Ontario Premier Doug Ford keeps on describing the province’s economy in glowing terms, but plenty of economists believe a far less rosy picture will be painted when Ford’s finance minister tables his budget on Tuesday.Finance Minister Peter Bethlenfalvy, left, will deliver the 2024 Ontario budget on Tuesday. It will be Bethlenfalvy's fourth budget since Premier Doug Ford appointed him to the post.
The latest provincial forecast from TD Economics says business bankruptcies in Ontario have surged in recent months amid 'economic weakness.' The Ford government now has to cope with the added costs of providing services to that growing population, as well as the cost impacts of inflation and prolonged higher interest rates.
Coming midway through the government's four-year term, analysts don't expect the budget to contain big political goodies designed to win over voters, but they expect Ford to pitch it as helping people cope with the cost of living."We're on a relentless mission to save people money," Ford said Monday. "We're always going to make sure we put money into people's pockets rather than the government's pockets.