For those closely following the Ontario election, you may have noticed the first few days of the election campaign saw the Liberals tease parts of their platform through daily major policy announcements (see, for example, our analysis last week of the Liberal’s environment plan). On May 9, the Liberals laid out their entire plan and unveiled their election platform, including full costing for their policy promises.
Titled A Place to Grow, the Liberal plan was released in both condensed (16-page) and full (82-page) form, accompanied by a full costing data document (7 pages). With respect to costing, the Liberal plan compares itself to the deficit projections in the 2022 Budget and on this basis projects somewhat larger deficits under a Liberal government in 2023-2024 and 2024-2025, but no difference from the PC Budget forecast for this fiscal year or in 2025-2026. To better balance the books and cover election promises, the Liberals plan to rely on using contingency funds included in the Ontario budget that the Auditor General has called “overly cautious.”
Comprised of 7 different parts – each expanding on the “A Place to Grow” theme (for example, the section on the environment is titled “A Place to Grow Sustainably”) – the Liberal plan contains a wealth of policy promises, beginning with a lengthy section focused on affordability issues, which polls consistently show to be the leading issue for Ontarians. These policy pledges include:
Read more for platform highlights.
Please don’t hesitate to contact your Sussex consultant should you have any questions about the upcoming Ontario election.
Brian Zeiler-Kligman, Vice President: bz-k@sussex-strategy.com
