Highlights

  • $20.3B new investments over next three years
  • Heading into deficit for next six years
  • Free childcare for kids 2.5 to kindergarten age
  • Subsidized dental/medical costs for Ontarians without private health plan, OHIP+
  • Free prescriptions for seniors, money for home maintenance
  • Changes to Personal Income Taxes

Pocket-book goodies

  • Free prescription drugs for 65+
  • Free preschool child care for 2.5-kindergarten
  • Subsidized dental/medical costs for Ontarians without a private health plan, OHIP+
  • More discounts for Presto card users
  • Continued promise to raise minimum wage for $15hr Jan 1, 2019

Economic Health

  • Projected deficit for 6 years
  • Back to balance by 2024-25
  • Unemployment rate lowest in two decades
  • Forecasted $600M budget surplus 2017-18
  • Forecasted deficit: less than 1 per cent of GDP
  • Running a deficit of $19.8B over three years
  • (6.7B deficit this year, 6.6 in 2019-2020, 6.5B in 2020-2021)
  • Net debt 2018/19 is $325B, will balloon to $360.1B in 2020/21

Personal Income Taxes

  • Province will eliminate surtax on PIT
  • PIT rates and income brackets will change
  • About 83 per cent of tax payers won’t see a difference, or will pay about $130 less
  • Average tax increase for $95K earner would be about $168
  • Changes take effect (if passed) July, 2018

For Toronto:

  • Province to begin talks with Toronto about uploading costs of subways
  • GO Transit trips within Toronto will cost Presto users $3 (no projected start date)
  • GO Transit trip 10km or less capped at $3 for Presto Card users (no projected start date)
  • Province to work with Toronto, York, Mississauga, Brampton, Durham to ensure commuters can travel between TTC and other transit systems at a discount of about $1.50 per trip
  • Free licensed childcare for kids 2.5 years old means avg. of $20k savings for one-child family
  • $11B towards construction of high-speed rail between Toronto/Windsor
  • Settling property tax exemption controversy with Victoria University by phasing in tax changes over a number of years
  • A Toronto Community Justice Centre in Moss Park to help address cycle of offending/victimization

Goodies for the GTA

  • Greater Toronto and Hamilton Area Fund will invest in businesses and job creation ($100M over next 10 years)
  • Any GO Transit trip 10km or less capped at $3 for Presto Card users (no projected start date)
  • Province will work with Toronto, York, Mississauga, Brampton, Durham to ensure commuters can travel between transit systems at a discount of about $1.50 per trip

Seniors

  • No more Ontario Drug Benefit, saving seniors about $240 a year
  • Free drugs for everyone 65+through OHIP+ starting Aug. 2019
  • Seniors Healthy Home Program
  • Benefit up to $750/year for seniors 75+ to help them maintain home/live independently
  • 30,000 new long-term care beds over 10 years
  • Improved home care for seniors (more support, more nurse visits, better access) ($650M over 3 years.)
  • Investing $23M over three years to increase number of Personal Support Workers

Basic dental/drug plan

  • Subsidized dental care, drug costs for people without private insurance or not eligible for OHIP+
  • 80 per cent refund on drug dental expenses (Up to $400 single/$600 couple/$700 family of 4 with 2 kids) starting Summer 2019

Childcare

  • Free licensed child care beginning in 2020 for kids 2.5 years to kindergarten age
  • Estimated savings 17k for Ontario family w one kid, 20k for Toronto family
  • Province will invest a total of $2.2B over three years
  • Includes $160M over 3 years in operating costs & $534M for more spaces
  • Fee subsidies for child care spaces have so far reduced Toronto’s subsidy waitlist by 3,581 children

Health

  • More funding for mental health/addiction services ($17B over 4 years)
  • $822M investment into hospital improvement – largest single gov’t investment in hospitals in almost a decade
  • $19B over 10 years to build/reno hospitals
  • 30,000 new long-term care beds over 10 years

Marijuana:

  • $8M spent in 2017 setting up cannabis stores. Will spend $40M this year.
  • Revenues from pot stores in 2018 expected to be $35M in 2019, and $100M in 2020-2021.
  • Feds will send Ontario $35M of federal pot excise tax in 2018-2019, $80M in 2019-2020. and $115M in 2020-2021.

Risks to Ontario’s economy:

  • Rising interest rates, (cost of borrowing), particularly if it’s faster than expected, can have serious impact on deficit and debt
  • If interest rates increase by 1 per cent it will add $300M to the deficit. 1 basis point equals $3M
  • Changes to NAFTA could disrupt trade patterns
  • U.S. tax reform could affect province’s competitiveness