Any hope that the Ford government would come to the aid of the City of Toronto and its struggling finances was dashed on Thursday as the province unveiled its 2023 budget.
The document included few new spending lines or flashy announcements — and it didn’t put a single new cent on the table to help Toronto address its yawning deficit.
In the run-up to its 2023 budget, Toronto called repeatedly on the province and federal government to provide it with extra funding. The city asked for money to address COVID-19, shelters and supportive housing.
The province’s budget does include some money to help with supportive housing, which will be distributed across cities in Ontario.
A commitment to spend $202 million per year on homelessness and supportive housing will significantly benefit Toronto based on population size.
Finance minister Peter Bethlenfalvy told reporters at Queen’s Park on Thursday that Ontario had already spent a significant amount on Toronto. He said that he “continued to have a dialogue” with Deputy Mayor Jennifer McKelvie about future support.
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The finance minister pointed to the $202 million in funding for supportive housing and homelessness as money that would help.
“Today’s budget actually is delivering for the City of Toronto,” he said Thursday. “The Big City Mayors … who represent 70 per cent of the population of Toronto, their top asks were for mental health support and for addiction support.”
Ontario NDP Leader Marit Stiles said the Ford government wanted to download responsibilities and costs onto local governments like Toronto.
“Call it the Ford tax because this tax is on him,” Stiles said, predicting local property tax increases on the back of provincial decisions.
In a statement, McKelvie thanked the province for the money in its budget that will go to the city.
“I’ve spoken directly with Minister Bethlenfalvy and thanked him for making this commitment, which former Mayor John Tory had advocated strongly for before leaving office,” she said.
She said other discussions for future funding that may need to be navigated were underway.
In a November letter to the City of Toronto, Ontario’s Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing, Steve Clark, said the province would help the city with some of its 2022 operating shortfall.
In a letter to former Toronto mayor John Tory, Clark promised to help with the city’s “distinct budgetary challenges.”
At the time, Clark said Ontario was working to provide funds to cover one-third of Toronto’s $703-million operating budget deficit.
That letter foreshadowed the absence of measures for Toronto in the latest budget.
“It is critical that you use this support and the time it provides to take action to address Toronto’s forward looking operating pressures,” Clark wrote toward the end of 2022.
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