Premier Doug Ford Calls on Ottawa for Collaboration around Ontario Priorities

News Release

Premier Doug Ford Calls on Ottawa for Collaboration around Ontario Priorities

Team Ontario Delegation Seeks Financial Support for Transportation, Health Care and Immigration

WATERLOO — During a fireside chat at Communitech in Waterloo today, Premier Doug Ford reinforced Ontario's expectations in advance of meetings in Ottawa later this week with the Prime Minister and federal officials. The Premier once again urged the federal government to join Ontario as a partner at the table and fund their fair share of the projects and priorities that the people of Ontario are counting on.

"Our government has made significant progress on working with our municipal partners to get transit built, end hallway health care, and create the business environment that now has Ontario leading the country in job creation," said Premier Ford. "We've done our part to help the federal government promote national unity and strengthen trade ties with our U.S. partners. The people of Ontario now expect all three levels of government to roll up our sleeves and work together. We're asking the federal government to join us at the table and fund their fair share, so we can deliver what matters most to the people of Ontario."

In advance of the First Ministers' Meeting, a Team Ontario delegation of Cabinet Ministers will be headed to Ottawa to press the federal government on several initiatives, including:

• Providing 40 per cent funding of the province's historic and nationally significant Greater Toronto Area Subway Plan;

• Approving all of the outstanding critical infrastructure projects Ontario submitted through the Investing in Canada Infrastructure Program;

• Increasing the Canada Health Transfer by 5.2 per cent annually in order to improve health care delivery and end hallway health care; and

• Increasing economic immigration to drive more job creation and growth in the province.

Ministers who will participate in meetings with their federal counterparts include Christine Elliott, Deputy Premier and Minister of Health, Rod Phillips, Minister of Finance, Peter Bethlenfalvy, Treasury Board President, Caroline Mulroney, Minister of Transportation, Vic Fedeli, Minister of Economic Development, Job Creation and Trade, Greg Rickford, Minister of Energy, Northern Development and Mines and Minister of Indigenous Affairs, and Monte McNaughton, Minister of Labour, Training and Skills Development.

While in Ottawa, Premier Ford will also participate in the First Ministers' Meeting on March 12-13, hosted by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, where he will work with fellow Premiers to continue to advance Ontario's priority issues of infrastructure, healthcare, and economic immigration along with other areas of national importance.

Quick Facts

• Ontario is moving forward with the single largest investment in new subway builds in Canadian history, with a $28.5 billion subway expansion plan for the Greater Toronto and Hamilton Area.
• The Province and the City of Toronto are working together to advance this project through the Ontario-Toronto Transit Partnership, and the project has the support of York Region.
• The Province is asking the federal government to contribute their fair share of at least 40 per cent of the cost of the subway projects and close the $6 billion gap in funding required to move the expansion forward.
• The federal government currently only provides for 25 per cent of Ontario’s health care costs.
• Last year, Ontario asked the federal government for 1,000 additional provincial nominee program allocations and only received 50.
• EY Canada’s 2018 line‐by‐line review reported that the people of Ontario send $12.9 billion more to Ottawa than the province receives.