This afternoon, the Honourable Peter Bethlenfalvy, Ontario’s Minister of Finance, delivered the 2024 Budget in the Ontario Legislature. The highly anticipated budget, named “Building a Better Ontario”, includes a record spending plan - the largest in the province’s history.
The budget totalling $214.5B focuses on health care with a $85B investment and about $38B will be spent on education.
Some of the major highlights include an investment of $1B into the new Municipal Housing Infrastructure Program, $3B into the new infrastructure bank, the Building Ontario Fund, and $2B toward home and community care.
For the 2023 - 24 fiscal year, the government projects a deficit of $3B and a $9.8B deficit in the following year. The province’s real GDP grew by 1.2% in 2023 and is projected to increase by 0.3% in 2024.
The Ford government still plans to balance its books before the next general election.
Budget Highlights:
Health Care
An additional $965M will be invested, including a 4% increase in total base hospital operations, to ensure hospitals can meet and increase access to high-quality care.
Over 10 years, nearly $50B will be invested in health infrastructure, including close to $36B in capital grants, for more than 50 hospital projects that will add 3,000 new hospital beds.
$2B will be invested over three years to support the home and community care workforce and to accelerate the expansion of home care services.
An additional $546M will be invested in Primary Health Care over three years to connect 600,000 more people to primary care.
Over three years, an additional $94M will be invested to enhance the health of Indigenous and Northern communities.
Over three years, an additional $50M will be invested to support care for women and children that is culturally responsive and safe.
Over three years, $743M will be invested to address health care staffing needs.
Mental health and addiction services will be expanded through the investment of an additional $396M over three years.
$155M will be invested to increase construction funding subsidies for long-term care home development and re-development.
Education
The government will be investing $903M over three years to create a Postsecondary Education Sustainability Fund.
The government plans to establish a new medical school with York University to help address the need for family physicians.
Ontario plans to improve French-language service delivery.
The government is committing another $10M in 2024-25 to support small, Northern and rural colleges and Northern universities.
The tuition freeze for Ontario students in publicly assisted colleges and universities is extended for at least 3 more years.
Infrastructure
Over the next 10 years, Ontario’s capital plan includes more than $190B of investments into highways, transit, high-speed internet, housing enabling and other infrastructure.
$1B will be invested into the new Municipal Housing Infrastructure Program to enable housing for growing and developing communities.
$825M will go towards the Housing-Enabling Water Systems Fund to provide increased access to financing for housing-enabling municipal water and wastewater infrastructure projects through Infrastructure Ontario’s loan program.
$200M over 3 years will be invested in the Community Sport and Recreation Infrastructure Fund.
Ontario’s new infrastructure bank, the Building Ontario Fund, will receive $3B to support financing and building of critical infrastructure projects.
Approximately $2B over five years will be allocated to the Ontario Community Infrastructure Fund to build community infrastructure and support 425 small, rural and Northern communities across the province.
$4B will be invested into high-speed internet for all communities across the province by the end of 2025.
Ontario’s capital plan also includes investments in highways and transit to support the Province’s economy, fight gridlock, and connect people to jobs. These investments include an expansion to Highway 7, building Highway 401 and Highway 413, and extending the Hazel McCallion Light Rail Transit (LRT) Line.
Labour
Ontario is investing $100M in the Skills Development Fund Training Stream to address challenges in hiring, training and retaining workers.
An additional investment of $16.5M annually over three years, as part of the Skilled Trades Strategy.
$62.9M will be used to expand the Ontario Youth Apprenticeship Program and launch pre-apprenticeship training projects.
The government is working to implement a permanent Target Benefit Framework to help workers plan for their retirement, support the sustainability of these workplace pension plans, and allow more employers to offer them.
Taxes
Ontario is extending the authority to impose municipal Vacant Home Taxes, to help reduce the number of unoccupied homes during the housing crisis.
Ontario is strengthening the Non-Resident Speculation Tax and increasing information sharing between provincial, federal and municipal governments.
Ontario's portion of the Harmonized Sales Tax will be removed on qualifying new purpose-built rentals to encourage the construction of more rental housing.
The government plans to lower property taxes on new purpose-built rentals to encourage the development of new purpose-built rental properties.
Other Investments
Ontario will invest $120M in the Ontario Autism Program to support the enrolment of 20,000 children and youth in clinical services.
An additional $1M per year in Ontario’s Regional Innovation Centres (RICs) - launching a new one in Barrie, Ontario to further expand regional innovation and economic growth.
Providing $31M to help combat the illegal cannabis market through the Ontario Provincial Police's Provincial Joint Forces Cannabis Enforcement Teams.
Fees will be frozen on driver’s licences and Ontario Photo Cards.
The government is proposing bans on any new tolls on new and existing provincial highways.
One Fare will be launched so transit riders only pay once for transfers between transit systems in the Greater Toronto Area.
The Ontario Guaranteed Annual Income System (GAINS) program will be expanded and indexing the GAINS benefit to inflation.
Freezing beer basic tax and LCBO mark-up rates until March 1, 2026, and proposing to eliminate 6.1% tax at on-site winery retail stores.
Watch Ontario Finance Minister Peter Bethlenfalvy deliver the 2024 Ontario Budget
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