This afternoon, the Honourable Peter Bethlenfalvy, Ontario’s Minister of Finance, delivered the 2025 Budget in the Ontario Legislature. The highly anticipated budget, totalling $232 billion, is titled “A Plan to Protect Ontario.”
The 2024–25 deficit is projected to be $6 billion, $3.8 billion lower than the projection in the 2024 Budget.
The government is projecting deficits of $14.6 billion in 2025–26 and $7.8 billion in 2026–27, before returning to a surplus of $0.2 billion in 2027–28. The projected deficits are driven by investments to support affordability, public services such as health care, education, and infrastructure, and measures to protect and support Ontario’s economy in response to U.S. tariffs.
Ontario’s real GDP is also projected to rise 0.8% in 2025, increase by 1% in 2026, and increase by 1.9% in 2027 and 2028.
Budget Highlights
Tariff Response
- The government is supporting workers and businesses with $11 billion in support, including $9 billion in liquidity for employers to keep their workforce on the payroll and $2 billion in employer rebates through the Workplace Safety and Insurance Board (WSIB) to help employers retain workers.
- $40 million will be invested in the Trade-Impacted Communities Program (TICP) to assist communities and businesses that are impacted by trade disruption.
- The government is also providing $20 million to create new training centres to support laid-off workers.
- $5 billion to create the Protecting Ontario Account (POA) to support businesses in protecting jobs and growing strategic sectors.
- This program will work in tandem with federal government programs and provide $1 billion in liquidity relief to protect Ontario businesses and workers facing tariff-related business disruptions.
- Starting in 2025-26, $50 million over three years will be invested to create the Ontario Together Trade Fund (OTTF).
Health Care
- Over the next 10 years, $56 billion will be invested in health infrastructure.
- This investment includes $43 billion in capital grants to support 50 major hospital projects that will add 3,000 new hospital beds.
- Investing over $235 million starting 2025–26 to establish and expand up to 80 additional primary care teams across the province, connecting 300,000 more people to primary care.
- Additional $15 million will be invested in the Life Sciences Innovation Fund (LSIF) starting in 2025-26 to provide funding to life sciences companies raising seed or pre-seed investment rounds.
- Additional $15.5 million will be invested over 3 years starting in 2025-26 to increase the reactor’s production of medical isotopes.
- $280 million over two years to support the expansion of Integrated Community Health Service Centres.
Education
- Over the next 10 years, $30 billion will be invested to build more schools and childcare spaces, including approximately $23 billion in capital grants.
- $5 billion will be invested over 10 years to support colleges, universities, and Indigenous Institutes in modernizing facilities, upgrading technology, supporting repairs, and improving energy efficiency.
- Investing an additional $207 million over three years in the Ontario Research Fund – Research Infrastructure (ORF-RI) to provide institutions, such as Ontario universities, colleges and research hospitals, with funding to acquire infrastructure and engage in global research and development.
Infrastructure
- Investing $30 billion over 10 years to support the construction of highway expansion and rehabilitation projects, including a new 400-series transportation corridor, Highway 413, across Halton, Peel, and York regions.
- Investing $2.3 billion over four years, starting 2024-25, to support the development of municipal infrastructure projects that enable housing, including an additional $400 million for the Municipal Housing Infrastructure Program (MHIP) and the Housing-Enabling Water Systems Fund (HEWSF).
- The budget also mentions supporting cross-country infrastructure, such as new railways, highways, airports, seaports, and pipelines, to connect goods to new markets, strengthen economic ties across Canada, and reduce reliance on the United States.
- Ontario is also exploring opportunities for new large-scale nuclear energy generation at both the Bruce Nuclear Generating Station in Bruce County and OPG’s Wesleyville site in Port Hope.
- The government is advancing planning for GO 2.0, a proposal to deliver new passenger rail service for the Greater Golden Horseshoe.
- The government has replaced the former Rural Economic Development (RED) program with the new Rural Ontario Development (ROD) program, and is doubling its funding to $10 million annually over the next two years, starting in 2025-26, for a total investment of $20 million.
- The government is also providing an additional $5 billion in funding to the Building Ontario Fund.
Labour
- Further $1 billion over the next three years in the Skills Development Fund Capital and Training Streams, to a total funding of $2.5 billion.
- Additional $50 million in 2025–26 to support vocational and skills training that will enable more people to transition into in-demand jobs through the Better Jobs Ontario program.
- An increase of $159.3 million over three years to support ongoing growth and stability in skilled trades programs, such as expanding the In-Class Enhancement Fund to increase the number of available training seats and cover classroom fees for Level 1 apprentices.
Artificial Intelligence
- Providing $7.2 million through the Invest Ontario Fund to support Siemens' $150 million investment in establishing a Global Artificial Intelligence Manufacturing Technologies Research and Development Centre for Battery Production at its Oakville headquarters.
- Investing an additional $90 million in venture capital (VC) funding through Venture Ontario, with $50 million focused on technologies that support national defence, artificial intelligence (AI) and cybersecurity, and $40 million for life sciences and biomanufacturing.
- $107 million in the Critical Technologies Initiative, which includes investments of up to $27 million in the Vector Institute for Artificial Intelligence, projects through the Ontario Centre of Innovation, and the Ontario Bioscience Innovation Organization.
Taxes
- Enhancing and expanding the Ontario Made Manufacturing Investment Tax Credit for Canadian-controlled private corporations (CCPCs) from 10% to 15%, and temporarily expanding eligibility for a 15% non-refundable version of the credit to non-CCPCs.
- Making the province’s gasoline and fuel tax cuts to nine cents per litre permanent.
Other Investments
- $500 million to create a new Critical Minerals Processing Fund.
- As part of the Critical Minerals Strategy, an additional $5 million over two years in the Critical Minerals Innovation Fund (CMIF).
- $70 million over four years through the Indigenous Participation Fund (formerly Aboriginal Participation Fund) to improve capacity for Indigenous communities and organizations.
- Increasing the amount of loan guarantees through the Indigenous Opportunities Financing Program (formerly Aboriginal Loan Guarantee Program) to $3 billion.
- $10 million over three years to create new scholarship opportunities for First Nations post-secondary students.
- Permanently removing tolls from the provincially owned Highway 407 East.
- Investing $61 billion in public transit over the next ten years.
- Increasing the LCBO’s wholesale discount rate from 10% to 15% on beer, wine, cider, spirits, and ready-to-drink beverages from spring 2025 until the end of 2025.
- Additional $73 million over the next 4 years will be invested in the Ontario Vehicle Innovation Network (OVIN).
- This will support regional technology development sites, research and development partnerships, and incubator projects.
- Starting in 2025-26, $12 million will be invested over the next 3 years to continue the Ontario Automotive Modernization Program (O-MAP).
- Investing $200 million in the new Ontario Shipbuilding Grant Program to support the shipbuilding industry and the broader marine sector.
- The program will provide non-repayable grants to Ontario shipbuilders for projects that support the shipbuilding industry’s competitiveness, business growth and long-term capacity.
- $57 million for two new H-135 helicopters to support the Niagara Regional Police Service and the Windsor Police Service.
- Introducing the Ontario Shortline Railway Investment Tax Credit, a new temporary tax credit to support Ontario’s shortline railway industry.
- Launching a new round of the Hydrogen Innovation Fund with an investment of $30 million.
