STILES: Taxpayer-funded propaganda, it’s all happening here

QUEEN’S PARK — Marit Stiles, Leader of the Official Opposition, is calling out the Ford government for spending more tax dollars than any other government ever on advertising in the lead up to the snap election.

In her annual report, the Auditor General flagged the rising price-tag of government advertising and dwindling access to primary care:

"Taxpayer-funded propaganda, it’s all happening here,” said Stiles. “Doug Ford spent over $110 million to polish his own image and tell Ontarians that everything is just great. Meanwhile, Ontarians struggle to find work and pay for their groceries. It’s remarkably out of touch.”

“Imagine you're in a 22-hour wait in the emergency room, and on the TV, you see an ad telling you how great things are in Ontario.

“Doug Ford is trying to gaslight the people of our province with their own money. Never has it been harder to get good jobs, afford a home, or pay for groceries. People don’t need propaganda. They need a government that works.”

BACKGROUND:

• Doug Ford spent $111.7 million on government advertising in the lead-up to the snap provincial election in 2025.
• The Auditor General found in her latest report that they spent $43 million on partisan ads designed to improve Ontarians’ impressions of the province’s current state, and by extension, the Conservative party.
• In 2015, the Liberal government changed the law to allow taxpayer funded partisan ads ahead of the election.
• At the time, Conservative MPP, and now Deputy Premier, Sylvia Jones, tabled a bill to reverse those changes and restore the Auditor General’s authority to review and approve government advertising.
• Doug Ford even promised to make the change in his 2018 Conservative party platform.