Pressure mounts on Ford government for cost-of-living relief weeks after budget

Weeks after tabling its latest budget, Ontario’s Progressive Conservative government is facing escalating pressure to deliver new cost-of-living relief, as opposition parties and anti-poverty advocates argue the plan offers too little help now. On budget day, Finance Minister Peter Bethlenfalvy acknowledged Ontarians are struggling with higher costs, citing U.S.

tariffs, the war in Iran and global economic uncertainty. He defended the absence of new affordability measures in the spending plan by pointing to a time-limited HST cut for new home buyers and a suite of previously announced policies. “People are feeling very anxious,” he said.

“It's a challenging world that we in, and the uncertainty has hit our shores.” Pressed by reporters, Bethlenfalvy highlighted steps the government announced prior to the 2026 budget. He said the province cut the provincial portion of the gas tax by 5.7 cents per litre in 2022 and made that reduction permanent last year.

He also cited the removal of tolls from the provincially owned portion of Highway 407 East in Durham Region. “I understand how many people are feeling the pinch,” he said. “That's why we acted early, to put more money back in the pockets of those families and individuals.” Opposition leaders said those measures don’t meet the urgency of the moment.

NDP Leader Marit Stiles argued Ontarians want to see action that lowers rent and grocery bills, adding, “None of that was in the 2026 budget, life is harder and more expensive for almost every Ontarian.” Liberal Parliamentary Leader John Fraser called for moves to address home heating costs and rising unemployment rates, saying, “We can see a government that's tired and out of ideas.” Advocates echoed those concerns, saying the budget did not deliver direct relief for the province’s lowest-income residents.

Craig Pickthorne of the Ontario Living Wage Network said the government should not wait until the next budget cycle to address rent pressures. “Rent control would be the single biggest thing that anybody could do to impact affordability in Ontario,” he said. While noting an HST credit for home buyers, he urged measures targeted at people who rent their homes.

Tenant groups are urging policy changes they say would provide stability for renters and prevent evictions. Dania Majid of the Advocacy Centre for Tenants Ontario said the government should recognize that over 31 per cent of Ontario households are renters and close loopholes in rent control rules.

She pointed to the exemption for units built after 2018 and provisions that permit so-called “renovictions,” which allow landlords to evict tenants by alleging a renovation is taking place. “Closing the loopholes would go a really long way in terms of providing affordability and predictability for renters,” she said.

Food banks across the province report sharply rising demand in recent years, with clients ranging from students and workers holding multiple jobs to seniors on fixed incomes—an indicator, advocates say, of the strain households are under. For now, the government is emphasizing earlier decisions and the time-limited HST cut for new home buyers, while critics press for immediate, targeted measures focused on renters and daily essentials.