QUEEN’S PARK - Ontario NDP Leader Marit Stiles, and northern MPPs are calling out Ford’s lacklustre Fall Economic Statement for failing to deliver a real plan that families across Northern Ontario urgently need as the cost of living rises, the job crisis worsens, and the housing crisis deepens.
“Doug Ford is a jobs disaster,” said Stiles. “This Fall Economic Statement fails to deliver for working people and for the North. Ontario’s unemployment rate is the highest it’s been in a decade, and our jobs are leaving the province faster than ever. By every measure, this government is failing.”
“Today, the Ford government had the opportunity to deliver real hope for the North, with a real jobs plan, lower costs, and investments to strengthen Ontario,” said Jamie West, MPP for Sudbury. “Instead, it has only left northern Ontarians with more fear and uncertainty. Without a real plan to strengthen Ontario’s economy, critical northern industries are leaving the province, and thousands are being left without work.”
“Northern Ontario deserves safer roads and reliable winter maintenance, affordable and accessible broadband internet, equitable access to primary health care, and clean, potable water in our schools. Yet, none of these essential priorities are addressed in this Fall Economic Statement,” added France Gélinas, MPP for Nickel Belt.
The Ontario NDP is urging the Ford government to prioritize:
- Protecting and creating good jobs by expanding supports for local manufacturing, small businesses, and Ontario’s critical resource sectors.
- Investing in social infrastructure such as housing, health care, education, and child care, to attract and retain workers.
- Building economic security by increasing social assistance rates, expanding public pharmacare and mental health care, and investing in municipalities to prevent job loss and homelessness.
ADDITIONAL QUOTES:
“This Government is showing once again that they see northern Ontario only as land to extract from. There is so much missing in the 2025 Fall Economic Statement – the needed funding for northern doctors, supports for people across the North whose jobs have been lost or impacted by tariffs, a plan to meet their commitments to connect all communities to broadband infrastructure by the end of the year, and real measures to address the public safety crises in First Nations across the province. Instead, the Government only wants to talk about First Nations and northern Ontario when promoting mining-related projects (like the Ring of Fire and Frontier’s PAK Lithium Project) that are currently in violation of Treaty Rights, Inherent Rights, and Aboriginal Title, according to rights holders themselves."
MPP Sol Mamakwa (Kiiwetinoong)
“The government continues to present an economic statement that ignores the real needs of Northern communities. Families here are facing higher costs, unsafe roads, and a severe lack of services, yet nothing in this announcement addresses these urgent challenges. The North deserves better.”
MPP Guy Bourgouin (Mushkegowuk – James Bay)
We have more people than ever needing to use food banks but, unfortunately, there’s nothing here that will help make life more affordable for northerners. There is also nothing in the budget to staff our truck inspection stations or address the chronic underfunding of our community-based health clinics. Between a lacklustre budget and plans to make it easier to kick tenants out of their homes, there’s not here much to celebrate.
MPP Lise Vaugeois (Thunder Bay – Superior North)