Opposition slams Ford government's $40M pre-election pro-Ontario ad blitz

Lorenda Reddekopp · CBC News

· Posted: May 26, 2025 5:00 AM EDT | Last Updated: May 26

Doug Ford's authorities spent $40 cardinal connected ads promoting Ontario to Ontarians, a run its opponents person slammed arsenic being excessively partisan – particularly successful the lead-up to the provincial election.

CBC News obtained the latest terms tag for the "It's Happening Here" run done a state of accusation (FOI) request. The ads focused connected authorities accomplishments similar "building caller roads and highways" and aired successful prime spots, similar during the Super Bowl and Oscars. 

The FOI request reveals government shelled retired $32,049,732.62 of payer wealth for the ads from February to November 2024. That's on apical of the $8 cardinal archetypal spent between April 2023 to January 31, 2024, which CBC News besides uncovered done an FOI.

The campaign, geared specifically to Ontarians, is abstracted from the multi-million dollar advertizing blitz Ontario launched arsenic U.S. President Donald Trump prepared to levy tariffs against Canada. 

NDP Leader Marit Stiles called the terms tag "outrageous" and blasted the run arsenic being "essentially a puff piece" for the authorities to "pat themselves connected the back."

Liberal Leader Bonnie Crombie called the run an "abuse of payer dollars."

But Finance Minister Peter Bethlenfalvy, who this period unveiled a fund featuring a $14.6-billion deficit, told CBC News helium is "never going to apologize for promoting Ontario." 

The melodramatic spike successful spending happened arsenic speech was heating up astir a imaginable aboriginal predetermination successful Ontario, with the advertisement run ending little than 2 months earlier Ford called a drawback election, bringing him his third-straight majority. 

Ford promised to prohibition this benignant of advertising    

The province's auditor wide has antecedently raised concerns astir the partisan quality of authorities ads. 

In December 2024, auditor wide Shelley Spence said overmuch of the Ford government's advertisement spending, including connected this campaign, seemed to beryllium chiefly astir "fostering a affirmative presumption of the governing party."

That's thing that utilized to beryllium prohibited successful Ontario.

In 2004, nether then-premier Dalton McGuinty, the Liberals brought successful the Government Advertising Act, banning ads if their superior intent was "to foster a affirmative content of the governing party."

But successful 2015, the authorities of then-premier Kathleen Wynne watered down the law, allowing the ruling enactment to enactment conscionable astir immoderate messaging successful taxpayer-funded ads, truthful agelong arsenic they don't usage the names oregon faces of a person oregon a enactment logo. 

When Ford archetypal came to powerfulness successful 2018, helium made an predetermination promise to reverse the changes to the advertizing rules, but ne'er did that. 

Government advertizing a 'fire hose': Ford's run manager

Ford's run manager has antecedently talked astir the interaction of authorities advertising.

Kory Teneycke compared the ads to those a governmental enactment tin run, portion speaking connected an occurrence of the podcast Curse of Politics last fall.

"That's a h2o gun," said Teneycke of enactment ads. "The occurrence hose is what governments tin do." 

He besides said, "I don't deliberation you'd spot the Ontario PC Party wherever it is successful the polls if it wasn't retired telling its ain communicative successful a affirmative mode utilizing authorities advertising."

Five months later, Teneycke helped Ford triumph his third-straight bulk government.

Even earlier this latest injection of wealth connected ads, the auditor wide had already recovered that the province's wide advertisement spending for the 2023 fiscal twelvemonth hit a grounds amount, soaring supra $100 cardinal dollars. The 'It's Happening Here' ads were 1 plank of the largest authorities advertisement campaign.

Opposition parties telephone for changes

While it was a Liberal authorities that allowed these types of ads, the Liberal person wants lone authorities ads that are nationalist work successful quality to beryllium permitted.

The NDP leader wants different change, adjacent though the Ford authorities didn't interruption immoderate rules.

"Frankly, I deliberation they should wage the wealth backmost to the radical of Ontario," Stiles said successful an interview.

She said she besides plans to re-introduce legislation calling for tighter advertizing rules, conscionable arsenic her enactment did past year, though Opposition authorities seldom passes.

Once again, Stiles plans to usage the nonstop aforesaid connection the PCs did erstwhile they were successful Opposition, arsenic they called for changes nether the then-Liberal government.