FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
10 March 2026
TORONTO, ON – Ontario Liberal Finance & Trade Critic Stephanie Bowman released the following statement on today’s annual Pre-Budget Address, delivered by Minister of Finance, Peter Bethlenfalvy, at the Empire Club:
“The Minister’s remarks today will do little to reassure the millions of Ontarians who are struggling: for the 700,000 Ontarians who cannot find a job; for the people struggling to pay their rent, mortgage, and put food on the table; for the students who are worried about OSAP cuts and how they are going to pay for their post-secondary education, the Minister had nothing to say. For too many, affordability is the top concern and yet the word ‘affordability’ was noticeably absent from his remarks.
“The Minister talked a lot about productivity and innovation today. Well, this government has had eight years to support innovation and improve productivity – which are certainly key to a strong economy. And yet Ontario’s GDP growth per capita under this government is second only to that of the NDP government of the 1990s.
“When it comes to essential spending on critical services like healthcare, the Minister is quick to call the spending on that ‘unsustainable’. The Ford P.C. government promised to end hallway healthcare, but it has only gotten worse, with patients now being treated in closets, too. It is this government’s neglect that is unsustainable.
“What is clear from the Minister’s remarks is that this government continues to ignore the needs of Ontarians – while they spend millions on self-promoting ads. Never has a government spent so much to deliver so little.”