Body cam footage shows neighbour teeing off on Alan Ritchson before beatdown

He massacred three at Waterloo factory - now he's got day parole

Ontario farmer returns litterbug's trash to their address in viral clip

SIMMONS: Blue Jays' Opening Day and the baseball dreams of Fathers and Sons

Gas expected to drop 13 cents on Wednesday: Analyst

Share this Story : Toronto Sun Copy Link Email X Reddit Pinterest LinkedIn Tumblr

JARVIS: Budget 2026 is Doug Ford’s golden opportunity to fix Ontario’s finances

Ford promised to fix the government’s books before and after he won the 2018 election.

You can save this article by registering for free here. Or sign-in if you have an account.

Premier Doug Ford has failed taxpayers by borrowing billions, but the upcoming provincial budget is his chance to bring some sanity back to government spending.

Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada.

Unlimited online access to articles from across Canada with one account.

Get exclusive access to the Toronto Sun ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition that you can share, download and comment on.

Enjoy insights and behind-the-scenes analysis from our award-winning journalists.

Support local journalists and the next generation of journalists.

Daily puzzles including the New York Times Crossword.

Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada.

Unlimited online access to articles from across Canada with one account.

Get exclusive access to the Toronto Sun ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition that you can share, download and comment on.

Enjoy insights and behind-the-scenes analysis from our award-winning journalists.

Support local journalists and the next generation of journalists.

Daily puzzles including the New York Times Crossword.

Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience.

Access articles from across Canada with one account.

Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments.

Enjoy additional articles per month.

Get email updates from your favourite authors.

Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience.

Access articles from across Canada with one account

Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments

Enjoy additional articles per month

Get email updates from your favourite authors

Don't have an account? Create Account

If not, debt interest charges will eat away at government finances until there’s no money left for core services and tax cuts.

JARVIS: Budget 2026 is Doug Ford’s golden opportunity to fix Ontario’s finances Back to video

Ontario’s government has been on a borrowing binge. Big borrowing politicians have nearly tripled the provincial debt in the last two decades.

Ontario’s debt was $154 billion 10 years ago. That meant each Ontarian’s share of the provincial debt was about $12,139.

Now Ontario’s debt is $459 billion. That’s more than $28,200 for every Ontario resident.

Ford promised to fix the government’s books before and after he won the 2018 election. Before the election, Ford declared that “the party is over with the taxpayers’ money” and after the election promised to balance the budget.

Your noon-hour look at what's happening in Toronto and beyond.

There was an error, please provide a valid email address.

By signing up you consent to receive the above newsletter from Postmedia Network Inc.

A welcome email is on its way. If you don't see it, please check your junk folder.

The next issue of Your Midday Sun will soon be in your inbox.

We encountered an issue signing you up. Please try again

Interested in more newsletters? Browse here.

Despite these promises to get Ontario’s fiscal house in order, Ford’s Progressive Conservatives have kept adding more charges to the taxpayer credit card.

Ford has added $121 billion to the provincial debt after almost eight years in power.

The Ford government is currently wrapping up its biggest borrowing year yet by adding $31.5 billion to Ontario’s debt.

Just like with your family credit card, every dollar that government borrows today must be paid back with interest.

Taxpayers shelled out $16.2 billion to pay for the government’s debt interest charges, in 2025-26.

The government spends more than $3 billion more on debt interest than it does on post-secondary education. If debt interest were a ministry, it would have the fourth-largest budget. You can do a lot with $16.2 billion, like building 637 schools or cutting the provincial portion of the HST by three percentage points. Instead, those billions are going to bankers holding provincial bonds.

And things are only projected to get worse. Ontario’s debt interest charges are projected to continue rising quickly — faster than any other line item in the provincial budget. If debt interest charges rise by 5.6% as the Financial Accountability Office projects, debt interest will cost taxpayers over $20 billion by 2029-30. Ontarians are clearly concerned about our rising debt interest. A poll found that 75% of Ontario residents are concerned about Ontario’s debt interest charges.

Time to turn off the debt taps

Fixing Ontario’s debt interest problem is not only the right thing to do, but it’s popular too.

Ottawa is doing a better job of cutting spending than Queen’s Park. When a Liberal prime minister is working to make across-the-board cuts in Ottawa, surely a self-proclaimed “fiscally responsible” premier can launch a similar effort.

Ford can also cut the $11.9 billion this government is spending on corporate welfare, something the premier promised to cut before he was elected. Cutting business taxes is a fairer and more efficient way to improve Ontario’s business competitiveness than picking winners and losers, something Ford once acknowledged.

These efforts would go a long way to turning off the debt taps and set the government up to deliver the major tax cuts Ontarians desperately need to fend off the rising cost of living.

Ford must end the debt spiral that’s threatening Ontario’s future.

Ford can call the 2026 budget a success if he outlines a clear plan to ending the borrowing binge and start cutting taxes for all Ontarians.

Noah Jarvis is the Ontario Director of the Canadian Taxpayers Federation

Share this Story : Toronto Sun Copy Link Email X Reddit Pinterest LinkedIn Tumblr

Postmedia is committed to maintaining a lively but civil forum for discussion. Please keep comments relevant and respectful. Comments may take up to an hour to appear on the site. You will receive an email if there is a reply to your comment, an update to a thread you follow or if a user you follow comments. Visit our Community Guidelines for more information.

Body cam footage shows neighbour teeing off on Alan Ritchson before beatdown Celebrity

Body cam footage shows neighbour teeing off on Alan Ritchson before beatdown

He massacred three at Waterloo factory - now he's got day parole Ontario

He massacred three at Waterloo factory - now he's got day parole

SIMMONS: Blue Jays' Opening Day and the baseball dreams of Fathers and Sons Toronto Blue Jays

SIMMONS: Blue Jays' Opening Day and the baseball dreams of Fathers and Sons

Ontario farmer returns litterbug's trash to their address in viral clip Toronto & GTA

Ontario farmer returns litterbug's trash to their address in viral clip

Fire truck cleared to cross runway 20 seconds before deadly crash Canada

Fire truck cleared to cross runway 20 seconds before deadly crash

© Toronto Sun