWatch (Mar 30, 2022), Contract Awarded for Widening Highway 17: First Stage Manitoba Border to Kenora — NetNewsLedger / Ontario release (Mar 30, 2022), Highway 17 Twinning: MB/ON Border to Gundy Road — Moncrief Construction

What happened · Dec 9, 2021

The credit was legislated in Bill 43 (Royal Assent December 9, 2021) and claimed on 2022 tax returns. The tourism ministry later said it paid about $180 million to just over 900,000 families, less than the $270 million and 1.5 million families first estimated.

The refundable credit was 20 per cent of eligible 2022 Ontario accommodation costs, up to $200 for an individual and $400 for a family. It was enacted through the Build Ontario Act (Budget Measures), 2021, which received Royal Assent on December 9, 2021. On March 10, 2022, the government confirmed that stays from January 1 to December 31, 2022 qualified and that residents would claim the credit on their 2022 returns. In March 2025, a tourism ministry spokesperson told CBC the credit "provided about $180 million to just over 900,000 families". That was about two-thirds of the $270 million estimate and fewer families than projected. The credit was temporary as announced and was not renewed after 2022, despite industry requests in 2025.

What happened · Jan 1, 2022

The general minimum wage rose from $14.35 to $15.00 an hour on January 1, 2022, and the lower rate for liquor servers was eliminated.

On November 2, 2021, Ford announced the general minimum wage would rise to $15 an hour on January 1, 2022, and that liquor servers would get the same rate instead of $12.55. Bill 43, the Build Ontario Act (Budget Measures), 2021, wrote the $15.00 rate into the Employment Standards Act and added an inflation adjustment every October 1 from 2022 on. The increase took effect on January 1, 2022. Under that indexing, the wage rose to $17.60 on October 1, 2025.

What happened · Nov 26, 2024

The end-of-2023 target passed with the COVID backlog still about half uncleared: Downey told the legislature in November 2024 that it had been reduced by 48%.

The Attorney General's ministry set itself the goal 'to reduce the volume of outstanding criminal cases to pre-pandemic levels by the end of 2023' (2022-23 published plan). Its 2024-25 published plan says that in 2023-24 'unprecedented case volumes and continuing impacts from the COVID-19 pandemic continued to present capacity challenges' for the courts. In May 2024 the province funded at least 25 more Ontario Court of Justice judges to 'address the existing backlog of criminal cases.' On Nov. 19, 2024 Downey told the legislature 'we have tackled a great amount of the COVID backlog in criminal cases—nearly 50%'. On Nov. 26, 2024 he said 'we have reduced the backlog through COVID by 48%.' No published pending-case count compares end-2023 with 2019.

What happened

The published Therme lease keeps the land in provincial ownership and rules out casinos and condos, but the redeveloped site is not open yet, so the free-access commitment cannot be judged.

On October 3, 2024 the province published its lease with Therme Canada: 75 years with a 20-year extension option, starting in 2025. The province said it 'will maintain ownership of the lands', and Global News reported that the deal does not allow a casino, shopping mall or condo towers. The West Island was leased rather than sold, but it is now committed to a private, paid-entry spa and waterpark for up to 95 years, with about 16 acres of free public space around it. As of the province's June 11, 2026 release, 'Ontario Place remains open to visitors and admission is free'. The government says the rebuilt site will offer free access 365 days a year once complete.

What happened · Dec 6, 2023

An environmental assessment was done for the public park but not for Therme's West Island lease area, and Bill 154 then exempted the redevelopment from the Environmental Assessment Act and the Ontario Heritage Act.

The province ran a Category C Public Work Class environmental assessment for the free public park. It concluded in November 2023 but left out the West Island, which the government treated as a private project. On November 27, 2023 the government tabled Bill 154, the New Deal for Toronto Act, 2023. Its Schedule 2, the Rebuilding Ontario Place Act, 2023, exempts the redevelopment (with certain exceptions) from the Environmental Assessment Act, disapplies the Ontario Heritage Act on scheduled lands and amends the Environmental Bill of Rights. The bill received Royal Assent on December 6, 2023. In a 2024 Divisional Court decision (2024 ONSC 3327), Ontario Place for All's judicial review seeking a site-wide assessment that included the West Island was quashed because the new Act made it plain and obvious the application could not succeed.

What happened · Sep 1, 2021

Seven weeks later the government announced a provincial proof-of-vaccination system, which took effect on September 22, 2021.

On September 1, 2021 Ford announced that from September 22 Ontarians would have to be fully vaccinated and show proof, with photo ID, to enter restaurants and bars, gyms, cinemas, theatres, sporting events, casinos and other indoor settings. The province added QR-code certificates and a verification app on October 22. The government cited the Delta-driven fourth wave. Ford said "There's no secret that I wasn't in favour of this" Officials said the system was meant to be temporary.

What happened · Oct 1, 2021

The province mandated vaccination for long-term care staff from November 2021, but Ford declined to mandate it for hospital workers.

Eleven weeks after Ford's pledge, Long-Term Care Minister Rod Phillips announced that long-term care staff, support workers, students and volunteers had to show proof of full vaccination, or a valid medical exemption, by November 15, 2021, or they could not enter a home to work. This replaced the earlier vaccinate-or-test policy. The deadline for full vaccination was later moved to December 13 to fit federal dose-interval advice, but a first dose was required from November 15. The province did not impose a mandate on hospital workers: on November 3, 2021 Ford said it would leave that decision to individual hospitals.

What happened · Apr 21, 2022

The temporary wage enhancement was made permanent by regulation from April 21, 2022, under a framework in the Pandemic and Emergency Preparedness Act, 2022 (Bill 106).

The $3 hourly increase began in October 2020 and was extended several times. On March 15, 2022 Ford said "We are going to make it permanent." The legislature passed Bill 106 on April 14, 2022. It included the Supporting Retention in Public Services Act, 2022, and the government budgeted $893 million in 2022-23 for the raise. The PSW and DSW Permanent Compensation Enhancement Program began on April 21, 2022. It pays $3 an hour in long-term care, home and community care and social services, and $2 an hour in public hospitals, about 158,000 workers in all. Unions said the raise fell short of fixing staffing problems.

What happened · Sep 3, 2025

The province-wide switch to producer-run recycling was completed by Dec. 31, 2025, but a September 2025 amendment removed the public-space expansion and deferred the new schools, apartments and long-term care service to 2031.

Communities moved their Blue Box programs to producers between July 1, 2023 and December 31, 2025, as scheduled, and Stewardship Ontario ceased operations on December 31, 2025. O. Reg. 210/25, made August 28 and filed September 3, 2025, removed the requirement for producers to expand collection in public spaces before it was due to start on January 1, 2026. It also deferred expanded collection to multi-residential buildings, schools and specified long-term care and retirement homes that had not had municipal service until 2031. The ministry said the public-space requirement could force bins 'where collection may not be cost effective.'

What happened · Apr 29, 2021

One week later the legislature passed the COVID-19 Putting Workers First Act, giving workers three paid COVID-related sick days at up to $200 a day, reimbursed to employers by the province.

Ford announced the program on April 22, 2021, after months of saying the federal Canada Recovery Sickness Benefit was enough. Bill 284 passed unanimously on April 29, 2021: three paid days at up to $200 a day, backdated to April 19 and originally set to end on September 25, 2021. The same day, the co-chair of Ontario's science advisory table answered 'No' when asked whether three days were enough, saying workers needed ten. The program was extended several times and ended on March 31, 2023. Ford's office said it would not be replaced and pointed instead to a planned portable health and dental benefits program.

What happened · Apr 30, 2021

Ontario passed 40% of adults with at least one dose on April 30 to May 1, 2021, about a week before the May 6 target.

Ford set the target when he announced the province's third state of emergency and 28-day stay-at-home order on April 7, 2021, with the order originally set to end on May 6. On April 30 Ford said 40% of Ontario adults would have received a first dose by the end of that day, a week ahead of schedule. The Star's vaccine tracker showed 41% of adults with at least one dose on May 1. The stay-at-home order itself was extended past May 6.

What happened · Apr 12, 2021

On April 12, 2021 Ford and Lecce moved all Ontario schools to remote learning after the April break, and in-person classes did not resume that school year.

Lecce repeated the commitment in a letter to parents on April 11. The next day the government announced that all publicly funded and private elementary and secondary schools would move to teacher-led remote learning from April 19, 2021, with no return date. It cited record case counts, variants of concern and rising ICU admissions. On June 2, 2021 Ford announced that schools would not reopen for in-person learning before September. Ontario students spent the rest of the 2020-21 school year learning remotely, apart from in-person support for some special-education students.

What happened · Apr 12, 2021

On April 12, 2021 Laurentian cut 69 programs during its court-supervised insolvency, and the Auditor General later found the program cuts affected the academic and career plans of about 932 students.

Laurentian University filed for creditor protection on February 1, 2021, the first time a public university in Canada had done so. A month later, Colleges and Universities Minister Ross Romano told students they should feel comfortable continuing their studies there and that they would not be affected. On April 12, 2021 Laurentian cut 69 programs (58 undergraduate and 11 graduate) and more than 100 faculty jobs. The university itself estimated that about 10 per cent of undergraduates and 44 graduate students would be affected. In November 2022, Auditor General Bonnie Lysyk reported that the program cuts affected the academic and career plans of an estimated 932 students, and blamed the collapse partly on weak ministry oversight.

What happened · Dec 6, 2023

Clark's ministry proposed removing about 7,400 acres from the Greenbelt in November 2022 and the removals took effect in December 2022; the government then put all 15 sites back by law on December 6, 2023.

On November 4, 2022, Clark announced a consultation on removing about 7,400 acres in 15 areas from the Greenbelt to build at least 50,000 homes. The removals took effect on December 14, 2022. After the Auditor General's and Integrity Commissioner's reports, the government restored all 15 sites through the Greenbelt Statute Law Amendment Act, 2023, which received Royal Assent on December 6, 2023.

Who benefited

• TACC (TACC Construction / TACC Developments, De Gasperis family)

  The Auditor General lists TACC Development Inc. as the housing developer for three sites removed from the Greenbelt in December 2022, together 58.27% of the removed area, including the 4,289-acre Duffins Rouge site. The Integrity Commissioner found TACC's president personally handed the housing minister's chief of staff a package for Cherrywood at a September 2022 developer dinner, and Cherrywood was then removed in full. The Auditor General cites an MPAC estimate of a $6.63 billion value increase for the Duffins Rouge site as a whole. The removals were reversed by statute in December 2023 and the government said it would not compensate developers, so the gain described here was potential and was not realized.

  Source: Special Report on Changes to the Greenbelt — Auditor General of Ontario (Aug 2023), Report Re Minister Clark — Integrity Commissioner of Ontario (Aug 30, 2023), Who are the GTA developers set to benefit from Ford government's Greenbelt land swap? — CBC Toronto (Nov 11, 2022)

• Silvio De Gasperis

  President and CEO of TACC Group. The Integrity Commissioner found he had long sought development of Cherrywood and personally brought the removal request to the housing minister's chief of staff; Cherrywood was removed in December 2022. The removals were reversed by statute in December 2023 and the government said it would not compensate developers, so the gain described here was potential and was not realized.

