Ontario Budget 2024

Hon. Peter Bethlenfalvy, Ontario’s Finance Minister has introduced the 2024 Budget titled Building a Better Ontario. With the key themes of Building Ontario and Working for You, the budget continues the government’s commitment to investing in key infrastructure projects

and building homes faster while trying to make life more affordable for Ontarians.

Lower revenues and higher spending by the government puts the deficit for the 2024-2025 fiscal year at $9.8 billion. The government’s commitment to continue building much-needed infrastructure, and investing in hospitals, schools and other critical infrastructure while helping Ontarians face the current affordability crisis means the path to a balanced budget won’t be realized until 2026-2027. Compensation payouts from Bill 124 negotiation also impacted the deficit with the total cost coming in around $6 billion. The province’s net debt-to-GDP ratio for 2024-2025 is projected at 39.2 per cent.

With total spending at $214.5 billion, the budget positions the province to start building major projects will be crucial in the long-term. Spending highlights include:

Healthcare spending totaling $85 billion, a $0.5 billion increase from 2023-2024.
Education spending totaling $37.6 billion, a $1 billion increase from 2023-2024.
Post-secondary spending, totaling $12.2 billion. This includes the previously announced additional $1.3 billion over three years to stabilize post-secondary institutions while keeping tuition fees frozen.
A commitment of $190.2 billion over 10 years in hospitals, long-term care homes, highways, public transit and other key public infrastructure.

What's New?

Over $1.6 billion in new housing-enabling infrastructure funding for municipalities.
The new Community Sport and Recreation Fund. The $200 million investment will build and upgrade sports and recreation facilities across Ontario.
Extending the gas tax cut to December 31, 2024.
An additional $100 million for the Skills Development Fund, bringing the total investment to over $960 million. This will increase training and apprenticeship opportunities with industry and union partners.
Connecting over 600,000 people to care through an investment of $546 million over three years for primary care health teams.
The creation of a new medical school at York University, the first in Canada to focus on training more family doctors.
Combating auto theft and other serious crime in the GTA with a $46 million investment.
Expanding the Guaranteed Annual Income System (GAINS) to allow almost 100,000 seniors to receive more than $1000 per year.
An investment of $155 million to increase construction funding subsidies for long-term care home development and redevelopment.
The establishment of a new $12 million Health Technology Accelerator Fund to help health care service provides buy and use new technologies to improve patient care.

Building Ontario

The first theme of the budget, Building Ontario, is broken into two sections, the first of which looks to build Ontario’s Economy. The second looks at initiatives to build infrastructure, highways and transit.

Investing $15million to the critical minerals innovation fund over three years to help
Ontario’s mining sector undertake research, development and commercialization.
Providing an additional $100 million to the Invest Ontario Fund to attract more investment from around the world and support businesses in expanding their operations in the province. This brings the total fund investment to $600 million.
Developing a grant program to boost the province’s shipbuilding industry.
Extending the Forest Biomass Program over the next three years at an annual funding level of $20 million.
Providing an additional $86 million over three years to the Northern Energy
Advantage Program to help large industrial operators in Northern Ontario.

Key Initiatives Under Rebuilding Ontario’s Economy Include:

An investment of $1 billion for the Municipal Housing Infrastructure Program. This fund, which was announced in the lead up to the budget will support core projects such as roads and water infrastructure to enable housing.
Quadrupling the Housing-Enabling Water Systems Fund to total $825 million. Budget
2024 will provide an additional $625 million on top of the previously announced
$200 million during the 2023 Fall Economic Statement.
Investing $200 million in the Community, Sport and Recreation Infrastructure Fund to support new and revitalized sport, recreation and community facilities.
Budget 2024 also reaffirms the government’s previous commitment to major highway projects such as Highway 413, the Bradford Bypass
An investment of $27.4 billion over the next 10 years to improve, roads, highways and bridges.

Key Initiatives Under Building Infrastructure, Highway & Transit Include:

Working for You

The second theme of the budget is separated into three sections; Working for Workers, Keeping Costs Down and Better Services for You. These sections outline the Ford government’s commitment to investing in workers and key public services while refraining from raising taxes and fees.

