What to expect at Queen’s Park as Ontario MPPs return

The Ontario legislature is pictured at Queen's Park in downtown Toronto in this file photo. (Joshua Freeman /CP24)

MPPs will be back at Queen’s Park for a new sitting of the provincial legislature Monday, nearly five months after the last one.

Over the summer Premier Doug Ford continued to hammer home the message that the province must stand strong in the face of U.S. tariffs that could devastate the economy – a message he campaigned on when he won his third term earlier this year.

In an email, Ford’s office repeated that message and told CTV News Toronto that “in the face of so much economic uncertainty,” the government will be “taking a hard look at the challenges that are holding us back” and putting forward “big and bold ideas” to bolster the economy.

Ford’s office said that will include championing nuclear power and critical minerals, mandating Ontario-made products, and finding more ways to lower fees and taxes.

“We’re eliminating red tape, strengthening internal trade and opening labour mobility across Canada while speeding up the building of infrastructure, transit, and factories that create new jobs and the conditions that businesses need to invest in Ontario.”

With 79 seats, the PCs hold a comfortable majority in the 124-seat house and should be able to pass the government’s agenda fairly easily.

Still, Opposition Leader Marit Stiles said she and her NDP plan to hold the government to account, particularly when it comes to workers and a recent decision by Stellantis to move some production from Ontario to the U.S.

“This wait and see approach that the premier is taking is not saving a single job,” Stiles said at a recent appearance in Windsor.

The Ontario Green Party said they will be focused on affordability issues.

The Liberals said they plan to focus on “holding the government to account for its wrong priorities and who they leave behind,” particularly around education and health care.

“This means focusing on the things that matter most to people: cost of living, housing, and good jobs,” the party said in an email.

However the Liberals go into this term with some uncertainty about their future after Bonnie Crombie announced last month, in the wake of a poor showing in a leadership review, that she will step aside once the party has a chance to choose a new leader. It’s not yet clear when that will happen.

With less than two months before MPPs break again for the December holiday, it is likely to be a busy session. Here are some of the things to watch for as the fall sitting gets underway.

Speed cameras

In September, the province said it plans to introduce legislation to ban speed enforcement cameras across the province, saying they have become “nothing more than a revenue tool.”

Transportation Minister Prabmeet Sarkaria confirmed the legislation will be tabled the first week the legislature resumes.

Opposition parties have slammed the move and said the cameras are a necessary tool to help reduce speeding in some areas. While the province has said speed mitigation tools such as speed humps will be used instead, the legislation is likely to be contentious when introduced.

School boards

Back in June, Education Minister Paul Calandra announced that the province was taking over four school boards, including the Toronto District School Board (TDSB) and Toronto Catholic District School Board (TCDSB), saying each of the boards had “failed in its responsibilities.”

Calandra cited poor financial management at the boards and said he would take action to “restore focus” if a school board strays from its mandate of ensuring student success.

Some parents and trustees have criticized the move, saying that suspending the function of trustees reduces local accountability.

Calandra has said he’s exploring the possibility of eliminating trustee positions and is expected to provide more clarity about the government’s plans by the end of the year.

Skills development fund

Ontario’s beefed-up Skills Development Fund (SDF) was meant to help workers train for in-demand careers in the face of the ongoing trade war with the U.S. The original $1.5 billion fund was created in 2021 and in May, the province injected an additional $1 billion in the face of tariff threats.

But a recent report from the auditor general found the process for selecting who got the funds was “not fair, transparent or accountable.” At least $100 million from the fund went to clients of lobbyists with ties to Premier Doug Ford and his office, a CTV News analysis found.

NDP Leader Marit Stiles has filed a complaint with the province’s ethics watchdog in connection with at least one potential conflict of interest connected to the fund.

Given the auditor report and the lingering questions, opposition parties will likely grill the government over the fund when the legislature reconvenes.

Legislation to credential more health professionals

The province said Oct. 16 that another piece of legislation it plans to table its first week back at Queen’s Park will be a bill to make it easier for health-care workers from other provinces to more easily practice in Ontario.

Protecting Ontario: promises vs. track record

During the last election, the Progressive Conservatives made lots of promises about protecting Ontario’s economy in the face of U.S. President Donald Trump’s tariff threats. The parties will likely use the latest sitting to hold the government to some of those commitments around protecting jobs and the economy.

Fall Economic Statement

By law, the government will have to table a Fall Economic Statement, sometimes known as a “mini budget,” by Nov. 15. That means that within just a few weeks of the return to the legislature, the province will set out its latest spending priorities in black and white. While the exact date is not yet known, the Fall Economic Statement will give Ontarians an update on what direction the province is headed in, both fiscally and in terms of policy.

With files from Queen’s Park Bureau Chief Siobhan Morris