  Source: Report Re Minister Clark — Integrity Commissioner of Ontario (Aug 30, 2023), Special Report on Changes to the Greenbelt — Auditor General of Ontario (Aug 2023), This is how 2 Greenbelt deals went down, according to developers — CTV News / CP (Sept 2023)

• Rice Group

  The Auditor General lists Green Lane Bathurst Limited Partnership as the developer of the 655-acre Bathurst-King site removed from the Greenbelt (8.84% of the removed area). The Integrity Commissioner names the requestor as 'Green Lane Bathurst – Rice Group' and records that CEO Michael Rice gave the chief of staff a site package; CBC reported a company he controlled bought five parcels there for $80 million about two months before the removals were announced. The removals were reversed by statute in December 2023 and the government said it would not compensate developers, so the gain described here was potential and was not realized.

  Source: Special Report on Changes to the Greenbelt — Auditor General of Ontario (Aug 2023), Report Re Minister Clark — Integrity Commissioner of Ontario (Aug 30, 2023), Who are the GTA developers set to benefit from Ford government's Greenbelt land swap? — CBC Toronto (Nov 11, 2022)

• Fieldgate Developments

  The Auditor General lists Fieldgate Homes as the developer of the 1,809-acre Book Road site in Hamilton, 24.41% of all land removed from the Greenbelt and the second-largest removal. The Integrity Commissioner reports Fieldgate's president had been acquiring Book Road lands since about 2016. The removals were reversed by statute in December 2023 and the government said it would not compensate developers, so the gain described here was potential and was not realized.

  Source: Special Report on Changes to the Greenbelt — Auditor General of Ontario (Aug 2023), Report Re Minister Clark — Integrity Commissioner of Ontario (Aug 30, 2023)

• Flato Developments

  The Auditor General lists Flato Upper Markham Village Inc. (10.58 acres) and Torca Inc. / Flato Developments (12.81 acres) as developers of two removed sites, and the Integrity Commissioner's requestor list names Flato Developments Inc. for the 19th Avenue site. The removals were reversed by statute in December 2023 and the government said it would not compensate developers, so the gain described here was potential and was not realized.

  Source: Special Report on Changes to the Greenbelt — Auditor General of Ontario (Aug 2023), Report Re Minister Clark — Integrity Commissioner of Ontario (Aug 30, 2023), Who are the GTA developers set to benefit from Ford government's Greenbelt land swap? — CBC Toronto (Nov 11, 2022)

Who was hurt

• City of Pickering · $360,135 in costs, not reimbursed

  Pickering staff tallied $360,135 in direct and indirect costs from working on the Greenbelt removal plans, including about $90,000 in staff time, more than $178,000 for a Cherrywood financial-impact consultant and $90,000 in legal fees, and told the province its taxpayers were on the hook. CBC reported in August 2026 that it had not been reimbursed.

  Source: 2 municipalities ask Ontario government to compensate them for Greenbelt work — CBC / CP (Oct 22, 2023), 5 Ontario communities still waiting for reimbursement after Greenbelt scandal — CBC Toronto (Aug 24, 2026)

• Town of Grimsby · $82,000 in costs, not reimbursed

  Council unanimously asked the province to reimburse about $82,000 spent on legal, consulting and staff time 'as a direct result of the pressure placed upon the town by the provincial government' over the Greenbelt changes. CBC reported in August 2026 that it had still not been reimbursed.

  Source: 2 municipalities ask Ontario government to compensate them for Greenbelt work — CBC / CP (Oct 22, 2023), 5 Ontario communities still waiting for reimbursement after Greenbelt scandal — CBC Toronto (Aug 24, 2026)

• Regional Municipality of Durham · $322,000 in costs, not reimbursed

  An FOI briefing note reported by CBC says Durham Region incurred $322,000 in direct and indirect costs from the Greenbelt removals and their reversal, and the Region confirmed to CBC it has not been reimbursed.

  Source: 5 Ontario communities still waiting for reimbursement after Greenbelt scandal — CBC Toronto (Aug 24, 2026)

What happened · Mar 31, 2026

The government's own final annual report says the target was not reached. Exits to employment were 35,145 in 2024, below the 2019 baseline.

The 2025 annual report on the 2020–2025 Poverty Reduction Strategy, published March 31, 2026, states: 'While this target was not reached'. It blames the pandemic, inflation, slower growth and higher unemployment. Its indicator table shows 35,985 exits to employment in 2019 (baseline), 26,946 in 2020, 21,002 in 2021, 27,421 in 2022, 28,673 in 2023 and 35,145 in 2024, the target year. In 2025, after the target date, the count was 43,425. The Trillium reported the ministry gave no further explanation and would not say whether the goal will carry into the next strategy.

What happened · Aug 13, 2025

The legislated provincial average of four hours by March 31, 2025 was missed (3 hours 49 minutes, 95.5% of the goal, for 2024-25), but the government reported reaching 4 hours 5 minutes in April–June 2025.

The Fixing Long-Term Care Act, 2021 set yearly targets ending with a provincewide average of four hours of nurse and PSW care per resident per day by March 31, 2025. The first two interim targets were met, but the third-year target (3 hours 42 minutes) was missed, and for 2024-25 the ministry reported 95.5% of the four-hour goal (3 hours 49 minutes), a shortfall CBC/The Canadian Press reported on Aug. 13, 2025. On Oct. 16, 2025 the government said residents received an average of 4 hours 5 minutes of PSW and nursing care in the first quarter of 2025-26, so the target was reached a few months late. The figures are provincial averages, not a per-home or per-resident guarantee.

What happened · Oct 1, 2020

Bill 204 received Royal Assent on October 1, 2020 and froze most residential rents from January 1 to December 31, 2021.

On September 17, 2020, Ford and Clark introduced the Helping Tenants and Small Businesses Act, which would freeze rent in 2021 for most rent-controlled and non-rent-controlled units. The bill received Royal Assent on October 1, 2020. Rents did not rise for most RTA-covered units from January 1 to December 31, 2021, including units first occupied after November 15, 2018. Above-guideline increases approved for capital work were still allowed during the freeze.

What happened · Jun 22, 2022

The mandate came about two years later, with a June 22, 2022 deadline that 98 of 627 homes missed. Most homes complied afterward.

A year after the vow, CBC reported in June 2021 that the province still had not mandated air conditioning in residents' rooms. The rule came in under the Fixing Long-Term Care Act, 2021 and its regulation (O. Reg. 246/22), with a deadline of June 22, 2022. On June 24, 2022 the ministry said 529 of 627 homes were fully air-conditioned. By late August, 554 complied and two homes had been fined $1,100 each, and by October 2022 CBC reported that more than 90% of homes complied. Infrastructure Ontario later said that all but three homes, which had temporary exemptions, had air conditioning in every resident bedroom.

What happened · Nov 1, 2020

OEB rule changes in force October 13, 2020 let time-of-use customers switch to tiered prices, effective November 1, 2020, as promised.

After the June 1, 2020 announcement, the Ontario Energy Board consulted on how to let Regulated Price Plan customers opt out of time-of-use pricing. Its amendments to the Standard Supply Service Code came into force on October 13, 2020. From November 1, 2020, residential and small-business customers could choose tiered prices instead of time-of-use. The OEB now also offers an Ultra-Low Overnight plan.

What happened · Apr 30, 2021

The province's independent Long-Term Care COVID-19 Commission found Ontario had no plan to protect long-term care residents, and nearly all of the roughly 3,756 COVID-19 deaths among residents came after the pledge.

CBC reported in April 2021 that nearly all of the 3,756 COVID-19 deaths of long-term care residents to that point happened after Ford's March 30, 2020 pledge. On April 30, 2021 the Long-Term Care COVID-19 Commission (Frank Marrocco, chair) reported that Ontario was not prepared for a pandemic and had no plan to protect long-term care residents, criticized the government's slow decision-making and 'lack of urgency', and said nearly 4,000 residents and 11 staff had died. CBC noted that deaths continued even after the commission was launched and issued two sets of interim recommendations.

What happened · Mar 31, 2022

Legal Aid Ontario's audited figures show no further cut to its government funding in 2020-21, and provincial funding rose in 2021-22. The 2019-20 cut of about $133 million stayed in place.

The planned extra cut of about $31 million did not happen. Legal Aid Ontario's 2020-21 annual report shows total government funding of $353.5M, against $357.1M in 2019-20. It puts the drop down to lower one-time federal Department of Justice money, and it says the only change in base funding was a $3.5M federal increase. So provincial funding held flat. The 2021-22 annual report says provincial funding grew by $21.4M (8.0%) over 2020-21. Most of that increase was one-time money: $20M to ease a cash-flow shortfall and $7M for digital modernization.

What happened · May 7, 2026

No amalgamation has been forced, but in 2026 the province legislated a cut to Niagara Regional Council.

As of October 2026, the province has not forced any municipalities to amalgamate. In April 2026, CBC reported that fears of major changes to Niagara's 12 local municipalities 'proved to be unfounded'. However, Bill 100, the Better Regional Governance Act, 2026, received Royal Assent on May 7, 2026. It reduces Niagara Regional Council from 32 members to 13 (the 12 lower-tier mayors plus a regional chair) and removes its 19 directly elected regional councillors, effective after the Oct. 26, 2026 municipal election. The province said Simcoe County Council's reduction from 32 to 17 was 'in response to a request from the county warden'. It cited no such request from Niagara Regional Council; the push came from provincially appointed chair Bob Gale. The same act lets the housing minister appoint chairs in eight regions and gives those chairs 'strong chair' powers.

What happened · Jan 31, 2024

Ontario Health's own data show hallway patients were never eliminated; by January 2024 nearly 2,000 patients a day were in 'unconventional spaces', the highest since tracking began in 2017.

Three days after Ford's pledge, Health Minister Christine Elliott said it would 'likely take longer than a year'. Ontario Health's 2022-23 annual report put the daily average of patients on stretchers in hallways or other unconventional spaces at 1,326, its highest annual figure since tracking began. FOI data obtained by The Trillium showed nearly 2,000 such patients a day in January 2024, compared with about 1,000 a day from July 2017 to June 2018 and a low of 826 in June 2018. Ontario Health later moved to retire the metric from its public annual report.

What happened · Jun 5, 2025

The Auditor General found in 2021 that the 2019 changes to Ontario's species classification criteria were inconsistent with the science-based criteria used in other provinces, and Bill 5 (2025) ended automatic protection for species the science committee COSSARO classifies, though COSSARO still does the classifying.

In 2019, while defending the Endangered Species Act changes later passed in Bill 108, Environment Minister Rod Phillips contrasted Ontario with the federal law, under which a minister decides which species are endangered, and said science would stay the deciding factor in Ontario. In November 2021, Auditor General Bonnie Lysyk reported that the 2019 changes to how Ontario classifies species were inconsistent with the science-based criteria used in other provinces and could cost some species existing protections. She also found that six members were appointed to the species assessment committee without the standard screening process. Bill 5, which took effect June 5, 2025, decoupled legal protection from the science committee's (COSSARO's) classifications. Under the Species Conservation Act, in force since March 30, 2026, cabinet sets the Protected Species in Ontario list by regulation. That list drops aquatic species and migratory birds that COSSARO had classified, and a July 2026 Ontario Nature report found 106 species lost provincial protection.

What happened · Oct 31, 2019

After the 2019 legal aid cuts, people who wrote to Ford got a form letter referring them to the Attorney General, who said he could not direct Legal Aid Ontario to fund anyone; Ford's office did not repeat the guarantee.

