Fighting tariffs a political performance as Ford pays off developers and Americanizes Ontario’s economy: OPSEU/SEFPO responds to FES

Toronto, ON, Nov. 07, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The Ford government presented its fall economic statement yesterday, after rolling out the largest spending budget in Ontario’s history earlier this year.

“The Ford government’s financial planning is for an imaginary Ontario – not the one we live in,” said JP Hornick, President of OPSEU/SEFPO. “A job-focused plan does not pour billions into capital projects while more than 700,000 Ontarians are out of a job and unemployment is projected to soar.”

Hornick suggests that the economic statement released today also paints a bleak future that fails young people, noting that nearly one in four teenagers in the province were unemployed as of June 2025.

“You can’t protect against tariffs while replicating the worst parts of America’s economy – privatizing public services, gutting education, and putting corporate handouts over the day-to-day needs of working people,” added Hornick.

Public services act as “automatic stabilizers” in times of crisis - keeping economies afloat, providing a social safety net for workers laid off or transitioning careers, and ensuring families stay supported.

“You want to keep, and attract, talent and investment to Ontario? Start by prioritizing our strong, public services which bring people and business from all around the world,” said Hornick. “The workers building Ontario and their families rely on these services every day.”

Per-person provincial funding for social services is set to decrease by over 20% from 2017-2027. According to an FAO report released this year, spending on children, community, and social services – a sector overwhelmingly employing women – would need to increase by 4.2% over the next 3 years just to maintain current service levels.

Yesterday afternoon’s announcement also reduced job creation targets set by the Ford government earlier this year – another key metric it has failed to meet, alongside missed targets for housing and emission reductions.

“It seems Ford is on track to accomplish one target: prioritizing projects that reward his developer friends,” said Hornick. “Meanwhile, more than 50,000 workers in community and social services are still waiting to catch up for wages stolen from them under his government’s unconstitutional Bill 124.”

The Ford government has recently come under fire for what critics call a “circular economy,” with hundreds of millions from the Skills Development Fund being awarded to private sector recipients with direct ties to elected officials and their families, associated lobbyists, and prominent Progressive Conservative Party donors.

“The cracks are starting to show in this government’s ruse to pay off their friends and wealthy corporations using the hard-earned tax dollars of working people in this province,” said Hornick. “Trump, and his tariffs, are just a convenient scapegoat – the real crisis is Ford’s plan for a corrupt, and corporate, Ontario.”

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NEWS RELEASE: Fighting tariffs a political performance as Ford pays off developers and Americanizes Ontario’s economy