Wellington Dupont's 2023 Ontario Fall Economic Statement Summary

This afternoon, Ontario’s Finance Minister, the Honourable Peter Bethlenfalvy, tabled the 2023 Fall Economic Statement (FES).

The government is expecting a $5.6 billion deficit this year due to a slowing economy. It is projected to be $5.3 billion in 2024-25. Ontario’s real GDP has a growth of 1.1% in the current year and sees a 0.5% growth in the following year. The government’s total expenses for 2023-24 are expected to be $206 billion.

This FES highlights a $3 billion investment in an Ontario Infrastructure Bank, removing the Harmonized Sales Tax (HST) on qualifying new purpose-built rental housing, and providing an additional $100 million to the Invest Ontario Fund.

‍

Economic Highlights

• Creating a new arms-length agency called the Ontario Infrastructure Bank.
• The government is proposing $3 billion in initial funding to the agency to enable investments and attract institutional investors to help build critical infrastructure projects across the province.
• Proposing to extend the current gas tax and fuel tax rate cuts, keeping the rates at 9 cents per litre until June 30, 2024.

Critical Minerals:

• Ontario’s minerals mining industry will see an additional $12 million tax credit from the Enhance Ontario Focused Flow-Through Share Tax Credit starting in 2023.
• The Critical Minerals Innovation Fund will invest $5 million to support the critical minerals sector through targeted innovation investments and research to address gaps in the supply chain.
• An investment of $6 million over two years into the Ontario Exploration Program will come to a total of $35 million, $12 million of which will be dedicated to critical minerals exploration.

Manufacturing:

• The Ontario-Made Manufacturing Investment Tax Credit will see $780 million in income tax support for manufacturers.
• An additional $100 million will be added to the Invest Ontario Fund to help attract more leading companies to Ontario and create jobs.

• As of October 1, 2023, increasing the general minimum wage to $16.55 per hour, which is a 6.8% pay raise.
• Addressing auto theft by investing $51 million to dismantle organized crime and committing $1.4 million over three years in the Greater Toronto Area-Greater Golden Horseshoe Investigative Fund.

‍

Health Care

• Investing $569 million in 2023-24 in home care, as part of the total investment of $1 billion over three years, including more than $370 million to support home and community care workers.
• Investing $33 million over three years for 100 additional undergraduates and 154 postgraduate medical training seats to prioritize Ontario residents trained at home and abroad.
• Providing $200 million in 2023-24 to address immediate health care staffing shortages, by hiring qualified students and internationally educated nurses through the Ontario Breast Screening Program in Fall 2024, which will provide early screening for more than 300,000 patients.
• Investing $330 million annually to improve access to surgeries, diagnostic imaging, emergency care and mental health services for children and youth.
• Providing $3.3 million over the next three years to expand access to dual credit opportunities in health care-related courses for an additional 1,400 secondary students.

• Taxation Agreement to enable the federal government to levy an additional excise duty on vaping products at a rate consistent with the existing federal excise duty.
• Continuing its planned investment of $6.4 billion to build more than 30,000 new and over 28,000 upgraded long-term beds by 2028.

‍

Infrastructure

• New highway projects will be introduced to alleviate gridlock in Highway 413, Bradford Bypass, Highway 401, QEW Garden City Skyway Bridge project, Highway 7, highways in Northern Ontario and the Ontario Highways Program.
• Building Transit-Oriented Communities to increase ridership, create sustainable communities and build more homes at or around GO Transit, light rail transit (LRT) and subway stations.
• Further GO Rail and GO bus services to connect communities across the Greater Golden Horseshoe and Southwestern Ontario.
• $139.5 million will be invested to reinstate the Northlander passenger rail service with three new trainsets between Timmins and Toronto.
• Nine Indigenous organizations and communities will receive up to $584,000 to support economic development, mobility, and transportation safety for community-driven transportation-related projects.
• By the end of 2025, nearly $4 billion will be invested to support high-speed internet access in communities across the province.
• Increasing access to employment services for people with disabilities through an investment of $3.5 million over the next three years to support the Abilities Centre in Whitby.

• In the next 10 years, $48 billion will be invested into Ontario’s health infrastructure including $32 billion in capital grants to support 50 hospital projects and adding 3,000 new beds over 10 years.
• $22 billion will be invested over the next 10 years, including $15 billion in capital grants to build new schools, create childcare spaces and modernize school infrastructure.
• Building Ontario Place to include 50 acres of free parks, a new Ontario Science Centre, additional waterfront programming, activity and play zones, public parking and improved mobility options.

‍

Labour

• Investing $160 million through the Skills Development Fund, which prioritizes training programs for people who may face barriers to employment.
• Investing $3 million in 2023-24 to expand the Ontario Bridge Training Program to accelerate the integration of skilled newcomers into the Ontario workforce.
• Investing $32.4 million over the next three years to support up to 6,500 high-quality paid research internships through Mitacs.
• Developing a permanent framework to target benefit pension plans.

‍

Housing

• Taking steps to enhance the Ontario HST New Residential Rental Property Rebate to remove the entire 8% of the HST on qualifying new purpose-built rental housing.
• Investing $200 million over three years in a new housing enabling water systems fund that would protect communities and help unlock new housing opportunities.

‍

Watch Ontario Finance Minister Peter Bethlenfalvy deliver the 2023 Fall Economic Statement

‍