May 15, 2025
Ontario Budget 2025
On May 15, Ontario Minister of Finance, Peter Bethlenfalvy, released the 2025 Budget titled “A Plan to Protect Ontario”. As expected, the budget focuses heavily on issues and economic challenges that have arisen from the introduction of U.S. tariffs.
Economic Outlook
In 2024, real GDP grew 1.5% and employment increased by 140,000. Inflation came down over the past year, and interest rates continue to slide lower. However, the trade war with the US is adding significant uncertainty to Ontario’s economic future, disrupting supply chains and equity markets, and lowering business and consumer confidence. Projections for GDP have been heavily revised downwards, with 2025 going from a 1.9% estimated growth in the 2024 Budget to a much lower 0.8%. As a result, Ontario’s 2025 Budget is focused on protecting workers and businesses as instability weighs down the economy.
The 2024-25 budget is now has an estimated deficit of $6B and is expected to widen to $14.6B in 2025-26 before dropping to $7.8B in 2026-27 as the government rolls out supports (part of the increase in deficits is also due to weaker projected revenue, as weaker economy leads to fewer tax dollars collected).
Key Investments
Helping Workers and Businesses Weather the Storm
- $11 billion to support and ease the pressure on workers and business affected by U.S. tariffs
- Providing a six-month interest and penalty-free period, during which penalties and interest will not apply to any Ontario businesses that choose to defer payment under select provincially administered taxes
- $2 billion in employer rebates through the Workplace Safety and Insurance Board (WSIB), for a total of $4 billion over the past year, to help safe employers keep more workers on the job
- Investing $20 million in 2025−26 to mobilize new training and support centres, formerly known as action centres, providing immediate transition supports for laid-off workers, including those impacted by U.S. tariff
- A new $40 million Trade-Impacted Communities Program (TICP) to help communities and local businesses disproportionally impacted by trade disruption
Protect Ontario
Boosting the Province’s Competitiveness Through Invest Ontario
- Allocating an additional $600 million to the Invest Ontario Fund, which is the province’s investment attraction agency
Expanding Ontario’s Shipbuilding Industry
- Investing over $200 million to support the shipbuilding industry and the broader marine sector
Unlocking the Ring of Fire
- Investing $11.9 million in 2025–26 to support the advancement of the Matawa Broadband project, to provide modern and scalable telecommunication services to five Matawa-member communities in the Ring of Fire Area
Leading the Country on Interprovincial Free Trade
- Reducing unnecessary barriers and taking a leadership role in driving immediate and meaningful action on internal trade
- Remove labour mobility barriers, reduce administrative burdens and simplify the movement of certified workers across Canada, by expanding labour mobility with new “As of Right” rules;
- Enable mutual recognition with reciprocating provinces and territories, so that goods, services and registered workers that are good enough for other parts of Canada are recognized as good enough for sale, use or work in Ontario
Training Workers for Rewarding Careers Through the Skills Development Fund
- Over the next three years, the government is investing another $1 billion, bringing the total SDF funding commitment to $2.5 billion.
- Investing over $5.2 million through the Skills Development Fund to support the International Brotherhood of Boilermakers Local 128 in expanding training opportunities in Northern Ontario
Supporting Rewarding Careers in the Skilled Trades
- Investing an additional $159.3 million over three years to support ongoing growth and program stability in various skilled trades programs, including expanding the In-Class Enhancement Fund to increase the number of training seats available and fund the classroom fees for Level 1 apprentices
Enrolling More Students in Construction-Related Postsecondary Programs
- Investing $75 million over three years to create up to 2,600 new seats annually in priority construction-related postsecondary programs
Continuing to Build with the Ontario Community Infrastructure Fund
- $400 million to 423 small, rural and Northern communities across Ontario in 2025 to fund critical infrastructure, including roads, bridges, water, and wastewater projects
Increasing Capital for the Building Ontario Fund
- To address a growing pipeline of potential projects, the government is proposing to provide up to a further $5 billion in funding to the BOF
Building and Expanding Hospitals
- The government is investing approximately $56 billion over the next decade in health infrastructure, including over $43 billion in capital grants
Building Schools and Child Care Spaces
- Investing over $30 billion over the next 10 years, including approximately $23 billion in capital grants, to support new and redeveloped schools and child care projects
To see the full budget, click here.
