Ontario’s latest budget offers little for Ottawa

Many promises made during the election were not in this year's budget

Much of the same: Ontario's latest budget has been tabled, but for the City of Ottawa, it mainly included previously announced promises. 

During the provincial election, Ontario Premier Doug Ford committed to uploading the city’s light rail transit system to the province and building Stage 3 out to Kanata, Stittsville and Barrhaven. 

Finance Minister Peter Bethlenfalvy’s provincial budget said the government will explore “options for uploading the Ottawa LRT, subject to due diligence, to help reduce costs for Ottawa taxpayers.” What was not included were any timelines or other details. 

Speaking to reporters Thursday afternoon, Mayor Mark Sutcliffe confirmed a deal would “take time,” and said what’s key is ensuring OC Transpo can continue being in charge of hiring and scheduling. 

  • “There’s a lot of work to do; it’s not a small transaction. It’s really important that we get the right deal for Ottawa, not necessarily a deal on a certain timeline,” said Sutcliffe during a media scrum. 

Old promises: Another previously announced investment included building the Barnsdale Road Highway 417 interchange. The province said it’s working on designs with the city, and once built, it would help “support population growth and development planned by the city for the Barrhaven south area, including housing, commercial areas and employment lands.” 

  • Speaking to CBC before the budget was tabled, Sutcliffe noted other Ottawa priorities not included in the budget could come from future discussions and announcements with the provincial government. 

By the numbers: The entire Ontario budget is worth $232.5 billion. The province said two new schools will open in Ottawa this year: École élémentaire publique Des Visionnaires and the Riverside South Public Secondary School.

  • Another $27 million was earmarked to expand the Ottawa Hospital’s Biotherapeutics Manufacturing Centre. 

Tariffs threat: Premier Ford has been spending a lot of his time talking about the impact of U.S. -imposed tariffs on the province. To help combat that, $11 billion has been included in this year's budget to support businesses. 

When asked if he thought that was a smart idea, Sutcliffe admitted Ottawa is not being hit as hard as other cities with the tariff costs, but said any help is good help. 

  • “There is an impact here in Ottawa, directly on certain companies and also, more broadly, just on the economic uncertainty that everybody is experiencing right now because of the tariffs and the trade battles that are going on,” said Sutcliffe. “Anything that can be done to shore up our economy in Ottawa, in Ontario, across the country is going to help create more economic certainty and strengthen our economy.”