The Progressive Conservatives spent more on public advertising in the run-up to February’s snap election than any other Ontario government in history, the auditor general has found, pushing commercials with a message that “promotes the governing party.”
Auditor General Shelley Spence’s annual review of advertising found, in the fiscal year ending in March 2025, the province spent $111.9 million on advertising — $8.4 million more than the year before, which had already set a record.
“This most recent fiscal year saw the highest ever spending on government advertising and included the election in February 2025,” Spence wrote in her report published Tuesday.
Ontario NDP Leader Marit Stiles said the government was using increasing amounts of public money to “polish” the premier’s image.
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“Doug Ford is trying to gaslight the people of our province with their own money,” she said in a statement.
“Never has it been harder to get good jobs, afford a home, or pay for groceries. People don’t need propaganda. They need a government that works.”
The largest campaigns run by the government over the past year were its U.S. partnership commercial ads, which ran across major American networks, and a continuation of the “It’s Happening Here” commercial domestically.
As Global News has previously reported, the budget for the American commercials — designed to charm U.S. President Donald Trump and convince him not to levy massive tariffs against Ontario — was $52 million.
The auditor general found the government ultimately spent $40.1 million of that budget, largely on TV commercials.
The other campaign, “It’s Happening Here,” was flagged last year by the auditor general as being run without a clear purpose beyond improving the public’s view of the government.
“The advertisements were aimed at a general audience,” Spence repeated in her report for 2025.
“They did not include information about services and programs, but rather appeared designed to improve Ontarians’ impression of the current state of Ontario, the subtext of which promotes the governing party.”
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