Ontario Greens unveil costed election platform, with promise to build 2M new homes
Liberals unveil plan to end hallway health care, Ford in D.C. for tariff talks
The Ontario Greens became the first major political party to release a costed platform of election promises on Wednesday, with Leader Mike Schreiner emphasizing a theme of "restoring fairness" in the province.
"Let's be clear, things have gotten much harder over the last seven years with Doug Ford as premier," Schreiner told a room of Green candidates and supporters in Toronto. "It doesn't have to be like this."
Schreiner said the province's housing crisis and the related increase in costs of living are the top issues during the snap election campaign.
The Greens have committed to building two million new homes in the next 10 years. The plan includes:
- Legalizing fourplexes and four-storey buildings as of right across Ontario, and sixplexes in cities with more than 500,000 people.
- Legalizing buildings of six to 11 stories along major transit routes and main streets.
- Eliminating development charges on new homes under 2,000 square feet built within existing urban boundaries.
- Scrapping the provincial land transfer tax for first-time homebuyers.
"We're going to bring generational fairness back to the housing market, so a whole generation of young people know that they can find a home that they can afford. And (so) that seniors can downsize into a home they can afford in the community they know and love," Schreiner said.
Housing promises have featured heavily on the campaign trail. The Progressive Conservatives announced during the 2022 election that they would support the construction of 1.5 million new homes in Ontario by 2031, but progress on that target has largely stalled due to a complicated mix of factors.
The Green platform includes tax cuts for individuals who earn less than $65,000 annually and households with collective incomes under $100,000 per year.
The tax cuts would be paid for in part "by asking the wealthiest in our province to pay a bit more," Schreiner said, without elaborating further. A costing document published by the Green campaign indicates it would mean a three per cent increase to the highest tax bracket.
The Greens said other revenue to pay for their promises would come from cancelling Highway 413 — a savings of about $10 billion over four years, the party estimates — and scrapping the province's $2.2-billion deal to redevelop Ontario Place.
Schreiner also committed to double the rates of both the Ontario Disability Support Program and Ontario Works.
The Greens are similarly promising to provide free heat pumps for households making less than $100,000 per year, similar to programs already in place in New Brunswick and PEI, as well as zero-interest loans for those with higher incomes to get their own.
Schreiner said a Green government would also create a protected "foodbelt."
"We know that we have to protect the people and places that we love in the province of Ontario. We have to restore fairness for rural communities and farmers," he said.
"At a time when we are seeing threats from south of the border, it is so important to secure our food security and protect our $50-billion food and farming economy."
The Greens are the only major party that has committed to reopen supervised drug consumption sites shuttered by the province. In December, the PC majority fast-tracked legislation that banned the facilities within 200 metres of schools and daycares and effectively prevented any new sites from opening. Nine sites closed by the bill are being converted to addiction treatment and recovery hubs instead.
Greens look to boost caucus
Both the Liberals and NDP have committed to releasing their own costed platforms before election day on Feb. 27. PC Leader Doug Ford has said his government's last fall economic statement, basically a mini-budget released in October, would serve as his party's list of commitments with price tags attached. The PCs relied on the same strategy in 2022 and did not release any costing estimates during the 2018 campaign.
The Greens held two of 124 available seats at Queen's Park when the legislature was dissolved late last month. Twelve seats are required for official party status, which comes with significant perks like more money and research resources.
Schreiner was joined at his Wednesday announcement by Matt Richter, the party's candidate in Parry Sound–Muskoka. Richter has run in the riding in each of the last six provincial elections. In 2022, PC candidate Graydon Smith, who would go on to serve as the minister of natural resources, won by about 4.7 per cent, but the Greens' vote share increased by nearly 20 per cent.
Schreiner said his party will dedicate resources to trying to flip the seat this time around. He also named Dufferin–Caledon — which will be severely impacted by the construction of Highway 413 — as a riding where the Greens could potentially add to their caucus.
Crombie pitches plan to end hallway health care
Meanwhile, Liberal Leader Bonnie Crombie pledged Wednesday morning to end hallway health care, in part by paying nurses and personal support workers more and ensuring wage parity across the entire system.
"It shouldn't matter where that nurse or where that PSW is employed," Crombie said. "Whether they are in the community in a long-term care facility or in the hospital, there should be parity in their wages."
The COVID-19 pandemic laid bare the problem of unequal pay among nurses and personal support workers. Generally, hospitals paid nurses and PSWs more than long-term care homes, which in turn paid more than home-care services.
The lack of pay parity played a major role in nursing home staffing shortages during the pandemic, Ontario's Long-Term Care COVID-19 Commission concluded.
"Financial disparity between sectors of the health-care system leads to the needless movement of staff who understandably are looking for greater and more stable income," wrote Justice Frank Marrocco, who led the commission.
"This cannibalization of one sector's workforce for another's does nothing to improve the lives of those needing care. To ensure sufficient staffing for all sectors, the income disparity across the health-care sector must be addressed."
Meanwhile, Progressive Conservative Leader Doug Ford remains in Washington, D.C., in his capacity as Ontario premier, as he attempts to head off looming American tariffs, while NDP Leader Marit Stiles has no public events scheduled.
Ford has justified calling the snap election by saying he needs an even bigger mandate to deal with four years of U.S. President Donald Trump.
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With files from The Canadian Press