Promises vs actions

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 · 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

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 · 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.