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The message is clear — the Ford government wants you to believe it’s taken a responsible approach to spending that differs from the mismanagement of previous governments. But what does Ford’s actual fiscal track record show?

For starters, Ford has presided the second- and third-highest levels of program spending (on a per-person basis, after adjusting for inflation) in Ontario history — even after you exclude emergency spending during COVID. In fact, despite routinely his predecessors, Ford has demonstrated a approach to spending as former premier Kathleen Wynne, with per-person program spending higher today than when Wynne left office (again, after adjusting for inflation).

Consequently, the Ford government has run budget deficits in years from 2018/19 to 2023/24 (with the only surplus coming from a surprise windfall of revenues in 2021/22) and a $6.6 billion deficit for 2024/25, for a total projected $43.3 billion in borrowing to cover day-to-day government operations.

Why should Ontarians care? There are reasons.

Because deficits fuel debt accumulation, interest payments (which will reach a projected $12.7 billion this fiscal year) divert money away from services including health care and education. And Ford recently that his government hasn’t raised taxes on Ontarians, but younger generations of Ontarians will pay for today’s spending through higher taxes tomorrow.

Which brings us to the other pillar of fiscal policy — taxes.

During the 2018 election campaign, Ford promised to cut Ontario’s second income tax bracket by 20 per cent. Today in 2025, that promise to middle-income Ontarians remains unfulfilled. Ontario also has the third-highest combined (federal/provincial) top income tax rate in North America, which makes it harder to attract and retain high-skilled workers (e.g. doctors and engineers), entrepreneurs, and investment that helps fuel prosperity.

Also in 2018, Ford promised to reduce the province’s business income tax rate, which — seven years later — remains stuck at 11.5 per cent. The Ford government should reduce income taxes for individuals and businesses, allow Ontarians to keep more of their hard-earned money, and encourage economic activity and investment, particularly during these uncertain times. 

Unfortunately for Ontarians, the Ford government will likely continue its same tax-and-spend approach in its upcoming budget. Indeed, the government’s election promised tens of billions in new spending on infrastructure and programs and potentially billions more meant to mitigate any damage from U.S. President Donald Trump’s tariffs. There’s also no commitment to lower income tax rates.

Ford’s track record demonstrates none of the fiscal prudence he claims. Instead, his approach to managing taxpayer money has been to spend it all — and then some — and expect you to be happy he didn’t raise taxes even higher. Rather than continue this same approach in the upcoming budget, the Ford government should finally get spending under control, balance the budget, and fulfil Ford’s promises to cut taxes. A responsible pro-growth approach to fiscal policy will serve Ontario well, during times of uncertainty and beyond.