Ford made the guarantee days after his April 2019 budget cut Legal Aid Ontario's funding by $133 million, about 30 per cent. Documents released through freedom of information show that the next morning an official in the Attorney General's office flagged the remark as raising "potential criticism of political interference", because Legal Aid Ontario alone decides who gets aid. The premier's staff then told reporters, on background only, that Ford meant callers would get access to the people at Legal Aid Ontario. More than 20 people wrote to Ford citing his promise, and each got a form reply forwarding them to the Attorney General. In October 2019, Attorney General Doug Downey acknowledged that he cannot force Legal Aid Ontario to give anyone legal aid, and he would not say whether Ford's guarantee still stood. The 30 per cent cut was made permanent in December 2019.

What happened · Apr 4, 2022

Ontario's regulated online gambling market, open to private operators, launched on April 4, 2022.

iGaming Ontario, a subsidiary of the AGCO, announced on January 28, 2022 that the new market would launch on April 4, 2022. CBC reported it opened that day, letting private operators that registered with the AGCO and signed agreements with iGaming Ontario offer online casino games and betting. In its first year the market took about $35.6 billion in wagers and $1.4 billion in gaming revenue across more than 40 operators. At launch, gambling-addiction experts and brick-and-mortar casino operators raised concerns about the effects of wider access.

What happened · Sep 19, 2024

The audited Public Accounts recorded a deficit, not a balanced budget, for 2023–24.

The 2023–24 Public Accounts, released on September 19, 2024, recorded a $0.6 billion deficit for the fiscal year ended March 31, 2024. That was the year the 2019 budget had set for balance. The COVID-19 pandemic came in between and the government revised its fiscal plan several times. Its 2023 budget had already projected a $1.3 billion deficit for 2023–24.

What happened

The 'before 2030' delivery date has not passed, but the cost estimate has risen from $5.5 billion to $10.2 billion and TTC records show an internal planning date of 2033.

On April 10, 2019, the province announced the three-stop extension at $5.5 billion, to be delivered before 2030. In June 2025, Metrolinx board documents put the cost at $10.2 billion. Metrolinx said the 2019 figure covered construction only, while the new figure adds property, advisers, testing and commissioning, and integration with TTC systems. On May 14, 2026, the Toronto Star reported TTC emails saying the 'public date is 2030, with internal planning date for 2033'; the transportation minister's office said a completion date will be announced once construction is finished and tested.

What happened · Aug 11, 2026

The 2027 deadline has not yet arrived, but Metrolinx, the provincial agency building the line, has publicly moved completion to the early 2030s and confirmed in August 2026 that the cost has risen to about $34 billion.

The completion date slipped from 2027 to 2030, then 2031, and Metrolinx now says only that civil work is 'trending towards the early 2030s'. On August 11, 2026 Metrolinx confirmed to CBC that the cost had risen to about $34 billion, more than triple the $10.9 billion announced in 2019, and that the final figure could be higher because the elevated sections had not yet been contracted. Tunnelling began in April 2026.

What happened · Oct 16, 2019

On Oct. 16, 2019, the province agreed that Toronto would keep ownership of the existing subway, abandoning the upload.

The 2018 PC platform proposed uploading responsibility for building and maintaining new and existing subway lines to the province, and in August 2018 Ford said his government would deliver on its pledge to create a regional transportation system, after first consulting Toronto. On Oct. 16, 2019, the province and the City of Toronto announced a deal under which the existing subway stays city/TTC-owned, while the province owns and pays the city's share of new projects such as the Ontario Line and Scarborough extension. Transportation Minister Caroline Mulroney called the upload "a means to an end". The February 2020 preliminary agreement states the existing subway remains the responsibility, and under the ownership, of the City and the TTC.

What happened · Jul 21, 2020

The province set the Ontario Autism Program budget at $600 million a year in July 2019, and the Financial Accountability Office recorded $608 million in autism spending in 2019-20.

On July 29, 2019 the government confirmed an additional $278 million, 'bringing the total amount of funding to $600 million annually.' On July 21, 2020 the Financial Accountability Office reported unaudited autism spending of $608 million in 2019-20, including $270 million for Childhood Budgets and interim one-time funding (part of it accrued for families who had not yet been paid by March 31, 2020). The budget kept rising after that: $720 million in 2024-25 (CBC/CP, Sept. 2024), and the March 2026 budget raised it to $965 million. Funding was not the same as access: the FAO said $600 million would still leave a wait-list of about 22,900 children.

What happened · Feb 16, 2022

The FAO found typical residential bills rose 4.3% in total from 2018 to 2021, less than Ontario inflation of 6.1% over those years, and the province now uses the Ontario Electricity Rebate to cap yearly bill growth at 2%. Taxpayers cover the difference.

Bill 87 replaced the Fair Hydro Plan with the Ontario Electricity Rebate (OER) on November 1, 2019. On February 16, 2022, the Financial Accountability Office estimated that a typical residential bill went from $116 a month in 2018 to $121 in 2021 (+4.3%). Over the same years, Statistics Canada's Ontario all-items CPI rose from 135.0 to 143.2 (+6.1%). The FAO reported that the province's policy is to set the OER each year so typical bills rise 2% a year, indefinitely. It estimated the OER will cost $45.4 billion from 2020-21 to 2039-40, and that replacing the Fair Hydro Plan adds $37.6 billion in provincial costs over that period. The province has kept adjusting the rebate, from 11.7% to 19.3% on November 1, 2023 and to 23.5% on November 1, 2025.

What happened

Some teachers were laid off in fall 2019, but whether class size caused it is disputed. The FAO said the province's $1.6B fund was enough to avoid layoffs, and the class-size increase was mostly reversed in 2020.

The government set aside $1.6 billion so class-size cuts could happen through attrition. On Sept. 5, 2019, the Toronto District School Board said 108 full-time high-school teachers were without work and 47 had been cut to part-time, and that about 80 might be recalled. The OSSTF Toronto local blamed provincial cuts to education funding. The ministry pointed to the $1.6-billion fund and said staffing decisions belong to boards. On Sept. 26, 2019, the Financial Accountability Office estimated about 10,000 fewer teachers by 2023-24 than under the old class sizes, but said the fund was enough to avoid layoffs. Education Minister Stephen Lecce said the report confirmed that no teacher would lose their job because of the class-size policy. On Oct. 29, 2019, OSSTF said the equivalent of 266 full-time positions had been eliminated across 10 boards. In April 2020 the government settled with the teachers at an average high-school class size of 23, not 28.

What happened · Jul 21, 2020

The province cancelled the reform meant to clear the wait-list in July 2019, and the Financial Accountability Office reported in July 2020 that the wait-list for needs-based autism services had grown to 27,600 children.

The Feb. 6, 2019 plan was to clear 23,000 children off the wait-list within 18 months using age-based Childhood Budgets. After protests, the government said on July 29, 2019 that it would build a needs-based program instead, and on Dec. 17, 2019 it said that program would be phased in through 2020 and 2021, with interim one-time payments of $5,000 or $20,000 offered to families still on the wait-list. On July 21, 2020, about 17 months after the promise, the Financial Accountability Office reported that the wait-list for needs-based services had grown to 27,600 in 2019-20 because the province had stopped enrolling children in needs-based therapy. Minister Todd Smith answered that more than 22,000 children were getting support through existing programs and one-time funding. After the deadline, on Feb. 3, 2021, the government said needs-based core clinical services would only begin in March 2021, starting with about 600 children, and it renewed interim payments for families still waiting. Later freedom-of-information figures showed 73,031 children waiting in June 2024 and 88,175 registered in January 2026, of whom 20,666 had core-services funding.

Who was hurt

• ErinoakKids Centre for Treatment and Development

  Eliminated 291 full-time positions in June 2019 (178 re-hired on nine-month contracts, 113 without jobs) after the province's change to autism funding stopped paying agencies like it as transfer-payment providers; the centre attributed the layoffs to the funding change (CBC, Global).

  Source: Autism treatment centre says 113 people are losing their jobs due to funding changes — CBC Toronto (Jun 18, 2019), Autism treatment centre hands out 291 layoff notices amid changes to Ontario autism program — Global News (Jun 17, 2019)

What happened · Jan 1, 2023

Hydro One adopted the $1.5M framework in March 2019, but it lapsed on January 1, 2023 under a sunset clause in the government's own law, and CEO pay then more than doubled.

On March 8, 2019, Rickford announced that Hydro One had adopted a pay framework matching the directive, with CEO pay capped at $1.5 million a year. A clause in the Hydro One Accountability Act, 2018 (Bill 2) ended the framework requirements on January 1, 2023. Hydro One's 2025 management information circular puts CEO David Lebeter's target pay at $2.4 million for 2023 and $3.15 million for 2024, compared with $1,604,488 for the CEO role under the framework in 2022. The Globe and Mail reported on May 23, 2024 that Lebeter made $3.16 million in 2023, and that the Energy Minister's office did not answer why the cap was not made permanent.

What happened · May 26, 2019

The council's general grant from the province fell from $64,937,400 in 2018-19 to $59,937,400 in 2019-20, according to its audited financial statements. In 2023 the Globe reported the base grant had held at about $60 million since then.

In December 2018 the government cut the Ontario Arts Council's 2018-19 base funding from a planned $69.9 million back to $64.9 million. It also cut $2.25 million from the Indigenous Culture Fund. The minister's office said it would "continue to invest" in the council at $64.9 million. The 2019-20 expenditure estimates, reported on May 26, 2019, cut the council's allocation again and eliminated the Indigenous Culture Fund. The council's audited 2019-20 statements show the general grant from the province fell to $59,937,400, from $64,937,400 the year before. In March 2023 the Globe and Mail reported the base grant had "sat at $59,937,400" for each of the three previous fiscal years. That year the province confirmed $60 million in base funding and ended about $5 million in one-time grants. The council's 2023-24 statements again show a $59,937,400 general grant.

Who was hurt

• Ontario Arts Council · $5,000,000 cut to the general grant

  The council's general provincial grant fell from $64,937,400 in 2018-19 to $59,937,400 in 2019-20 (OAC audited statements). The Globe reported 2019-20 estimates giving it $10 million less, including $5 million from eliminating the Indigenous Culture Fund, and Global reported a $5 million cut to base funding and a $2.25 million suspension of that fund in December 2018.

  Source: Ontario Arts Council audited financial statements, year ended March 31, 2020, Ontario eliminates Indigenous Culture Fund as government cuts millions of dollars in arts funding — The Globe and Mail (May 26, 2019), Ford government cuts funding to Ontario Arts Council, impacting Indigenous Culture Fund — Global News (Dec 2018)

What happened · Apr 17, 2022

The Carbon Trust was never set up, and it was dropped from the government's revised 2030 emissions forecast in April 2022.

The 2018 plan set out a $350-million emission reduction fund plus a $50-million reverse auction, to be run by an independent board. In April 2022 the government posted a revised forecast for meeting its 2030 target. It made no mention of the Ontario Carbon Trust, which CBC News reported 'never materialized' and The Narwhal reported was 'never set up.' The four-year funding window from November 2018 ended without the fund being created.

What happened · Oct 1, 2025

The Auditor General found no progress report had been released since 2021 and the plan had never been revised or finalized since 2018, and the government then repealed the legal requirement to report.

