Fraser Institute News Release: Ford government recorded two of Ontario’s three- highest per-person spending years since 1965
01 Agosto 2024 - 4:00AM
Despite political rhetoric while in opposition, the Ontario
government of Premier Doug Ford has recorded two of the three
highest per person spending levels since 1965, even excluding
COVID-related one-time spending, finds a new report published today
by the Fraser Institute, an independent, non-partisan Canadian
public policy think-tank.
“An effective way of measuring a government’s fiscal policy is
by comparing per-person program spending over time, and despite
rhetoric to the contrary, Premier Ford is one of the province’s
highest spenders,” said Ben Eisen, senior fellow with the Fraser
and co-author of Ontario Premiers and Provincial Government
Spending, 2024.
This study reviews annual per-person program spending
(inflation-adjusted) by Ontario premiers from 1965 to 2022. It
finds that the second-highest and third-highest single years of
per-person spending on record was under Premier Ford in 2020
($12,227) and 2021 ($12,081). Note that COVID-era spending was
adjusted to remove one-time, extraordinary spending related to the
pandemic.
The highest year of per-person spending (inflation-adjusted) was
2010 under Dalton McGuinty at $12,305.
Premier Ford’s highest years also surpass former Premier
Kathleen Wynne’s highest spending level: $11,101 in 2017. This is
important given the criticism of then-Premier Wynne by now-Premier
Ford while in Opposition.
“Despite promises to be more fiscally prudent that its
predecessor, the Ford government has essentially continued the
spending trends of the Wynne government that came before it,” Eisen
said.
“It’s important for Ontario taxpayers to understand the true
fiscal record of their governments in order to better assess
whether they’re getting good value for money.”
MEDIA CONTACT: Ben Eisen, Senior FellowFraser
Institute
To arrange media interviews or for more information, please
contact:Drue MacPherson, Fraser Institute(604) 688-0221 Ext.
721drue.macpherson@fraserinstitute.org
The Fraser Institute is an independent Canadian public policy
research and educational organization with offices in Vancouver,
Calgary, Toronto, and Montreal and ties to a global network of
think-tanks in 87 countries. Its mission is to improve the quality
of life for Canadians, their families and future generations by
studying, measuring and broadly communicating the effects of
government policies, entrepreneurship and choice on their
well-being. To protect the Institute’s independence, it does not
accept grants from governments or contracts for research. Visit
www.fraserinstitute.org