Ontario Labour Minister David Piccini’s constituency association spent thousands of dollars at The Four Seasons Hotel, a limousine company, and an elite Toronto club records show, as scrutiny continues over how donor and public money is being spent by those connected to the Ford government.
Opposition critics claimed those items are a new aspect of an expenses scandal that has resulted in the resignation of one minister and an order from the premier for other PC MPPs to pay back some $100,000 spent on hotels in Toronto.
“These folks, they’re living large,” said interim Ontario Liberal Leader John Fraser in an interview.
“It’s excessive.”
Expenses justified: Piccini’s staff, riding association
But Piccini’s staff and his constituency association’s CFO said many expenses are more reflective of fundraising ventures and constituency business involving the association than any personal luxury items enjoyed by the minister himself.
The limousine expense was to shuttle people other than Piccini to and from an Ontario PC event, and the Four Seasons expense was not an overnight stay, said Piccini’s communications director, Michael Figueredo.
“Members of all political stripes are allocated budgets their riding associations to support their role in the community. This can be used to support fundraising, volunteers engagement, stakeholder outreach, or to host community events,” Figueredo said.
“Riding association finances are governed by and must comply with Ontario’s election finance laws, independently overseen by Elections Ontario.”
Fraser says expenses part of spending scandal
Fraser, meanwhile, said the expenses, which have not yet previously been reported, are a new aspect of a scandal that began when it was reported by Global News that former Tourism Minister Stan Cho had spent some $16,000 of government money on hotels in Toronto, where he lives.
It later emerged that over a dozen nearby MPPs had also accessed the public money, which is meant for emergency stays, for more than $100,000. Cho ultimately resigned from cabinet and Ontario Premier Doug Ford ordered the others to pay the money back.
Cho’s constituency association records show that they spent about $100,000 on food and hotel stays from Ontario to Alberta, including $12,700 on hotel expenses at the Chateau Laurier Hotel in Ottawa and the Rimrock Resort in Banff.
A constituency association is an organization formed in a riding to support a political party or a candidate. They typically have a governance structure that includes a board which oversees the expenditures and are required to file annual disclosures with Elections Ontario.
Those records, which were accessed by CTV News, show the revenues for the PC Northumberland-Peterborough constituency association are a mix of donations, and Ontario’s taxpayer-funded per-vote subsidy, which in 2024 was $9,940 for the PC party in that riding.
The records show that contributions to the riding association swelled from $269,155 in 2023 to $449,471 in 2024. Piccini became Labour Minister in the fall of 2023.
Expenses at restaurants and hotels rose from about $12,000 in 2023 to almost $50,000 in 2024. Among them, $1,800 at the Four Seasons, almost $2,000 at Toronto’s Albany Club, and $237 at Antonio Park, which was a luxury restaurant on the 51st floor of the Manulife Centre.
By 2025, the expenses at restaurants and hotels had dropped to about $11,500, though that year, the association spent $500 on the Four Seasons and $2,520 at Bookalimousine, which describes itself as a “Toronto Airport Limo Service,” the records say.
In 2024, the records show that constituency association spent $388,600. The biggest expense, at $140,000, were tickets to the leadership dinner, which was listed at $1,000 a ticket and headlined Ford and Cho.
Expenses were approved: riding association
Martin Bugden, the association’s CFO, said that the constituency association board approved the expenses and the financials were audited.
“Any kind of expense, the board would pass a motion and if it’s not passed, the money doesn’t get spent,” he said, adding the board would have closely scrutinized anything over $1,000.
Bugden said that all expenses on the records are for a year’s total, and so what may appear to be a large expense could have been several smaller bills.
One large line item, which was $8,000 at the Beamish House Pub in Port Hope, was likely for hosting something like 10 board meetings over the course of a year, he said.
Piccini facing Integrity Commissioner probe
Over at the legislature, Piccini is facing an Integrity Commissioner investigation over whether he broke any rules in decisions about who got grant money out of the $2.5 billion Skills Development Fund.
One aspect of the complaints that sparked the investigation were that he attended the Parisian wedding of a lobbyist after his clients were awarded millions of dollars. The hotel Piccini was accused of staying at then at was the Four Seasons George V.
There is no address listed on the Four Seasons expense. Bugden said he was certain the Four Seasons expense listed was in Ontario, and it wasn’t in Toronto.
“I can tell you 100 per cent there were no overnight stays paid for by the constituency association for David Piccini to stay at the Four Seasons in Toronto,” Bugden said.
He also said he didn’t believe that the rise in donations or expenses were related to the Skills Development Fund.
“I really doubt it. He’s a pretty honest guy. I doubt if there’s anything like that going on with David Piccini,” said Bugden.
Other politicians’ expenses
CTV News also examined a sample of constituency associations from a variety of other high-profile politicians.
In 2024, John Fraser’s constituency association raised about $20,000 for a total income of $34,000 including the per-vote subsidy. The only meal expense was the Lone Star Hunt Club for $238, and travel was gas for $257.
NDP leader Marit Stiles’s constituency association had a total income of $37,273 including a per-vote subsidy of $8,474. The two meetings hosted were listed as the George Chuvalo Centre at $375 and Sugarbomb at $270.