On October 1, 2025, the Auditor General reported that the environment ministry had posted progress updates only in 2019 and 2021. A September 2022 update repeated the 2021 information, and the ministry had published no new progress update in almost four years. The draft plan had not been updated since 2018 and was never presented to cabinet for approval, despite its own commitment to a review every four years. The ministry rejected the Auditor General's recommendation to report annually. Bill 68, which received royal assent on November 27, 2025, repealed the legal requirement to prepare a climate change plan and progress reports.

What happened · Aug 17, 2023

The government commissioned the assessment in 2020, received it in January 2023 and posted it publicly in August 2023.

Ontario commissioned the Provincial Climate Change Impact Assessment from the Climate Risk Institute in 2020. The report was presented to the government in January 2023 but was posted online only in late August 2023, without a news release, CBC News reported on September 13, 2023. The 530-page report found high risks to Ontario's agriculture, infrastructure, businesses and vulnerable people, including a projected near-fourfold increase in extreme-heat days in southern Ontario by the 2080s.

What happened · Nov 27, 2025

The government repealed the target in law: Bill 68 (S.O. 2025, c. 15), which received Royal Assent on November 27, 2025, repealed the sections of the Cap and Trade Cancellation Act, 2018 that required it to set emissions targets. The Auditor General had already found, on October 1, 2025, that the government's own projection shows Ontario missing the 2030 target.

On October 1, 2025, the Auditor General reported that the Province's own projection shows Ontario missing the 30% target by at least 3.5 megatonnes, and that the gap is likely to be larger. Environment Minister Todd McCarthy said that day the government would 'at least try' to meet the 2030 target. Bill 68, which received royal assent on November 27, 2025, repealed sections 3 to 5 of the Cap and Trade Cancellation Act, 2018, which had required the government to set emissions targets, prepare a climate change plan and report on progress. Finance Minister Peter Bethlenfalvy said the government would 'focus on outcomes and not targets.'

What happened · May 13, 2021

The province cancelled the Hamilton LRT on Dec. 16, 2019, then committed to it again with the federal government on May 13, 2021.

On March 28, 2019, Transportation Minister Jeff Yurek lifted the land-buying freeze and said "Premier Ford has committed a billion dollars to this project." On Dec. 16, 2019, Transportation Minister Caroline Mulroney cancelled the line, citing a third-party estimate of $5.5 billion including 30 years of operations; Metrolinx had spent about $162 million on it. On May 13, 2021, Ontario and Ottawa committed up to $1.7 billion each (about $3.4 billion) to build the same 14 km, 17-stop line. As of 2026 it is not built: Metrolinx awarded the first civil and utilities contract in spring 2026, starting an 18–24 month development phase, and a second procurement for stops, rail and systems is still to come.

Who benefited

• Aecon Group Inc.

  The Aecon-led Hamilton Transit Alliance was selected by Metrolinx in April and May 2026 for the first major civil and utilities package on the revived Hamilton LRT; Aecon is the construction partner. The contract flows from the project the government revived in 2021 after cancelling it in 2019; no source states a contract value.

  Source: Major Hamilton LRT contract awarded — Metrolinx (May 4, 2026), Aecon alliance selected for the Hamilton Light Rail Transit Civil and Utilities Works project — Aecon (Apr 30, 2026), Hamilton LRT contract awarded to Aecon, Hatch, Egis and Systra — Canadian Consulting Engineer (May 2026)

• Hatch

  Design partner, with Egis, Systra, in the Aecon-led alliance selected by Metrolinx for the first major civil and utilities package on the revived Hamilton LRT. No source states a contract value.

  Source: Major Hamilton LRT contract awarded — Metrolinx (May 4, 2026), Aecon alliance selected for the Hamilton Light Rail Transit Civil and Utilities Works project — Aecon (Apr 30, 2026), Hamilton LRT contract awarded to Aecon, Hatch, Egis and Systra — Canadian Consulting Engineer (May 2026)

• Egis

  Design partner, with Hatch, Systra, in the Aecon-led alliance selected by Metrolinx for the first major civil and utilities package on the revived Hamilton LRT. No source states a contract value.

  Source: Major Hamilton LRT contract awarded — Metrolinx (May 4, 2026), Aecon alliance selected for the Hamilton Light Rail Transit Civil and Utilities Works project — Aecon (Apr 30, 2026), Hamilton LRT contract awarded to Aecon, Hatch, Egis and Systra — Canadian Consulting Engineer (May 2026)

• Systra

  Design partner, with Hatch, Egis, in the Aecon-led alliance selected by Metrolinx for the first major civil and utilities package on the revived Hamilton LRT. No source states a contract value.

  Source: Major Hamilton LRT contract awarded — Metrolinx (May 4, 2026), Aecon alliance selected for the Hamilton Light Rail Transit Civil and Utilities Works project — Aecon (Apr 30, 2026), Hamilton LRT contract awarded to Aecon, Hatch, Egis and Systra — Canadian Consulting Engineer (May 2026)

What happened · Jan 13, 2020

Bill 57 as passed requires the Ombudsman to appoint a Deputy Ombudsman known as the French Language Services Commissioner, and Kelly Burke was appointed to the post in January 2020.

The November 2018 fall economic statement had abolished the independent French Language Services Commissioner and moved its duties to the Ombudsman. After backlash, Ford's office promised on November 23, 2018 to re-create the commissioner position inside the Ombudsman's office. Bill 57 received Royal Assent and added section 12.9 to the Ombudsman Act: "The Ombudsman shall appoint a Deputy Ombudsman who shall be known as the French Language Services Commissioner." The Ombudsman took over French-language services oversight on May 1, 2019. On January 13, 2020, Ombudsman Paul Dubé appointed Kelly Burke as French Language Services Commissioner and Deputy Ombudsman. The post is now an Ombudsman employee rather than a separate officer of the Legislature, the downgrade critics objected to in 2018.

What happened · Feb 1, 2023

The planned exemption change was cancelled in October 2019. A larger exemption, $1,000 a month, took effect February 1, 2023.

In early October 2019, Minister Todd Smith's office said the previously announced earnings-exemption changes would not go ahead and that the programs 'will continue in their current form'. Under the existing rules, ODSP still cut support once earnings passed $200 a month. In the fall 2022 economic statement the government brought the change back in a larger form. Since February 1, 2023, a person with a disability on ODSP can earn $1,000 a month with no reduction. Above that, 25% of earnings are exempt, so support falls by 75 cents per dollar. That is the same 75% clawback the 2018 plan proposed, applied above a higher threshold. Non-disabled family members stay at a $200 exemption with a 50% clawback.

What happened · Sep 28, 2022

The government's own 2022 Burden Reduction Report measured a 6.5 per cent cut in regulatory compliance requirements by June 30, 2022, against the 25 per cent target.

The 2018 Fall Economic Statement set a target of cutting regulatory red tape by 25 per cent by 2022. The government's 2022 Burden Reduction Report, published September 28, 2022, said total regulatory compliance requirements fell 6.5 per cent between the June 29, 2018 baseline and June 30, 2022 (250,809 to 234,600). The same report described the target differently, as saving businesses at least $400 million a year in compliance costs, and said that dollar target was beaten ($576 million). By 2025 the government's Burden Reduction Report put the cumulative cut at "nearly 6 per cent" since 2018.

What happened · Apr 1, 2019

Licensed private cannabis stores opened for business in Ontario on April 1, 2019, the date the government set.

The first private cannabis stores opened on April 1, 2019, so the date was met. The rollout was smaller than first described. In December 2018 the government capped the first round at 25 licences awarded by lottery, citing federal supply shortages. Only 9 or 10 of those 25 stores were ready to open on day one; the government had hoped to have all 25 selling by that date.

What happened · Sep 25, 2018

A spending review by EY was commissioned and published, but the firm said it was not an audit.

On September 25, 2018, Treasury Board President Peter Bethlenfalvy released the spending review the government had commissioned from EY Canada. It recommended options such as selling all or part of Crown corporations like the LCBO and means-testing some benefit programs. The government had billed the work as an "unprecedented line-by-line audit", but CBC News reported that EY itself said the report was not actually an audit. The Ottawa Citizen reported that the bid documents asked the winning firm to recommend programs for targeted review, not to carry out those reviews.

Who benefited

• EY Canada

  Ontario's government announced EY Canada was the successful bidder, chosen through a request for bids issued July 17, 2018, to conduct the line-by-line review of government spending. The bid documents capped the job at no more than $500,000, which is a ceiling, not a paid amount.

  Source: Ontario Government Announces Successful Bidder to Spearhead Unprecedented Line-By-Line Audit of Ontario's Finances — Ontario Newsroom (Aug 14, 2018), Contract to audit Ontario government spending awarded to EY Canada — Global News / CP (Aug 14, 2018)

What happened · Jul 3, 2018

The cap-and-trade regulation was revoked on July 3, 2018, and Bill 4, the Cap and Trade Cancellation Act, 2018, received royal assent on October 31, 2018.

On July 3, 2018, four days after the cabinet was sworn in, Ford announced that the cap-and-trade regulation had been revoked and that programs funded by it, including the Green Ontario Fund, would be wound down. Environment Minister Rod Phillips introduced Bill 4 on July 25, 2018, and it received royal assent on October 31, 2018. With no provincial carbon price left, the federal fuel charge applied in Ontario from April 1, 2019.

What happened · Nov 21, 2021

On Nov. 21, 2021 the premier's office said it was 'maintaining the status quo at this time' and would not restore the auditor general's pre-2015 veto over partisan ads; the veto had still not been restored when the auditor general reported on 2024-25 ad spending in December 2025.

In 2015 the Wynne Liberals narrowed the Government Advertising Act. After that, the auditor general could reject an ad as partisan only if it used a politician's name, voice or image, a party's colour or logo, or attacked another party. Before the change she could also block ads meant to give a 'positive impression' of the government. In opposition the PCs attacked the change, and in 2018 they promised to undo it. In April 2019, Treasury Board President Peter Bethlenfalvy said only 'We're reviewing it.' On Nov. 21, 2021, Ford spokesperson Ivana Yelich said the government was 'maintaining the status quo at this time.' The Canadian Press reported this as the PCs breaking their election promise. Since then the government has run campaigns that the auditor says would have failed the old test. CBC counted at least $38 million on such ads by March 2024, not including the roughly $8 million 'It's Happening Here' campaign. In December 2025, Auditor General Shelley Spence reported record spending of $111.9 million in 2024-25. She flagged nine campaigns worth about $43 million, 38 per cent of the total. In each, the main aim was to foster a 'positive impression' of the government, or the government gave no evidence for some of its claims. The spending came in the run-up to the February 2025 snap election.

What happened · Apr 5, 2022

The tolls came off Highways 412 and 418 on April 5, 2022, nearly four years after the 2018 campaign commitment and two months before the next election.

Ministry briefing notes obtained by Global News show ministers discussed removing the tolls on October 22, 2018 and put it off, with the minister committing to revisit once the budget was balanced; staff put the lost revenue at more than $665 million over 30 years (about $22 million a year). The 2018 release had also said Highway 418 should not be tolled, but it opened in 2019 under the Ford government with tolls of up to 48 cents per kilometre (inSauga). In December 2021 Transportation Minister Caroline Mulroney said the tolls could not be lifted because of an agreement signed by the previous government. Ford announced the removal on February 18, 2022, Bill 84 passed on March 3, 2022, and both highways went toll-free on April 5, 2022, about eight weeks before the June 2 election; Oshawa NDP MPP Jennifer French said Ford waited "until just before an election" to do it.

