2025 Ontario Election Platform

• taking bold steps to dismantle interprovincial trade barriers, promoting trade and labour mobility
• creating a government office dedicated to diversifying Ontario’s out-of-province trade with financial assistance on offer to businesses looking to build import/export operations with other provinces and non-U.S. foreign countries
• engaging the federal government in expanding trade negotiations not only with the United States but simultaneously with Canada’s other trade partners, safeguarding Ontario’s key industries from adverse impact

In the face of increasing U.S. protectionism, Ontario has options. We have unrealized potential for trade within Canada. Recent studies indicate that meaningful liberalization of internal trade could add $50 billion to $130 billion to Canada’s overall GDP. This would also serve to cut the Canada-U.S. productivity gap by as much as one-third. We also have a large number of negotiated free trade agreements with Europe, Asia, the United Kingdom, and many more which have not been fully realized.

• investing in the expansion of the Niagara District Airport to full commercial capacity with an expanded terminal and a 7,000ft runway
• providing a minimum of 18 GO trains per day to all three Niagara stations, every day, year round
• investing in the proposed South Niagara Water/Wastewater Plant

Niagara is Canada’s largest metropolitan area with no commercial airport within 25km. Our closest airports are Pearson and Buffalo. This is a major obstacle to growing our tourism market, especially for overseas tourists. Despite Niagara’s tourism offerings, 50% of all international tourist spending takes place in Toronto, Vancouver, and Montreal.

The Niagara District Airport has a business plan to expand its runway to 7,000ft and to augment its terminal for international commercial flights. The next Government of Ontario should commit to being a funding partner for this expansion in partnership with the municipal and federal governments.

An 18-train-per-day commitment to GO will provide a train every thirty minutes during peak hours, building a realistic commuting connection between Niagara and the GTHA. With an estimated cost of $1.6B, it will deliver economic returns of $1.8B.

By 2041, more than 64 per cent of the expected growth in the City of Niagara Falls will happen in the South Niagara Falls area. This necessitates building a new wastewater treatment plant in South Niagara Falls that can handle 30 million litres of wastewater per day. The total estimated capital cost is $400M, which is beyond the financial capacity of Niagara Falls or Niagara Region. The next Government of Ontario should commit to an equal funding partnership with the Government of Canada and municipal governments in Niagara.

• implementing a 10% increase in provincial grants for college and university programs
• ending the tuition freeze at Ontario’s post-secondary institutions and allow for modest and predictable tuition increases
• offering dedicated applied research funding to post-secondary institutions working with SMEs to deliver new innovations in business

Underinvestment in post-secondary institutions is undermining both their ability to support businesses through research and development and their ability to develop the skilled workforce that Ontario’s future economy will demand. For Ontario to compete in the increasingly high-tech global economy, we will need more investment in research and post-secondary instruction.

• investing $15M in provincial tourism marketing to attract domestic, U.S., and international visitors
• creating a $20M fund to secure national and international sports and business events
• expanding the Experience Ontario Fund by $10M to enhance festivals and events
• closing Municipal Accommodation Tax loopholes to strengthen destination marketing and municipal revenue

The Niagara region welcomes approximately 14 million visitors yearly. The $2.4B they spend each year supports 40,000 local jobs, and every $100 million increase in direct revenue in tourism produces an indirect output of $69 million. There is a lot of room to expand this sector, especially as the majority of our visitors – almost ten million – come from somewhere in Ontario. Stepping up Ontario’s tourism marketing and support would be a major economic driver for Niagara.

• incrementally adapting building codes to support net-zero energy adoption and climate resilience, and accelerate building retrofits.
• requiring municipalities to end exclusionary zoning and tackle the “missing middle” in housing to tackle the housing crisis.
• aligning development charges to make multi-unit dwellings more competitive with single-family homes for developers.
• investigating a public transit funding system that ties funding levels to density of land use to encourage more efficient development.

Although the housing market has stabilized, housing prices remain elevated, which puts home ownership out of reach for many. The vacancy rate for rental units in Niagara has been at official crisis levels for years, and the number of housing starts is far below what is needed to create a suitable housing stock for Ontario. Over the next quarter century, Ontario’s population is expected to grow by 43%, and the Government of Ontario expects the population of Niagara to increase between 30 and 40%. Future provincial policy should be aligned to create more and more affordable housing, which will alleviate inflationary pressures and assist businesses by creating a more mobile workforce with more disposable income and less upward pressure on wages resulting from high shelter costs.

• committing to the ‘pay-for-say principle’ which dictates that, if an order of government has input into the operation of a service, it has a corresponding responsibility to fund that service
• commissioning an independent review of municipal responsibilities to assess, in terms of cost and service delivery, whether residents and taxpayers are better served by these responsibilities residing with the federal, provincial, or municipal governments
• encouraging municipalities to share resources and collaborate on regionally significant infrastructure projects. This can be done by establishing shared reporting mechanisms and financial incentives
• adopt the Municipal Growth Framework model proposed by the Federation of Canadian Municipalities

Despite increasing pressure on infrastructure and municipal programs, municipal governments find themselves in a financial crunch, with stagnant revenues while costs continue to increase. The Financial Accountability Office of Ontario has reported that 45% of municipal infrastructure in the province is in a poor state of repair, and bringing it up to spec would cost $52 billion. Without a reexamination of municipal government funding, it will not be possible for municipal governments to provide the services and the infrastructure that businesses depend upon to thrive.

The GNCC supports the Ontario Chamber of Commerce’s provincial election platform, Ontario Competes.

Business competitiveness results in more prosperous communities, higher consumer confidence, high-quality jobs, and a more resilient economy. This requires:

• A skilled and diverse workforce
• Reducing barriers to doing business
• Supporting healthy and resilient communities
• Investing in connectivity and infrastructure.

The GNCC’s election platform brings a local focus to the Ontario Chamber’s priorities.