Extending the current temporary gas tax and fuel tax rate cut. First introduced on July 1, 2022, the Ontario government temporarily cut the gasoline tax by 5.7 cents per litre, and the fuel (diesel) tax by 5.3 cents per litre until June 30. 2024. The extension of the tax cut will see the rates remain at 9 cents per litre until December 31, 2024..
Extending the tuition freeze for colleges and universities for at least three more years.
Launching One Fare so transit riders only pay once for transfers between transit systems in the GTA.
Expanding the Ontario Guarant4eed Annual Income System (GAINS) program and indexing the GAINS benefit to inflation.

Key Initiatives Under Keeping Costs Down Include:

Better Services for You includes breakdowns of the province’s investments in housing, healthcare, public safety & education.

Key Initiatives Under Working for Workers Include:

Investing an additional $100 million into the Skills Development Fund Training stream to address challenges in hiring, training and retaining workers.
Providing an additional $16.5 million annually over three years as part of the Skilled Trades Strategy to attract more young people into the skilled trades, simplify the system and encourage employer participation in apprenticeships.
Expanding the Ontario Youth Apprenticeship Program and launching pre-apprenticeship training projects with a $62.9 million investment.
Implementing a permanent Target Benefit Framework.

Key Initiatives Under Working for Workers Include:

A $23 billion investment over 10 years to build, expand and renew schools and childcare spaces.
Investing $49 million to support programs that combat auto theft, dismantle organized crime networks and ensure offenders are held accountable.
An additional $46 million, including purchasing four helicopters to support patrols and improve response times to major incidents.

Housing and Municipalities

Recognizing that housing supply and cost is still a primary issue facing the province, the government is investing $3 billion in funding for housing-enabling infrastructure to get more homes built.

This funding includes:

$1 billion in new spending for the new Municipal Housing Infrastructure Program
$825 million for the Housing-Enabling Water Systems Fund. $625 million of this funding is new in Budget 2024.
$1.2 billion in the Building Faster Fund.
Extending the authority of municipalities to impost Vacant Home Taxes.
Strengthening the Non-Resident Speculation Tax.
Enabling Municipalities to lower property taxes on new purpose-built rentals.
Supporting modular construction and other innovative technologies.

Recognizing that housing supply and cost is still a primary issue facing the province, the government is investing $3 billion in funding for housing-enabling infrastructure to get more homes built.

This funding includes:

Healthcare

Get more than 5,500 health care students practical hands-on experience.
Help 1,500 internationally educated nurses get accredited.
Support the expansion of over 3,000 new nursing seats at public colleges and universities.

The budget will also see the establishment of a new medical school at York University focused on training family doctors and an additional $396 million investment in mental health and addictions services and programs.

There will also be an investment of $155 million to increase construction funding subsidies for long-term care home development and redevelopment.

What Comes Next?

Following the easter break next week, the government will spend the majority of April debating and passing the budget.

Ontario Liberal Leader Bonnie Crombie will be looking to leverage her response to the budget to elevate her profile. Calling this a “do nothing budget”, Crombie will try to use this rhetoric to gain votes for her party’s candidate, Galen Naidoo Harris, in the upcoming Milton byelection.

NDP Leader Marit Stiles and her team will try and hold the government to account for what they believe is not in this budget. On social media Stiles criticized the budget for not including initiatives on paid sick day, funding to address school backlog and addressing the high cost of groceries and housing.

Analysis

Budget 2024 lays out the Ford Government’s priorities as they head into the second half of their majority mandate.

With housing prices, inflation and interest rates still relatively high the government is investing in housing infrastructure and housing projects which will help to prepare for lower prices, lower inflation and most importantly lower interest rates as the housing market heats up again. The increased investments into the skilled trades will also help the province move forward with the much-needed infrastructure and housing projects.

By continuing with affordability measures such as the gas tax cut and refusing to raise taxes, the government recognizes the financial pressure Ontarians are under and is shouldering some of the burden - despite the continued increases in carbon taxes.

With the pressure on the province’s healthcare system, the Ford Government is providing increased investments in hospital operating budgets, home and community care funding, growing the health workforce and funding for primary care teams. These initiatives/programs will help decrease wait times and relieve some of the pressure currently facing the healthcare system.