What happened · Sep 3, 2026

Highway 3: a $138.6M contract to widen the Essex–Leamington stretch was awarded in 2023 and construction began in 2024, but as of September 2026 the four lanes were not finished and the province would not give a completion date. Highway 17: only the first stage, a Calabogie Road interchange, was finished (November 2023). In February 2026 the province issued an RFP just to design the 22.5-km twinning from Arnprior to Renfrew.

Highway 3: in June 2023 Infrastructure Ontario awarded a $138.6M design-build-finance contract to widen 15.6 km between Essex and Leamington to four lanes. Ford said in March 2024 that work had begun. In May 2026 traffic moved onto the new lanes, one lane each way, while the old roadway was resurfaced. On September 3, 2026 the Windsor Star reported the province would not confirm the project's cost or completion date. Highway 17 (Arnprior–Renfrew): the first stage, a new bridge and interchange at Calabogie Road, was completed in November 2023. On February 27, 2026 the province issued an RFP to design the 22.5-km twinning, split into five contracts. A provincial official warned construction would 'take time'. Eight years after the platform, neither highway has been fully four-laned.

Who benefited

• Green Infrastructure Partners Inc. (GIP) · $138.6M fixed-price contract (Highway 3)

  Infrastructure Ontario and MTO awarded a fixed-price $138.6 million design-build-finance contract for the Highway 3 Essex-Leamington widening to GIP HWY 3 Inc., with GIP Paving Inc. (formerly Coco Paving) as developer and builder. Ontario also names GIP as the contractor for Phase 1 (the Calabogie Road interchange) of the Highway 17 Arnprior-Renfrew widening.

  Source: Contract Awarded for the Highway 3 Widening Project — Infrastructure Ontario (Jun 1, 2023), Ontario Making Progress to Widen Highway 17 from Arnprior to Renfrew — Ontario Newsroom (Nov 20, 2023), GIP Announces Acquisition of Aecon Group's Ontario Roadbuilding Business — GIP (Mar 1, 2023)

What happened · Feb 1, 2025

The government did not add mathematics to the required content of teacher education programs. Instead it made passing a math proficiency test a condition of teacher certification. After a court fight, that requirement took effect on Feb. 1, 2025.

On Oct. 25, 2018, Education Minister Lisa Thompson introduced Bill 48, the Safe and Supportive Classrooms Act. It required new teachers to pass a math proficiency test to be certified (Ontario College of Teachers Act, s. 18(1)(c)). The bill became law as Chapter 3 of the Statutes of Ontario, 2019. The test, written by EQAO, began in 2021. Later that year the Divisional Court struck it down for its disproportionate impact on racialized teacher candidates (Ontario Teacher Candidates' Council v. The Queen, 2021 ONSC 7386). On Nov. 28, 2023, the Court of Appeal overturned that ruling and upheld the test. Since Feb. 1, 2025, passing the Mathematics Proficiency Test has been a certification requirement for most new Ontario applicants. The regulation that sets out what accredited teacher education programs must cover (O. Reg. 347/02, Schedule 1) does not list mathematics. That includes the 2026 amendments taking effect May 1, 2027. So the requirement falls on individual candidates through a test, not on teachers' college programs.

What happened · Jul 25, 2018

The government cancelled 758 renewable energy contracts in July 2018 and legislated the termination of the White Pines wind project, at a cost the Energy Ministry put at up to $231 million.

On July 13, 2018, Energy Minister Greg Rickford announced the cancellation and wind-down of 758 renewable energy contracts, claiming $790 million in savings for ratepayers, a figure industry disputed. Bill 2 (Urgent Priorities Act, 2018; royal assent July 25, 2018) terminated the White Pines wind project in Prince Edward County retroactive to July 10, 2018, even though it had received its Notice to Proceed on May 11, 2018 and four of nine turbines were built, so it was not a pre-construction project. The 2018-19 public accounts showed $231 million in 'other transactions' that the Energy Ministry said covered the wind-down and termination costs, 'not anticipated to exceed $231 million', and in November 2019 the associate energy minister acknowledged taxpayers, not hydro customers, would pay it, despite the government's July 2018 statement that hydro consumers would be protected from cancellation costs. In 2024 the same government laid out plans to procure 5,000 MW of new renewable power by 2034.

What happened · Dec 6, 2018

Schedule 2 of Bill 57 (Royal Assent December 6, 2018) added Legion memorial homes, clubhouses and athletic grounds to the Assessment Act's property tax exemptions, effective January 1, 2019.

On November 5, 2018, Ford told a veterans' luncheon in Oakville that the government would make sure Legion halls 'pay no property tax'. Schedule 2 of Bill 57, the Restoring Trust, Transparency and Accountability Act, 2018, amended the Assessment Act to exempt land used as a memorial home, clubhouse or athletic grounds by an Ontario branch of the Royal Canadian Legion. The bill received Royal Assent on December 6, 2018, and the schedule took effect January 1, 2019. Before this, many Legion halls were already exempt through their municipalities.

What happened · Dec 6, 2018

The Low-income Individuals and Families Tax (LIFT) credit was passed in Bill 57 (Royal Assent December 6, 2018) and took effect January 1, 2019. The government said a single person working full time at minimum wage (nearly $30,000) would pay no Ontario personal income tax.

The 2018 Fall Economic Statement announced the LIFT credit: up to $850 off Ontario personal income tax, or $1,700 for couples. It was enacted in Bill 57, the Restoring Trust, Transparency and Accountability Act, 2018, Royal Assent December 6, 2018, and took effect January 1, 2019. The government said a single person working full time at minimum wage (nearly $30,000) would pay no Ontario personal income tax. That excludes the Ontario Health Premium, and federal income tax still applies. The FAO estimated LIFT would remove Ontario income tax for 590,000 people earning under $30,000. It also found LIFT gave less total benefit than the cancelled raise of the minimum wage to $15. In 2022 the credit grew to a maximum of $875, with the phase-out starting at $32,500.

What happened · Dec 10, 2019

Bill 138, the Plan to Build Ontario Together Act, 2019 (Royal Assent December 10, 2019), cut the Gasoline Tax Act rate on aviation fuel bought and loaded in Northern Ontario from 6.7 to 2.7 cents a litre, effective January 1, 2020.

The 2019 Fall Economic Statement proposed cutting the aviation fuel tax in Northern Ontario to 2.7 cents a litre from 6.7 cents, effective January 1, 2020. 'Northern Ontario' covered the districts of Algoma, Cochrane, Kenora, Manitoulin, Nipissing, Parry Sound, Rainy River, Sudbury, Thunder Bay and Timiskaming. Greg Rickford announced it at Thunder Bay airport on November 13, 2019. The cut was enacted in Bill 138, the Plan to Build Ontario Together Act, 2019, which received Royal Assent on December 10, 2019.

What happened · Mar 25, 2021

Ontario challenged the federal Greenhouse Gas Pollution Pricing Act in the Court of Appeal for Ontario, then appealed to the Supreme Court of Canada. The Supreme Court ruled 6-3 against Ontario on March 25, 2021. The promise was to mount the challenge, and Ontario did; it lost.

Ontario referred the federal carbon-pricing law to the Court of Appeal for Ontario, which upheld the law. Ontario then appealed to the Supreme Court of Canada, which heard the case with appeals from Saskatchewan and Alberta on September 22-23, 2020. On March 25, 2021, in References re Greenhouse Gas Pollution Pricing Act (2021 SCC 11), the Court ruled 6-3 that the law is constitutional. The promised challenge went all the way to the Supreme Court and failed.

What happened · Mar 23, 2026

The moratorium on new pupil accommodation (school closure) reviews has stayed in place through the Ford government's time in office. The province's capital resources page for school boards, published March 23, 2026, says: "Since 2017, Ontario has asked school boards not to begin new pupil accommodation reviews." The government never put out a reformed review process, which was the condition in the pledge for lifting the moratorium.

The Liberal government brought in the moratorium on new school closure reviews in June 2017. The PC platform promised to keep it in place until the review process was reformed. As of 2026 it is still in place. On Sept. 10, 2025, a spokesperson for Education Minister Paul Calandra told CTV News the moratorium "remains in place." The spokesperson added that every option, including underused schools, would be considered at the five boards under provincial supervision at that time. On Dec. 23, 2025, the minister's office told CityNews that supervisors had been asked to "review surplus properties and report back." The statement also confirmed that the moratorium remains in place. The government has not released a new pupil accommodation review guideline. School boards say the moratorium has strained their budgets. Government briefing notes obtained by Global News in October 2024 said boards were spending "limited school renewal funding" on schools that might otherwise have closed.

What happened · Mar 26, 2019

The Comprehensive Ontario Police Services Act, 2019 (Bill 68) received Royal Assent on March 26, 2019. It repealed the Police Services Act and several Acts contained in the Liberals' Safer Ontario Act, 2018 (Bill 175), and enacted the Community Safety and Policing Act, 2019 instead. The new framework took effect April 1, 2024.

Sylvia Jones introduced the Comprehensive Ontario Police Services Act, 2019 (Bill 68) in February 2019. It passed and received Royal Assent on March 26, 2019. The government's release said it 'fixed the previous government's Bill 175'. The Act repealed the Police Services Act and several Acts in the Safer Ontario Act, 2018, and enacted the Community Safety and Policing Act, 2019 and a new Special Investigations Unit Act. Most of the new framework did not take effect until April 1, 2024, more than five years after Royal Assent.

What happened · Dec 6, 2018

Bill 34, the Green Energy Repeal Act, 2018, received royal assent on December 6, 2018, and the repeal took effect January 1, 2019.

The government introduced the Green Energy Repeal Act on September 20, 2018, and it received royal assent on December 6, 2018. The Green Energy Act, 2009 was repealed effective January 1, 2019, with some conservation and efficiency provisions moved into the Electricity Act, 1998. Municipal planning authority over siting renewable projects was restored on June 1, 2019. Opposition parties and environmental groups called the repeal largely symbolic, because the government had already cancelled 758 renewable contracts and no procurements were active.

What happened · Nov 4, 2019

Starting Nov. 4, 2019, the province limited students' use of cellphones and other personal devices during instructional time to educational, health or medical, and special-needs purposes.

Education Minister Lisa Thompson announced the ban in March 2019. On Aug. 29, 2019, Education Minister Stephen Lecce said a provincial directive would restrict personal mobile devices during instructional time starting Nov. 4, 2019. Use is allowed only for educational purposes directed by the teacher, for health or medical reasons, or for special needs. The restriction took effect on Nov. 4, 2019. The Canadian Press noted that the PCs had proposed the ban in their 2018 platform.

What happened · Mar 13, 2026

The commitment runs for 10 years: the government adopted it in its March 2020 Roadmap to Wellness, which the government still cited as '$3.8 billion over 10 years' in March 2026, so it is not due until about 2029. The Star reported in February 2025 that just over $500 million had been invested under the Roadmap between 2018 and 2024. No public accounting we found tracks spending against the $3.8 billion.

The $3.8 billion was always half federal money. The PCs' April 30, 2018 release pledged $1.9 billion over 10 years, 'matched by the federal government' to make $3.8 billion. In March 2020 the government released its Roadmap to Wellness, which Ford's letter called an investment of '$3.8 billion over 10 years'. The Toronto Star reported on February 22, 2025 that 'over $500 million' had been invested under the Roadmap between 2018 and 2024. The 2024 budget added $396 million over three years. The Star also cited a 2024 Auditor General finding of limited evaluation of the opioid strategy's impacts. A March 13, 2026 government release on a Durham Region HART hub still said Ontario 'is investing $3.8 billion over 10 years' through the Roadmap. No public tally of spending against the $3.8 billion has been published. The 10-year window has not closed.

