Ontario Construction News staff writer
Ontario’s Progressive Conservative Party has unveiled its election platform with $40 billion in new spending, including a $5-billion “Protect Ontario Account” to address potential U.S. tariffs, $705 million to expand STEM and skilled trades programs at post-secondary institutions, and $50 million to support modular housing technologies.
PC Leader Doug Ford, however, did not provide a detailed cost breakdown for projects including a plan to build a tunnel under Highway 401.
“With President Trump in the White House, Ontario faces four years of economic risk and uncertainty, with hundreds of thousands of jobs on the line,” Ford said. “Whether he imposes them next week, next month or next year, President Trump will use the threat of tariffs to get what he wants.
“Our plan will protect Ontario workers, diversify our economy as we attract new investments and good-paying jobs, build the infrastructure our province needs and improve services, no matter what President Trump sends our way.”
- Additional $22 billion to keep workers in the construction and skilled trades sectors on the job building roads, highways, transit, homes, hospitals and schools.
- Abolishing internal trade barriers, expanding labour mobility, supporting cross-provincial infrastructure like pipelines and railways, and pushing the federal government to scrap unnecessary federal barriers and red tape that raise costs and slow down nation-building projects like new nuclear power plants and critical mineral projects in the Ring of Fire.
- $1 billion in the Skills Development Fund, for a total of $2.5 billion, and $165 million for a new Learn and Earn Initiative that helps workers earn a paycheque while receiving in-class and on-the-job training.
- Expanding training capacity in union-led training centres and publicly-funded colleges and universities with $705 million in support to train thousands more students for in-demand roles in critical sectors.
- Permanently cutting the gas tax, axing tolls on Highway 407 East, banning congestion charges and fighting the job-killing Liberal carbon tax.
At a campaign stop in Sault Ste. Marie on the weekend, Ford spoke generally about growing revenue, referencing past growth from an expanded tax base without offering specific plans.
The NDP and Liberals have criticized the snap election call, arguing that they would support stimulus measures proposed by the majority Progressive Conservatives to mitigate the impact of U.S. tariffs.
The NDP has proposed a federal-provincial income support program to address tariffs, along with a plan to create local supply chains for industries affected by trade disputes. Meanwhile, the Liberals have committed to a “fight tariff fund” to offer lower interest rates to businesses and a $150,000 bonus for Canadian doctors and nurses returning from the U.S.
Ford has focused on northern Ontario’s importance in the trade battle, emphasizing the development of the Ring of Fire mineral-rich region. His government plans to create a new $500-million fund to expedite resource processing and attract private investment.
Critics, however, have accused him of hiding from the media after he refrained from answering questions for over a week.
