TORONTO – Ontario’s Liberals are promising $65 billion in new spending over four years, along with finding more than $28 billion in efficiencies, in a platform they say contains no new taxes or tax increases.
Liberal Leader Bonnie Crombie released the party’s full platform today, as did the NDP, with less than a week to go until election day on Thursday.
Crombie also highlighted some previously unannounced promises on education in the platform, including building 90 new schools, establishing a lower student-to-teacher ratio, and shortening teachers’ college programs to one year to alleviate the teacher shortage.
The Liberal platform estimates that their health-care promises, including attaching every Ontarian to a family doctor, would cost $29 billion over four years and a group of promises including home building, responding to tariffs and implementing tax cuts are costed at $26 billion over four years, though a more specific breakdown was not available.
The NDP platform promises $70 billion in new spending over three years along with $37 billion in new revenue and savings, including increasing capital gains taxes, creating new tax brackets for ultra-high earners and imposing a luxury residence tax.
NDP Leader Marit Stiles has already announced the bulk of the party’s promises, including a monthly grocery rebate, connecting everyone to a family doctor, establishing a public builder for 300,000 affordable homes and creating a universal school food program.
The NDP says they would put $10.5 billion over three years into public health – including their promise to attach everyone to team-based primary care – their home-building plan would cost $7.5 billion over three years and their grocery rebate would cost $11 billion over that time.
The party estimates that new tax brackets for those earning $300,000, $400,000 and $500,000 a year would bring in about $3 billion per year, and increasing the amount of capital gains subject to tax from 50 per cent to 80 per cent would bring in about $3.5 billion per year.
Progressive Conservative Leader Doug Ford is in Washington, D.C., for the second time during this election campaign for another round of meetings to push back against U.S. tariff threats.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Feb. 21, 2025.