What happened · Oct 12, 2018

The government offered slots or extra funding to racetracks that had lost slot facilities. The Fort Erie track took extra money instead of slots, so slot machines never returned there.

On October 12, 2018, the Ministry of Finance announced in-principle agreements to keep slots at Kawartha Downs and Ajax Downs. It said Fort Erie and Dresden "elected to receive additional financial support for horse racing operations, but declined to accept slots." Finance Minister Vic Fedeli called it "another promise made, promise kept." Fort Erie residents called it a broken promise to CHCH, and the mayor called it a back-room deal that town council was kept out of. The March 2019 backgrounder set out the result as an "Optional Slots at Racetracks Program" of slots or extra operating funding, alongside the existing long-term funding agreement. That differs from the old revenue-sharing slots program Ford described in 2018. In 2026, CBC reported that the track still depends on provincial funding to make up revenue lost when slots were removed in 2012.

Who benefited

• Fort Erie Live Racing Consortium

  The October 12, 2018 Ontario release says Fort Erie elected to receive additional financial support for horse racing instead of slots. CHCH reported that the Fort Erie Live Racing Consortium took government money instead of slots, in an amount that is confidential under a non-disclosure agreement.

  Source: Ford Government Keeps Commitment to Support Horse Racing — Ontario Newsroom (Oct 12, 2018), Fort Erie disappointed by broken promise for slots at the race track — CHCH (Oct 2018)

What happened · Jun 19, 2019

In June 2019 the government's own merger of health agencies into Ontario Health laid off 416 back-office workers, after Ford had narrowed the pledge to 'front-line' workers only.

By March 2019 Ford's office was saying only that 'not a single front-line worker will lose their job', a narrower pledge than the campaign promise. On June 19, 2019 Health Minister Christine Elliott confirmed that 416 people in back-office positions would be laid off, and 409 vacant positions eliminated, as the government merged 20 agencies (including the 14 LHINs, Cancer Care Ontario and eHealth Ontario) into Ontario Health. Ford responded, 'I'll stick with my quote: No front-line person will lose a job.' CBC also reported layoffs of nurses, education workers and child advocate staff linked to provincial decisions.

Who was hurt

• ErinoakKids Centre for Treatment and Development

  Eliminated 291 full-time positions in June 2019 (178 re-hired on nine-month contracts, 113 without jobs) after the province's change to autism funding stopped paying agencies like it as transfer-payment providers; the centre attributed the layoffs to the funding change (CBC, Global).

  Source: Autism treatment centre says 113 people are losing their jobs due to funding changes — CBC Toronto (Jun 18, 2019), Autism treatment centre hands out 291 layoff notices amid changes to Ontario autism program — Global News (Jun 17, 2019), Health worker layoffs and the Ford government's jobs pledge — CBC Toronto (Jun 19, 2019)

What happened · Dec 17, 2018

The government cut the minimum price to $1 as promised, but almost no brewers sold at that price, and by early 2019 only one brewery still offered it, on long weekends only.

On August 7, 2018 Ford announced that the minimum price of a bottle or can of beer under 5.6% alcohol would fall from $1.25 to $1 starting August 27, 2018, with LCBO promotional perks for participating brewers. Brewers were not required to cut prices. By December 2018 Barley Days, the brewery where Ford launched the policy, had raised its price to $1.65, leaving only Cool Beer Brewing selling $1 beer. In late January 2019 Cool said it would charge $1.25 except on holiday long weekends.

What happened · Jan 22, 2020

The government cancelled funding for the Université de l'Ontario français in its November 15, 2018 Fall Economic Statement, then signed a federal-provincial funding agreement in January 2020.

The November 15, 2018 Fall Economic Statement cancelled plans for the Université de l'Ontario français, citing the province's finances, and also folded the French Language Services Commissioner into the Ombudsman. After protests, the government partly backed down on November 23, 2018 but kept the university cancelled; Francophone Affairs Minister Caroline Mulroney said fiscal realities 'prohibit a new stand-alone French Language University right now'. Ontario and Canada signed a memorandum of understanding on September 7, 2019, then an eight-year $126 million funding agreement on January 22, 2020. Under that agreement Ottawa covers up to $63 million over the first five years, Ontario matches it only from 2023-24, and the first cohort was expected in fall 2021.

Who was hurt

• Université de l'Ontario français

  The November 15, 2018 Fall Economic Statement cancelled the planned French-language university, and the government declined on November 23, 2018 to restore its funding. The chair of its governing council said it already had a charter, a site and a budget and was on track to open in 2020. A federal-provincial funding agreement followed in January 2020, so the harm was a cancellation and delay of about 14 months.

  Source: Ford government backtracks on some cuts affecting Ontario francophones — CBC Toronto (Nov 23, 2018), Doug Ford élimine le projet de l'Université de l'Ontario français et le Commissariat aux services en français — Radio-Canada (Nov 2018), La présidente du conseil de gouvernance de l'Université de l'Ontario français mise sur une forte mobilisation — Radio-Canada (Nov 21, 2018)

What happened · Jun 7, 2018

The PCs posted a list of promises with dollar figures on May 30, 2018, but it had no fiscal outlook, no deficit figures and no path to balance. CBC reported on election night that the PCs were the only party that did not release a fully costed platform before election day.

On May 30, 2018 the PCs quietly posted 'Plan for the People': a list of pledges with a dollar figure next to each, but no fiscal plan, no deficit numbers and no path to balance. On May 31 in London, Ont., Ford said: "I'm not breaking my promise at all — we have a dollar figure right beside every single item." Economist Don Drummond said of the document: "I won't call it a platform." CBC reported on June 7, 2018 that the PCs were the only party that did not release a fully costed platform before election day.

What happened · Jul 16, 2020

The province raised its annual Risk Management Program funding from $100 million to $150 million starting in 2020, one year ahead of the campaign timetable.

The 2018 PC backgrounder said the $50 million increase would come in year 3 of the mandate and bring the program to $150 million a year. On July 16, 2020, Ford and Agriculture Minister Ernie Hardeman announced at a Chatham farm that the government was expanding the program by $50 million, to $150 million a year, one year earlier than planned. Ford said the government was "delivering on that commitment a year earlier than promised." The Ontario Federation of Agriculture later described the 2020 change as the program's increase from $100 million to $150 million. In January 2025 the government announced a further increase to $250 million a year, phased in by the 2027 program year.

What happened · Sep 21, 2026

Pickering ran past 2024. The Pickering A units ran until 2024 and the Pickering B units until September 2026. The province then approved refurbishing Units 5-8, and site construction began on September 21, 2026.

As premier-designate on June 21, 2018, Ford confirmed the pledge at the station. In September 2022 the government backed OPG's plan to run Pickering A (Units 1 and 4) through 2024 and Pickering B (Units 5-8) until September 2026. It then approved a refurbishment of Units 5-8, and site construction began on September 21, 2026. The government says the Pickering B units will be removed from service by the end of September 2026, with reactor work pending final CNSC approval in January 2027. The station stayed open beyond the promised 2024. The outgoing Liberals had also planned to run it until 2024; the NDP had proposed starting to close it in 2018.

Who benefited

• Aecon Group Inc. · $1.75B Aecon share of about $3B in contracts

  Aecon teams were awarded the Pickering refurbishment contracts announced September 21, 2026: a 50/50 joint venture with Candu Energy for the roughly $1.7 billion Unit 5 retube, feeder and boiler replacement, and the majority share of a consortium with Siemens Energy Canada for the $1.3 billion turbine-generator replacement. Aecon reports its share at $1.75 billion. The refurbishment follows the 2022 decision to keep Units 5-8 running and refurbish them, which goes beyond the promise's literal 'open until 2024' wording.

  Source: Ontario Starts Construction on Pickering Nuclear Refurbishment — Ontario Newsroom (Sep 21, 2026), Aecon teams awarded contracts with aggregate value of $3 billion for the Pickering Nuclear Generating Station Refurbishment — Aecon (Sep 21, 2026), Contracts announced as Pickering refurb approaches — World Nuclear News (Sep 23, 2026)

• AtkinsRéalis (Candu Energy) · $1.7B (Aecon-Candu JV, 50/50)

  50/50 joint-venture partner with Aecon on the roughly $1.7 billion Unit 5 retube, feeder and boiler replacement contract for the Pickering refurbishment announced September 21, 2026. The refurbishment follows the 2022 decision to keep Units 5-8 running and refurbish them, which goes beyond the promise's literal 'open until 2024' wording.

  Source: Ontario Starts Construction on Pickering Nuclear Refurbishment — Ontario Newsroom (Sep 21, 2026), Contracts announced as Pickering refurb approaches — World Nuclear News (Sep 23, 2026), Aecon teams awarded contracts with aggregate value of $3 billion for the Pickering Nuclear Generating Station Refurbishment — Aecon (Sep 21, 2026)

• Siemens Energy Canada · $1.3B (Aecon-Siemens consortium)

  Consortium partner with Aecon on the $1.3 billion turbine-generator replacement contract for the Pickering refurbishment announced September 21, 2026. The refurbishment follows the 2022 decision to keep Units 5-8 running and refurbish them, which goes beyond the promise's literal 'open until 2024' wording.

  Source: Ontario Starts Construction on Pickering Nuclear Refurbishment — Ontario Newsroom (Sep 21, 2026), Contracts announced as Pickering refurb approaches — World Nuclear News (Sep 23, 2026), Aecon teams awarded contracts with aggregate value of $3 billion for the Pickering Nuclear Generating Station Refurbishment — Aecon (Sep 21, 2026)

What happened · Jul 31, 2018

On July 31, 2018 the government announced it was winding down the three-year pilot after about a year, and Social Services Minister Lisa MacLeod acknowledged the reversal of the campaign position.

On July 31, 2018 Social Services Minister Lisa MacLeod announced the government was 'winding down' the three-year, $150-million basic income pilot for about 4,000 people in Hamilton, Brantford, Brant County, Thunder Bay and Lindsay, and cutting a planned 3% social assistance increase to 1.5%. The next day she told reporters, '[There's] the decision in the campaign and then you find the realities of when you're in government.' CBC called it 'the first broken promise of Premier Doug Ford's government.' The final payments went out in March 2019.

What happened · Nov 20, 2019

The Ontario Seniors Dental Care Program opened for applications on Nov. 20, 2019, with the income thresholds and delivery model the platform described.

The 2018 PC backgrounder promised dental care for single seniors with incomes of $19,300 or less and couples with $32,300 or less, delivered through public health units, community health centres, Aboriginal Health Access Centres and mobile dental buses, at about $98 million a year to help almost 100,000 seniors. On Nov. 20, 2019 Ford, Health Minister Christine Elliott and Seniors Minister Raymond Cho launched the Ontario Seniors Dental Care Program with those same income thresholds and delivery channels, budgeted at about $90 million a year and expected to serve about 100,000 seniors.

What happened · Sep 5, 2024

Licensed convenience stores began selling beer, wine, cider and ready-to-drink cocktails on September 5, 2024, more than six years after the pledge.

