TORONTO – The leaders of Ontario’s main political parties are sparring on the provincial debate stage tonight, trying to position themselves as the best person to tackle affordability in the province.
Green Party Leader Mike Schreiner put Progressive Conservative Leader Doug Ford on the spot, directly addressing him and asking if he thinks it’s OK for people with disabilities to live in legislated poverty.
The Greens, NDP and Liberals have pledged to double the rates for Ontario Disability Support Program payments, up from the current $1,368 a month, and Schreiner asked how anyone can sleep at night knowing people who depend on that benefit can’t pay their bills.
Ford noted that his government indexed the payments to inflation, and says the province will not have enough money to pay people on ODSP if the economy fails, going back to his central campaign message of fighting against American tariffs.
Liberal Leader Bonnie Crombie says she will bring in an income tax cut that Ford promised in 2018 but didn’t deliver, to which Ford said he almost “fell off the stage” to hear Crombie promise a tax cut.
NDP Leader Marit Stiles says her party would bring back rent control, give monthly cheques as part of a grocery rebate program and will go after price gougers.
The election debate has also touched on health care and public safety, with each leader promising to connect more people to primary care and to address crime rates.
The televised event follows Friday’s northern debate, where leaders discussed northern issues such as road safety, infrastructure and the addictions crisis that has hit many northern communities hard.
During that debate, Stiles, Crombie and Schreiner went on the offensive against Ford’s housing record.
Ontario’s housing starts were down 16 per cent in 2024 compared to the previous year, and the province has not met any of its interim targets toward building 1.5 million homes since Ford promised that in the 2022 election.
Ford called the snap election saying he needs a stronger mandate to deal with the next four years of a Donald Trump presidency in the United States.
Opposition leaders have said that Ford already had a majority mandate, and they would have supported stimulus measures in response to possible U.S. tariffs.
The vote is scheduled for Feb. 27.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Feb. 17, 2025.
