Premier Ford and former PM Trudeau recorded similar fiscal results during their shared time in office

TORONTO, Nov. 13, 2025 /CNW/ - Despite political rhetoric, Ontario Premier Doug Ford and former PM Justin Trudeau recorded similar fiscal results during the seven years they were both in office, particularly on spending increases, deficits and corporate welfare, finds a new study published by the Fraser Institute, an independent, non-partisan Canadian public policy think-tank.

"Many Ontarians would be surprised to learn that Premier Ford and former PM Trudeau achieved very similar fiscal results. Both recorded large increases in spending, ran deficits, and spent billions on corporate welfare," said Ben Eisen, senior fellow at the Fraser Institute and co-author of Measuring Fiscal Policy and Fiscal Outcomes in Ontario During the Ford-Trudeau Era.

The study finds that from 2017 through 2024--the years both Trudeau and Ford were in office--both the federal and Ontario governments recorded similar fiscal results, including:

• Per person program spending increased 14 per cent under Trudeau, and 5.6 per cent under Ford.
• Tax revenues increased 15.2 per cent under Trudeau, and 5.9 per cent under Ford.
• Trudeau ran deficits all seven years from 2017 to 2024, and Ford ran deficits in six of the seven years.
• Corporate welfare per person increased 112 per cent under Trudeau, and 65 per cent under Ford.

"Premier Ford and former PM Trudeau's fiscal performance is much more similar than many people would have probably guessed," Eisen said.

"At the end of the day, there is only one taxpayer and given the similarities between Ford and Trudeau, Ontarians paid mightily during the seven years they were both in office."

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The Fraser Institute is an independent Canadian public policy research and educational organization with offices in Vancouver, Calgary, Toronto, Halifax and Montreal and ties to a global network of think-tanks in 87 countries. Its mission is to improve the quality of life for Canadians, their families and future generations by studying, measuring and broadly communicating the effects of government policies, entrepreneurship and choice on their well-being. To protect the Institute's independence, it does not accept grants from governments or contracts for research. Visit www.fraserinstitute.org

SOURCE The Fraser Institute

MEDIA CONTACT: Ben Eisen, Senior Fellow, Fraser Institute; To arrange media interviews or for more information, please contact: Drue MacPherson, 604-688-0221 ext. 721, [email protected]