Infrastructure, jobs may be focus of Ontario’s fall fiscal update

Ontario Finance Minister Peter Bethlenfalvy is highlighting infrastructure spending and protecting jobs from the impacts of U.S. tariffs as two areas in which the federal budget falls short.

That focus may provide a glimpse of the themes of the fall economic statement, which often serves as a mini budget, that Bethlenfalvy is set to table Thursday.

In another recent financial update, the 2025-26 first quarter finances, the government projected a $14.6-billion deficit this year.

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But in a speech earlier this week, Bethlenfalvy noted how the province ended last year with a deficit of $1.1 billion, significantly smaller than the $9.8 billion it had projected.

He also touted a debt-to-GDP ratio that is the lowest it’s been in a decade and falling costs of servicing the province’s debt, suggesting the books may be improving.

Bethlenfalvy has already made a few pre-fall economic statement announcements, including an HST rebate for some first-time homebuyers and $1.1 billion for home care.