Pattern
Shift costs from provincial to municipal governments, or from government to individuals.
Cumulative Documented Cost
Pattern Sequence
Workplace Safety and Insurance Board (WSIB): $5.2B surplus paid to employers in 3 rounds (2022-2025)
Cap and trade cancelled: $3B revenue lost per Financial Accountability Office (FAO) estimate (2018)
Municipalities forced to absorb transit and housing funding gaps
Ontario Autism Program: families left with $5K-$20K caps vs $80K need
Documentation
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Ontario's education budget is larger in nominal dollars than it was in 2017-18, but independent and union-backed inflation-adjusted estimates show a widening funding gap. The CCPA calculated a cumulative $6.3B shortfall through 2025-26. For 2026-27, the province projected a 1% Core Education Funding increase while cutting the Classroom Staffing Fund by $56.2M. Under provincial supervision, the TDSB approved major staff and service reductions as Ontario's five education unions entered bargaining for more than 255,000 workers.
$4B WSIB surplus paid to employers as rebates instead of increasing benefits for injured workers, many of whom live in poverty.
Ontario spends 10 cents per student per day on school food — the lowest in Canada and a quarter of the national median. Despite a $108.5M federal deal, Ford's government hasn't increased its own core investment in a decade, leaving 2 million+ students underserved.
Ontario's electricity pricing decisions cascade through the entire food chain — from farm to processor to cold storage to grocery shelf. Ford cancelled 758 renewable energy contracts ($231M in penalties), while $118.1B in electricity subsidies over 20 years props up a system where energy is one of the largest input costs for Ontario food producers.
The Ford government announced that beginning fall 2026, provincial OSAP grants will be capped at 25% of aid — down from up to 85% — with the remaining 75% issued as repayable loans. Students at private career colleges lose grant eligibility entirely. Combined with lifting a seven-year tuition freeze (allowing 2% annual increases), the changes dramatically increase student debt burdens. A student who previously received $8,500 in grants on $10,000 of aid will now receive just $2,500 in grants and $7,500 in loans.
In December 2019, the Ford government abruptly cancelled the fully-funded Hamilton LRT, claiming costs had "ballooned" from $1 billion to $5.5 billion. Critics and the city revealed the province had included 30 years of operating costs to inflate the figure. Transportation Minister Caroline Mulroney required a police escort out of Hamilton after the announcement. The project was eventually revived with federal support.
In January 2026, the Ford government proposed a two-year pause on inclusionary zoning rules in Toronto, Mississauga, and Kitchener — the regulations that require developers to include affordable housing units in new buildings near major transit stations. Mayors Olivia Chow and Carolyn Parrish condemned the move as a developer handout that removes the public benefit of building expensive transit lines.
Legislation cut development charges by billions of dollars, shifting infrastructure costs from developers to municipalities and taxpayers.
The government eliminated free tuition grants for low-income students and cut $670 million from student financial assistance.
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