The provincial budget signals the end of the legislative term and kicks off the election campaign. The purpose of this blog post is to highlight what was included in the 2022 Ontario Budget and to preview to members what to expect in terms of issues and potential outcomes in the upcoming Ontario Election that will occur on June 2nd, 2022.

Finance Minister Peter Bethlenfalvy delivered the 2022 Ontario Budget on April 28th. Given that the official writ will drop on May 4th, the budget should be taken in the context of the upcoming election, and measures included will depend on the results and what items make it into the Throne Speech to kick off the new term in the fall.

The budget called "Ontario‘s Plan to Build" projects a $18.9 billion dollar deficit for 2022-23. That is an increase from the previous fiscal year. Ontario's GDP increased 4.3% in 2021. The debt-to-GDP ratio is projected to be 41.4% in 2022-23, lower than the 48.8% forecasted in the last budget.  The budget expects a return to balance in 2027-28.  

Much of the contents were pre-announced over the past few weeks so there were few surprises in what is considered by most to be the Ontario PC re-election platform. The budget document includes five key themes:

None of the themes had direct ties to human services. The early years and child care deal was signed before the term expired and was cited as an example of keeping costs down. Service Managers received clarity around the extension of the Social Services Relief Fund and Housing Prevention Program. Regulations were also completed on Community Housing Renewal. The budget did reference previously announced Community Housing Renewal, Housing Prevention Program and Social Services Relief Funding in the full document. It also calls on the federal government to fund an additional $490 million towards housing and homelessness to address Ontario being shortchanged. Housing prices were mentioned with a promise to implement a long-term strategy to address housing costs based on the Affordability Task Force‘s recommendations. 

OMSSA has been asking for a digital access strategy. The budget includes a goal to allocate $4 billion to support high-speed internet access to every community in Ontario by the end of 2025. 

Employment and skills training was a key focus of the budget. The province plans to invest $1 billion annually in employment and training programs, and $114.4 million over three years for a skills trades strategy. The budget also includes $268.5 million over three years in additional funding through Employment Ontario to strengthen the government‘s skills training and employment programs. The relaunching the Second Career program as "Better Jobs Ontario" was also included with $5 million in new funding in 2022–23. $15.1 million over three years in the Ontario Immigrant Nominee Program (OINP) was allocated to attract newcomers.

The budget assumes base program spending will increase at an average annual rate of about five per cent over the next three years. There was no mention about ODSP and Ontario Works rates, support to implement Community Safety and Well-Being Plans, RECE wages, or major new funding for supportive housing considered important to OMSSA members.

Big ticket items included:

Similar to employment and infrastructure, health saw a big focus in this budget. $40 billion was allocated for new health capital infrastructure as part of the plan to stay open with many hospital announcements made over the past few weeks. $1 billion was also announced for home care. Long-term care funding and measures were also announced during the pandemic with several local announcements occurring over the past month. The budget commits to $60 million over two years to expand community paramedicine for long-term care for eligible seniors across Ontario and $7 million for paramedics to reduce offload delays at hospitals. Premiers have also been calling on the federal government to increase health transfers to the provinces that were not included in the recent federal budget. The province also wants a local PPE manufacturing strategy as part of their plan to stay open.

The increase in the minimum wage happening in October and a series of cost saving measures such as cutting the gas tax and license plate sticker rebates were also included and previously announced. $300 in tax relief was also mentioned in the budget for lower income individuals making less than $50,000 by enhancing the Low-Income Individuals and Families Tax Credit. 

The budget speech and opposition response had more partisan language than previous budgets as would be expected given that we are on the eve of an election. The budget will not be officially passed through the Legislature as would normally be the case. The Legislature is now adjourned and is expected not to return until September after the conclusion of the election campaign. The summer will be used to select a new Cabinet, brief new Ministers on their portfolios, and prepare a Throne Speech to kick off the new term.