Ford Government's $66M Staples Portal Charges Teachers More for Classroom Supplies — and Locks Some Out Until October

The government's case for the program is that teachers should not have to spend their own money on classroom supplies. To do that, it put the money into a single closed purchasing channel. Teachers can spend the $750 only through the Staples portal, so its prices, its product list and its access rules decide what the allowance actually buys. When Ontario confirmed the vendor, the education minister's press secretary said Supply Ontario chose Staples "after an open, fair and competitive process" (Ontario elementary teachers can buy classroom supplies from Staples using $750 spending cards — CP24).

Early price comparisons do not match the promise of bulk savings. A TDSB teacher's screenshots, which The Trillium says at least three other teachers also sent, showed a case of paper at $84.49 on the portal against $49.85 through the board's catalogue, duotangs at 96 cents against 38 cents, and 20 notebooks at $35.63 against $17.25. One teacher wrote, "We are being absolutely swindled" (Ontario teachers flag higher prices on Ford government's new Staples portal — The Trillium via BayToday). Teacher Kimiko Shibata told CBC Toronto that Crayola markers were about $5 on the portal and about $2 in regular Staples stores (Ontario's new school supplies portal for teachers may have pricing 'mistakes,' says education minister — CBC News).

The minister's answer is that a list of more than 200 priority items is the cheapest anywhere, and that teachers are also seeing Staples' wider catalogue, which is not specially priced. Calandra said, "Are you going to be able to go on that portal and find mistakes? 100 per cent," and asked teachers to report errors to their principal, who would tell the superintendent, who would tell the ministry. He also told teachers, "Don't just run to TikTok," and asked them to help improve the system instead.

The size of the contract is reported two ways. The Trillium describes the program as a $66 million award to a single vendor. Opposition Leader Marit Stiles, quoted by CBC, said the minister is spending "$60 million taxpayer dollars" on the Staples deal, and told The Trillium the company is "exploiting the hell out of it." Staples told CBC it has set up a dedicated line for price differences and is committed to pricing products on the province's list the same as or lower than on its regular website.

Some teachers cannot use the allowance at all yet. The Trillium reports that a TDSB teacher, who was not placed in a homeroom until August 14, was told by email that Staples would give them full ordering access on October 9 because staff names had not been attached to classes by August 16. That cutoff came three days after Supply Ontario confirmed Staples had won the contract. The minister's office said staffing is not final until the end of October and that every homeroom teacher gets access after that. For late-placed and occasional teachers, that means more than a month of the school year without the fund (Some teachers can't access Ford government's Staples portal until October — The Trillium via TimminsToday).

Teachers without a homeroom are not eligible for the $750 fund at all. Several told The Trillium they depend on school supply budgets that have shrunk because half of that funding was moved into the individual teacher fund. This adds to wider pressure on classroom budgets documented in the 2026 education funding and classroom staffing cuts (Some teachers can't access Ford government's Staples portal until October — The Trillium via AuroraToday).

Teachers who can order are still reporting problems two weeks after launch. They told The Trillium that orders remain listed as "open" with no shipping information, and one teacher said nobody at her school had received anything, although school orders normally arrive the next day. The Trillium reviewed screenshots showing a pad of graph paper listed at $0.00, and a three-pack of 24-count crayons listed at $39.59 while a single pack cost $1.82. Teachers also said items such as headphones, flash drives and some Popsicle stick packages are restricted, while drill bits are available. Staples did not respond to questions about the shipping delays or price discrepancies.

The fix the government proposes depends on teachers doing the checking. Teachers are asked to find and report pricing errors up the chain from principal to superintendent to ministry, and Staples has set up a hotline for price discrepancies. It is not yet clear whether the portal will reliably deliver the savings the program was sold on, or whether teachers will go back to buying supplies with their own money. Shibata told CBC the current prices are "almost begging teachers to spend our own money rather than buy through the portal."