Ontario NDP pledges grocery rebate as PC leader Ford touts border security measures

Ontario NDP leader Marit Stiles pledges an up to $122 monthly stipend to four million families and individuals to help ease the cost of groceries, should she be

Ontario Progressive Conservative Leader Doug Ford touted his party's border security measures amid the threat of U.S. tariffs, as the NDP focused on pocketbook issues Saturday with the promise of a monthly grocery rebate for millions of people.

Ford continued to hammer home his campaign message about protecting Ontario's economy, saying that even though U.S. President Donald Trump has put off his tariff threats until early March, "an unprecedented economic risk" still looms.

"The simple truth is, as long as Donald Trump is president, the risk of tariffs will never go away," Ford said during a campaign stop at a regional airport in Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ont.

Trump has been threatening to impose 25 per cent tariffs on Canadian goods unless Canada improves security at the border. Ford said his government's Operation Deterrence, announced last month as part of Ontario's response to the tariff threats, has so far intercepted eight illegal border crossings and led to the seizure of 21 illegal firearms and 624 kilograms of cocaine.

If re-elected, Ford promised to spend $50 million to expand the Ontario Provincial Police's Joint-Air Support Unit with two new H-135 helicopters to support the Niagara Regional Police and the Windsor Police Service with increased border patrols, security and enforcement.

Opposition parties have slammed Ford's claim that he needs an even larger electoral mandate to deal with four years of Trump, and have said the election campaign must focus on provincial health-care and affordability issues.

NDP Leader Marit Stiles said the rising cost of living is top of mind for Ontarians and that's why an NDP government would introduce a monthly grocery rebate for lower and middle-income households.

Stiles said up to four million households would benefit from the program and a family of four could get up to $122 per month to help offset the cost of groceries.

"That's over $1,400 per year," Stiles said at a campaign stop in Toronto on Saturday.

"What I hear from people as I'm criss-crossing Ontario is that everybody is fed up with paying too much for basics like bread, rice and vegetables," she said.

The tax-free rebate amount would be based on how much the cost of grocery staples has increased over the last several years and tied to the recipients' annual income and household size.

The NDP said families and individuals with a net income of up to $65,000 would get the full credit, and the rebate would decrease for households earning between $65,000 and $100,000.

The party said the program would cost about $409 million per month.

A report by researchers at several Canadian universities released in December concluded that a Canadian family of four can expect to spend more than $16,800 on food in 2025 – and increase of about $800 from last year.

If her party forms government, Stiles said it would also introduce measures to prevent co-ordinated price hikes among Ontario grocers and install a consumer protection watchdog.

Meanwhile, the Liberal party made a pledge Saturday to appoint a special investigator to look into various moves by the Ford government, including the closure of the Ontario Science Centre and the now-reversed plan to develop land in the protected Greenbelt.

Liberal Leader Bonnie Crombie had made a similar promise last June, long before Ford called the Feb. 27 snap election.

Opening up the Greenbelt sparked a public outcry that hit a fever pitch in the summer of 2023 and led to an RCMP investigation that's still ongoing.

Ford has denied any wrongdoing and said last week that he has not been interviewed by the RCMP in its Greenbelt probe, but he does not know if any of his staffers have been questioned.

The Liberal party also confirmed it will be running two 30-second commercials during Sunday's Super Bowl game between the Philadelphia Eagles and Kansas City Chiefs. One of the ads features a clip of Ford saying he wanted Trump to win the presidential election and accuses him of using the threat of tariffs on Canada for his own political gain, while the second addresses Ontario's health-care challenges.

A spokesperson for the Liberal party didn't provide an exact figure when asked about the cost of the commercials, but said the advertisements speak to the strength of the party's fundraising efforts.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Feb. 8, 2025.

-- with files from Cassidy McMackon in Halifax.

Sonja Puzic, The Canadian Press