A new public opinion poll from Abacus Data indicates that a majority of Ontarians believe Labour Minister David Piccini should resign or at the very least be removed from Doug Ford’s cabinet amid an “ongoing stream of scandals surrounding the government’s Skills Development Fund.”
The poll, which was released Monday and commissioned by the province’s largest union, CUPE Ontario, reveals that 52 per cent of those surveyed think Piccini should quit or be fired over allegations that he awarded $126 million from the province’s controversial Skills Development Fund to firms who hired registered lobbyists even though their proposed projects were ranked low to medium priority.
The $2.5 billion program and Piccini’s activities have come under intense scrutiny in recent weeks following a scathing Oct. 1 auditor general’s report which found that the minister was not selecting funding applicants based on who had the highest overall score.
“This can create an appearance of real or potential preferential treatment by the Minister’s Office in its selection of applicants to fund,” the Auditor General Shelley Spence wrote. “It is also not fair, transparent or accountable to those applying for funding or to the public.”
Evaluators say they could not identify a standard rationale used to determine how much funding was provided to each applicant or why some applications that scored “high” were passed over.
“There is an inconsistency in how this Ministry selects the applications it funds in many of its programs,” the Auditor General added, while noting that no laws were broken.
Piccini has denied any wrongdoing and has avoided questions about whether he was influenced by lobbyists.
Premier Ford told 680 NewsRadio last month that he stands behind the Skills Development Fund, saying, “It is one of the greatest programs that we’ve ever created. There’s over 700,000 jobs in training that has happened.”
Meanwhile, all three opposition parties are calling on the premier to ask for Piccini’s resignation.
According to the latest Abacus Data poll, 43 per cent of Progressive Conservative Party voters agree it’s time for Piccini to resign or leave cabinet and only 19 per cent believe he should stay on in his role.
The poll was conducted online with 2,000 Ontario residents from Oct. 24 to 29, 2025 and contains a 2.19 per cent margin of error, 19 times out of 20.
“Calls for accountability are only growing louder,” said CUPE Ontario President Fred Hahn. “Labour Minister David Piccini has used the Skills Development Fund – $2.5 billion of the public’s money – as a slush fund to benefit insider friends of the Ford Conservatives.”
According to the poll, 46 per cent of respondents believe this latest scandal is part of a broader problem with the Ford government and how it awards contracts and grants.
Representatives for Ford and Piccini were not immediately available for comment.