Ford's government released its alcohol-market plan in December 2023 with a 2026 start, then accelerated it in May 2024. On September 5, 2024, about 4,180 licensed convenience stores began selling beer, wine, cider and ready-to-drink cocktails, with grocery and big-box stores following after October 31, 2024. Ending the Beer Store's master framework agreement early required the province to pay The Beer Store up to $225 million.

Who benefited

• The Beer Store (Brewers Retail Inc.) · $225M

  Paid up to $225 million by the province under the 2024 early-implementation agreement to end its retail exclusivity early and keep at least 300 stores open through 2025; Global News reported in November 2025 that the full amount had been paid out.

  Source: Booze is coming to Ontario corner stores. Here's what shoppers can expect — CBC Toronto (Sep 5, 2024), Ontario pays out full $225M to Beer Store as end of store closure commitment nears — Global News (Nov 21, 2025), Ontario keeps paying Beer Store agreement as alcohol revenue falls — Global News (May 15, 2025)

• Circle K

  Couche-Tard's CEO told analysts that selling beer, cider, wine and ready-to-drink products in its roughly 600 eligible Ontario Circle K stores after the 2024 legislation change drove notable growth, with wine sales doubling year over year in central Canada. Sourced to two trade reports quoting the company's earnings statements.

  Source: Strong beverage alcohol sales in Ontario behind Couche-Tard's strong third quarter results — CCentral (Mar 19, 2025), Couche-Tard leans on alcohol, food deals as profits dip — Strategy (Sep 3, 2025)

What happened · Sep 24, 2026

The pledge had no deadline. As of September 2026 the river had not been remediated. The province said it was procuring a firm to develop feasible remediation options, costs and timelines. The remediation panel reported that options had not yet been selected as of March 31, 2025.

The $85-million English and Wabigoon Rivers Remediation Trust was created by the Wynne government in 2017. The trust's panel includes Ontario, Grassy Narrows First Nation and Wabaseemoong Independent Nations. Its 2024-25 annual report was published Dec. 16, 2025. It says $37.9 million had been paid out by March 31, 2025, all for pre-remediation studies, First Nations capacity funding and administration. It says $58.1 million remained in the trust and that remediation options "have not yet been selected". The panel also said significant additional funds beyond the trust balance would be needed to complete the cleanup. On Sept. 24, 2026, CBC reported a statement from the Ministry of the Environment. The ministry said it was "procuring a remediation firm to develop technically feasible remediation options, high-level costing, timelines and the development of a long-term monitoring plan." On the same day, about 9,000 people marched to Queen's Park calling for the river to be cleaned up.

What happened · Jan 1, 2020

Ontario cut its small business corporate income tax rate from 3.5% to 3.2% effective January 1, 2020.

The PC backgrounder promised to cut the small business rate from 3.5% to 3.2% and said 'We will include this measure in our first budget.' The cut came in Finance Minister Rod Phillips' November 6, 2019 fall economic statement, effective January 1, 2020. The same update reduced the matching dividend tax credit, recovering about $125 million of the $185 million three-year cost, according to the Financial Post. The 2026 budget cut the rate again, to 2.2% from July 1, 2026.

What happened · Jul 1, 2022

The government ended cap-and-trade in 2018 (which it said was worth 4.3 cents a litre) and cut the provincial gas tax by 5.7 cents a litre from July 1, 2022, later making that cut permanent.

The government wound down cap-and-trade shortly after taking office in July 2018, which it credited with 4.3 cents a litre. The provincial gas tax cut (from 14.7 to 9 cents a litre) did not come until spring 2022, just before that year's election, when the government passed legislation cutting the gas tax by 5.7 cents and the diesel tax by 5.3 cents from July 1, 2022, initially for six months. The province has since described the cuts as permanent. The total took about four years to deliver.

What happened · Nov 15, 2018

Six months after the election, the government exempted all units first occupied after November 15, 2018 from rent control, rolling back the 2017 expansion it had said it would leave in place.

On May 15, 2018, the PCs said they would not roll back the expanded rent control the Wynne Liberals brought in in 2017, which covered all private rental units. In the November 15, 2018 fall economic statement, the government announced that units first occupied after that date would be exempt from rent control. It legislated the change through Bill 57, which received Royal Assent on December 6, 2018 (S.O. 2018, c. 17). Tenancies that existed on November 15, 2018 kept rent control.

What happened · Mar 26, 2026

Ontario's second income tax bracket rate is still 9.15% in 2026, years after the 2020-21 date Ford gave for the cut.

The PC release promised to cut the second-bracket rate from 9.15% to 7.32%, and Ford told reporters on May 10, 2018 that the cut would not be implemented until 2020-21. The rate was not cut: the Canada Revenue Agency's 2026 table still lists Ontario's second-bracket rate at 9.15%. The March 26, 2026 Ontario Budget made no changes to personal income tax rates.

What happened · Sep 8, 2026

Regular weekday GO trains to Niagara Falls began on January 7, 2019 and grew to 21 round trips a week by May 2023, but the line still runs a handful of trips a day rather than two-way, all-day service, and three weekday trips were cut from September 8, 2026.

Weekday GO train service to St. Catharines and Niagara Falls started on January 7, 2019 with a single morning train to Toronto and a single evening train back, which Metrolinx said came about four years earlier than the previous Liberal government's 2023 target. On May 20, 2023 the province added two weekday round trips and one weekend round trip, for a total of 21 round trips a week. That is still a small number of scheduled trips, not the two-way, all-day service Ford promised in 2018. From September 8, 2026 Metrolinx cut three weekday and evening Niagara trips, saying the reductions could last until spring 2027, and told commuters to use the GO bus to Burlington in the meantime.

What happened · Aug 21, 2019

The government revoked the 2015 curriculum in July 2018, reverted to the pre-2015 version, consulted, and released a new curriculum in August 2019.

On July 11, 2018, Education Minister Lisa Thompson announced that schools would revert that fall to the health and physical education curriculum last taught in 2014, whose sex-ed content dated from 1998, until a consultation with parents was complete. The new elementary curriculum, released August 21, 2019, kept many elements of the 2015 version the PCs had called ideological, and added content on consent, cannabis, vaping and concussions. Gender identity moved from a mandatory Grade 6 topic to Grade 8, sexual orientation moved to Grade 5, and parents got a standardized opt-out. Tanya Granic Allen, a former PC leadership candidate and leading opponent of the 2015 curriculum, called the 2019 version a betrayal.

What happened · Jun 23, 2020

On June 23, 2020 the government released a new elementary math curriculum, billed as 'back to basics', which took effect in September 2020.

Education Minister Stephen Lecce and Premier Ford released a new Grade 1-8 math curriculum on June 23, 2020, as part of a $200-million math strategy. It brought back memorizing multiplication tables and added coding and financial literacy. The 2018 PC release had cited 50 per cent of Grade 6 students meeting the math standard in 2016. EQAO results released Sept. 25, 2026 showed 52 per cent of Grade 6 students meeting the standard in 2025-26. CBC reported that Grade 6 math has hovered around 50 per cent for years.

What happened · Sep 21, 2023

The government removed about 7,400 acres from the Greenbelt in November 2022, then, after watchdog reports and two ministers' resignations, Ford apologized, said 'I broke that promise', and reversed the removals.

In November 2022 the government removed 2,995 hectares across 15 sites from the Greenbelt for housing, while adding about 3,804 hectares elsewhere. In August 2023 the Auditor General found the site selection favoured certain developers whose land stood to rise $8.3 billion in value, and the Integrity Commissioner found Housing Minister Steve Clark breached the Members' Integrity Act. On September 21, 2023 Ford said, 'I made a promise to you that I wouldn't touch the Greenbelt. I broke that promise,' and announced the removals would be reversed. Housing Minister Paul Calandra then tabled the Greenbelt Statute Law Amendment Act, 2023 (Bill 136, 43rd Parliament), which restored the boundaries, required future boundary changes to go through the legislature, and was enacted in December 2023.

Who benefited

• TACC (TACC Construction / TACC Developments, De Gasperis family)

  The Auditor General identifies TACC Development Inc. as the housing developer for the Duffins Rouge Agricultural Preserve and two other removed sites (58.27% of the area removed) and found the removals 'resulted in significant financial gains for select landowners'. CBC reported De Gasperis was 'set to benefit from four of the 15 sites'. The removals were reversed by statute in December 2023 and the government said it would not compensate developers, so the gain described here was potential and was not realized.

  Source: Special Report on Changes to the Greenbelt — Auditor General of Ontario (Aug 2023), 2nd developer goes to court to avoid questions from Ontario auditor general in Greenbelt probe — CBC Toronto (Jul 13, 2023), Developers bought Hamilton Greenbelt property a month before Ontario revealed plans to open it up for housing — CBC Hamilton (Aug 2023)

• Fieldgate Developments

  The Auditor General identifies Fieldgate Homes as the housing developer of the 1,809-acre Book Road site in Hamilton (24.41% of the area removed); CBC Hamilton reports its president had been buying Book Road properties since 2016. The removals were reversed by statute in December 2023 and the government said it would not compensate developers, so the gain described here was potential and was not realized.

  Source: Special Report on Changes to the Greenbelt — Auditor General of Ontario (Aug 2023), Ontario ethics watchdog finds deals of 'deception' in removal of Hamilton, other lands from Greenbelt — CBC Hamilton (Aug 2023), Developers bought Hamilton Greenbelt property a month before Ontario revealed plans to open it up for housing — CBC Hamilton (Aug 2023)

• Rice Group

  The Auditor General identifies Green Lane Bathurst Limited Partnership as the housing developer of the 655-acre Bathurst-King site (8.84% of the area removed); CBC ties the partnership to Rice Group CEO Michael Rice and reports a company he controlled paid $80 million for five parcels there weeks before the removals were announced. The removals were reversed by statute in December 2023 and the government said it would not compensate developers, so the gain described here was potential and was not realized.

  Source: Special Report on Changes to the Greenbelt — Auditor General of Ontario (Aug 2023), 2nd developer goes to court to avoid questions from Ontario auditor general in Greenbelt probe — CBC Toronto (Jul 13, 2023), They recently bought Greenbelt land that was undevelopable; now the Ford government is poised to... — Toronto Star (Nov 2022)

• Flato Developments

  The Auditor General's site table identifies Flato Developments and Flato Upper Markham Village Inc. as developers of two small removed sites (about 23 acres); the Toronto Star described a Flato principal as a developer who 'stands to benefit' from the land swap. The removals were reversed by statute in December 2023 and the government said it would not compensate developers, so the gain described here was potential and was not realized.

  Source: Special Report on Changes to the Greenbelt — Auditor General of Ontario (Aug 2023), Ontario developers who benefitted from Ford government decisions on Greenbelt and MZOs dined with the premier — Toronto Star (May 2023)

Who was hurt

• Minotar Holdings Inc.

  A 2022 settlement of Minotar's Greenbelt lawsuit would have removed 37 acres of its Markham land from the Greenbelt; the province voided the settlement in 2023 when it restored all 15 removed sites, and the Ontario Court of Appeal rejected the company's constitutional challenge to the restoring law on August 28, 2026. Minotar was also among the developers the Auditor General identified for a removed site. Global News reports it alleges it spent about $500,000 preparing to develop and is suing for $300 million; those claims have not been proven in court.

