With the snap provincial election campaign well underway, OMA has reviewed each party’s promises over the course of the campaign to find out what the upcoming election on February 27 might mean for culture and heritage organizations in Ontario.  

Party promises have revolved primarily around the threat of US tariffs, the housing crisis, healthcare, and transportation. Though there have been no explicit references to heritage or culture, many promises from leadership about infrastructure, the environment, property taxes, and education have implications for heritage and culture.  

The Progressive Conservatives, led by Premier Doug Ford, have focused on infrastructure. Some of these programs could benefit culture and heritage organizations. 

• They are promising between $5 billion – $8 billion to the Building Ontario Fund, which would finance municipal and community infrastructure, along with supporting infrastructure projects for Indigenous communities that advance community and economic wellbeing. 
• Ford has also promised $300 million to the Community Sport and Recreation Fund, which provides funding to municipalities, Indigenous communities, and non-profit organizations.  
• They are also offering $40 million for a new Trade-Impacted Communities Program to support municipalities and communities that face major economic disruption stemming from new tariffs and $1 billion to the Skills Development Fund to expand training and employment programs.  
• The party has also announced another $40 million for “trade-impacted communities,” money set aside for municipalities particularly reliant on U.S. trade and harmed most by tariffs.  

Ford also highlighted the need for reducing red tape around building and making comments on the slow pace of approving a municipal building permit: “It goes on the carousel, it comes back for more comments, and Little Miss Jones is worried about the grasshoppers.” This may further impact municipal heritage protections.  

They have also offered to spend $10 billion toward support for employers through a six-month deferral of provincially administered taxes on Ontario businesses and $3 billion toward payroll tax and premium relief, and $600 million in a fund aimed at attracting investments.  

The Liberals have been focused on healthcare and the cost-of-living crisis, but they have promised to eliminate the provincial Land Transfer Tax for first-time buyers, seniors who are downsizing and non-profits. 

Bonnie Crombie, the Liberal leader, also pledged new “tools” for cities to deliver their services during an appearance at the Association of Ontario Municipalities conference in August.  

In terms of education, they plan to eliminate interest on Ontario Student Assistance Program loans, and create 40,000 co-op positions, paid internships and apprenticeships through tax credits to companies that hire young people.  

The New Democratic Party has focused on education and healthcare, promising an extra $830 million per year on school repairs and maintenance and to hire more school staff. Leader Marit Stiles also said she is interested in eliminating interest on student loans through OSAP, “but we should be replacing loans with grants,” she said at her Feb. 5 talk at TMU. They promise to keep post-secondary tuition rates frozen for domestic students, eliminate interest from existing student loans and turn student loans into grants. 

They also want to create a Premier’s Task Force on the Economy with business, labour and civil society.  

During the debates, Stiles focused on the messaging of “restoring the promise of Ontario” and investing in municipalities. 

The Greens are focusing on environmental protection, promising to safeguard watersheds in rural Ontario and work with Indigenous communities to conserve 30 per cent of natural areas by 2030. They would also create interest-free loans and grants for energy retrofits for private households, co-op or non-profit builders and municipalities, along with annual, long-term funding stream for cities to build climate resistance infrastructure. 

The Greens have promised to increase funding for libraries and community centres. 

They want to create an Affordable Communities Fund to cover municipalities’ housing infrastructure costs, suggesting they would take a different approach from the Ford government to getting housing built.  

They would also convert OSAP loans to grants for low and middle-income students, eliminate interest charges on student debt, and increase per-student post-secondary funding by 20 per cent, with annual increases to match inflation. 

During the debates, Schreiner asserted that Greens would fight for generational fairness in housing, health care and education.