  Source: Ontario's top court rejects developer's constitutional challenge over Greenbelt law — CHCH / Canadian Press (Aug 28, 2026), Developer advances Greenbelt lawsuit, seeking $300M from Ontario — Global News (Dec 31, 2025)

• Mississaugas of the Credit First Nation

  The Auditor General reports that the Mississaugas of the Credit First Nation told her office the province's Duty to Consult was not fulfilled for the 2022 Greenbelt removals, and that as of June 30, 2023 the Housing Ministry had not yet met with them although the lands had already been removed. The Auditor General says the process left the decisions open to costly and lengthy court proceedings.

  Source: Special Report on Changes to the Greenbelt — Auditor General of Ontario (Aug 2023)

What happened · Apr 11, 2019

The 2019 budget created the CARE tax credit at up to 75% of costs, but capped it at $6,000 per child under 7 and $3,750 for ages 7 to 16, and limited it to families earning up to $150,000.

The April 11, 2019 budget introduced the Ontario Childcare Access and Relief from Expenses (CARE) tax credit, starting with the 2019 tax year. It pays up to 75 per cent of eligible child-care costs: up to $6,000 per child under 7, up to $3,750 per child aged 7 to 16, and up to $8,250 per child with a severe disability. It is for families with incomes up to $150,000. On Sept. 24, 2019, the Financial Accountability Office estimated an average benefit of $1,300 per family. It found that fewer than 300 families would get the maximum and about 240,000 families with child-care costs would get nothing, mostly because their incomes were above the threshold.

What happened · Feb 16, 2022

The Financial Accountability Office found average bills rose 4.3% from 2018 to 2021, and Energy Ministry staff told the FAO the government would not cut bills 12% from 2018 levels.

A February 16, 2022 Financial Accountability Office report found the average residential bill rose 4.3% from 2018 to 2021 and was projected to rise about 2% a year. Ministry of Energy staff told the FAO the government would not cut bills 12% from 2018 levels; instead it counted the promise as met by keeping bills 12% lower than they would have been under the former Liberal Fair Hydro Plan, a gap the FAO said would not be reached until 2025. Energy Minister Todd Smith said the report confirmed bills would be 12% lower than under the Liberal plan. The subsidies are paid by taxpayers, at a cost the FAO put at $37.6 billion over 20 years for the Fair Hydro Plan replacement alone.

What happened

Kitchener line service has grown, including weekend trains from Nov. 23, 2025, but two-way, all-day GO service to Kitchener had not started as of October 2026.

Ford gave no timeline in 2018. Kitchener line trips rose from 8 a day in 2017 to 19 by November 2023, according to PC MPP Mike Harris; that month the PCs voted down, 66–30, an NDP motion asking for a timeline and firm funding commitment. On Oct. 16, 2025, Transportation Minister Prabmeet Sarkaria announced an agreement-in-principle with CN to buy land for dedicated tracks, plus service increases from Nov. 23, 2025 that included weekend service to Kitchener for the first time. The promised 60-minute two-way, all-day service to Kitchener depends on the Kitchener Extension Project (40 km of new track), and no completion date was given in the release.

What happened · Aug 30, 2018

The Independent Financial Commission of Inquiry was established by Order in Council on July 17, 2018 and delivered its report on August 30, 2018.

On July 17, 2018, the Ford government established the Independent Financial Commission of Inquiry under the Public Inquiries Act, 2009 by Order in Council 1005/2018, with Gordon Campbell as chair and Al Rosen and Michael Horgan as commissioners. The commission delivered its report to the government on August 30, 2018, concluding the government had inherited a $15 billion deficit for 2018-19. The report was released publicly on September 21, 2018.

What happened · Oct 23, 2025

Five years on, by either the government's own count of new beds built (about 6,700 by fall 2025) or the FAO's count of total beds (79,212 in 2024-25), Ontario was far short of 15,000 new beds.

The Financial Accountability Office reported on Oct. 23, 2025 that Ontario had 79,212 long-term care beds in 2024-25 and projected 83,488 by 2027-28 under the government's spending plan; The Trillium reported this was up only 1,195 beds since 2018, and that the FAO said 24,529 more would be needed in 2028 to reach the separate 30,000 net-new target. The province's own fall 2025 fiscal update counted nearly 6,700 long-term care beds built, with 18,000 more in the pipeline, against a goal of 58,000 new and upgraded beds by 2028. The 30,000-net-new-beds-by-2028 pledge is not yet due, but Long-Term Care Minister Natalia Kusendova-Bashta did not dispute the FAO's findings.

What happened · Apr 11, 2019

The April 11, 2019 Ontario Budget dropped the promised one-point cut in favour of accelerated write-offs, and the general rate is still 11.5%.

The PCs pledged in April 2018 to cut the general corporate income tax rate from 11.5% to 10.5%. On April 11, 2019, Finance Minister Vic Fedeli's first budget dropped the cut in favour of the Ontario Job Creation Investment Incentive, an accelerated capital write-off; CBC reported that the budget 'scraps an anticipated one-per-cent cut in the corporate tax rate'. The Ministry of Finance still lists the general rate as 11.5% from July 1, 2011 onward. The March 26, 2026 budget again left it at 11.5% and cut only the small business rate.

What happened · Nov 21, 2018

Bill 47 (royal assent November 21, 2018) cancelled the January 1, 2019 increase to $15 and froze the minimum wage at $14 until October 2020.

Bill 47, the Making Ontario Open for Business Act, 2018, received royal assent on November 21, 2018. It eliminated the scheduled January 1, 2019 increase to $15, held the minimum wage at $14 until inflation indexing began October 1, 2020, and repealed the Liberal Bill 148 guarantee of two paid sick days. The Financial Accountability Office found in April 2019 that the $15 wage would have given 1.3 million workers an average $810 after tax, versus about 1.0 million people getting an average $409 from the replacement LIFT tax credit, which only 38 per cent of minimum-wage earners qualified for, and that the credit plus the cancelled increase would worsen the provincial budget balance by $1.9 billion from 2018-19 to 2022-23. The government later raised the minimum wage to $15 effective January 1, 2022, three years after the Liberal date.

What happened · Jul 11, 2018

On July 11, 2018 Hydro One announced CEO Mayo Schmidt's immediate retirement and the replacement of its whole board under an agreement with the province.

On July 11, 2018 Hydro One announced that CEO Mayo Schmidt was retiring effective immediately and that all board members would be replaced, under an agreement with the new government. Schmidt left with a $400,000 payment in lieu of post-retirement benefits rather than the $10.7 million he would have been owed if removed by the board. Ford said, 'I said that we were going to do this, and we did it.' Shares fell the next day as analysts warned of political interference.

What happened · Jun 25, 2026

Ground was broken on the first all-season road to the Ring of Fire, the Webequie Supply Road, on June 25, 2026, about eight years after the promise.

Ford and ministers Greg Rickford and Stephen Lecce attended the groundbreaking of the 107-km Webequie Supply Road at Webequie First Nation on June 25, 2026. That came days after the province approved the road's environmental assessment on June 18, 2026. In late September 2026 Ontario named Sigfusson Northern as construction manager. The province says the road will open by November 2030. Construction of the Marten Falls Community Access Road was scheduled to start in August 2026, and of the Northern Road Link in spring 2028; both are scheduled to open by November 2031. Ground was broken and a construction manager is in place, so the promise to 'start building' counts as kept. But it took about eight years, no road is open yet, and mining still needs separate approvals. Neskantaga First Nation has set up a land-defence camp on the Attawapiskat River crossing, saying it has not consented.

Who benefited

• Sigfusson Northern Ltd.

  Awarded the construction manager contract for the 107-km Webequie Supply Road, the first all-season Ring of Fire road, announced by the province on September 29, 2026.

  Source: Naming of Sigfusson Northern as Ring of Fire road builder makes Webequie's 'vision a reality' — Northern Ontario Business (Sep 29, 2026), Ontario and Webequie First Nation Award Contract for Webequie Supply Road — Ontario Newsroom (Sep 29, 2026), Sigfusson Northern named construction manager for Webequie Supply Road — Northern Ontario Construction News (Oct 2, 2026)

What happened · Nov 27, 2025

Instead of eliminating the per-vote subsidy, the Ford government extended it in 2021 and 2024 and made it permanent in Bill 68, which received Royal Assent on November 27, 2025.

Bill 57 (Royal Assent December 6, 2018) set the quarterly per-vote allowance to phase out by January 1, 2022. Bill 254, the Protecting Ontario Elections Act, 2021 (Royal Assent April 19, 2021), instead continued the allowances until January 1, 2025 and raised the rate to $0.636 per vote. Bill 220 (Royal Assent November 19, 2024), passed with all-party agreement, extended them through December 31, 2026. Bill 68, the Plan to Protect Ontario Act (Budget Measures), 2025 (No. 2) (Royal Assent November 27, 2025), repealed the not-yet-in-force phase-out and made the allowance permanent; the government said this followed a Chief Electoral Officer recommendation.

Who benefited

• Progressive Conservative Party of Ontario · $1,373,162.16 per quarter (2026)

  Elections Ontario lists the Progressive Conservative Party of Ontario as a recipient of the quarterly per-vote allowance Ford promised in 2018 to eliminate. Bill 68 (Royal Assent Nov 27, 2025) repealed the provision that would have ended payments, so the allowance continues.

  Source: Quarterly Allowances — Elections Ontario, Ontario announces unexpected extension to per-vote subsidy for political parties — Global News (Nov 2024)

• Ontario Liberal Party · $957,239.15 per quarter (2026)

  Elections Ontario lists the Ontario Liberal Party as a recipient of the quarterly per-vote allowance, which Bill 68 kept in place after Ford promised in 2018 to eliminate it. All parties supported the extension (Global News).

  Source: Quarterly Allowances — Elections Ontario, Ontario announces unexpected extension to per-vote subsidy for political parties — Global News (Nov 2024)

• New Democratic Party of Ontario · $592,126.18 per quarter (2026)

  Elections Ontario lists the New Democratic Party of Ontario as a recipient of the quarterly per-vote allowance, which Bill 68 kept in place after Ford promised in 2018 to eliminate it. All parties supported the extension (Global News).

  Source: Quarterly Allowances — Elections Ontario, Ontario announces unexpected extension to per-vote subsidy for political parties — Global News (Nov 2024)

• Green Party of Ontario · $154,115.52 per quarter (2026)

  Elections Ontario lists the Green Party of Ontario as a recipient of the quarterly per-vote allowance, which Bill 68 kept in place after Ford promised in 2018 to eliminate it. All parties supported the extension (Global News).

  Source: Quarterly Allowances — Elections Ontario, Ontario announces unexpected extension to per-vote subsidy for political parties — Global News (Nov 2024)

What happened · May 1, 2025

Ford's government created strong-mayor powers, including a veto, and extended them to more than 200 municipalities.

Bill 3, the Strong Mayors, Building Homes Act, 2022, received Royal Assent on Sept. 8, 2022. It gave the mayors of Toronto and Ottawa powers that include vetoing by-laws that could interfere with a prescribed provincial priority. Bill 39 (December 2022) let those mayors pass certain by-laws with one-third of council's support. The powers were extended to dozens more municipalities in 2023 and to 169 more effective May 1, 2025, bringing the total to 216, many of them small rural townships. A May 2026 Toronto Star analysis found that only about 2 per cent of more than 4,200 strong-mayor decisions were aimed directly at creating housing, the stated purpose of the powers.