The mayor of Windsor is pleased that the Ontario budget includes funding to assist communities affected by the trade war launched by U.S. President Donald Trump.
Drew Dilkens says seeing a direct fund being set up to help communities directly impacted by tariffs and help people and companies get through this "choppy time" until there is a federal resolution is "really great."
The provincial spending plan includes the newly created Trade-Impacted Communities Program that will provide up to $40 million in grants, starting in 2025-26, which are flexible and tailored to the needs of individual communities and local industries.
The funding will support projects that help communities respond to trade disruptions, as well as large-scale strategic initiatives that enable and transform key sectors and industrial clusters to help businesses grow, find new markets and investments, and diversify their supply chains.
Dilkens says there are several key points that are important as the federal government tries to negotiate a smooth landing for Canada in our trade relationship with the U.S. and Mexico.
"Until that is resolved, until all the pieces are put in place and the ink is dried, we're going to need to know the government is there to help families and companies get through; that's what this budget speaks to, and it's really an important budget for Ontario," he says.
One major piece of the budget is the Protecting Ontario Account, a fund of up to $5 billion designed to provide businesses with critical support to protect jobs, transform businesses, and grow strategic sectors of the economy that are facing significant tariff-related business disruptions.
The fund will provide immediate liquidity relief as an emergency backstop for Ontario businesses that have exhausted available funding.
Dilkens says they know at the provincial level, as we know at the municipal level, that the threat of tariffs is creating a lot of strain on business, investment, and families.
"Funds that are being set up are really important to be able to earmark money to help people gain new skills, to help businesses transition and find pathways to get through the next period of time until there's a resolution with President Trump, and certainly to help Ontario continue to thrive," he says.
The province had previously eyed a balanced budget for 2026-27, but that came before the election of Trump and the implementation of tariffs and now Ontario is set to inch into the black in 2027-28 with a small surplus.
The budget is forecasting a $14.6-billion deficit this fiscal year - up from a projection of $4.6 billion in last year's budget - and a deficit of $7.8 billion next year.
Much of the increased pressure comes from about $30 billion in spending to stimulate the economy in the face of tariffs, including a the $5-billion fund to give businesses relief, adding $5 billion to an infrastructure financing fund, and implementing a new, $500-million Critical Minerals Processing Fund.
As well, the government is planning to add $1 billion to its Skills Development Fund to retrain workers, add $600 million to a fund that helps businesses set up or expand in Ontario, $200 million for a shipbuilding grant program and create a $50-million fund to help businesses make new supply chains and help boost interprovincial trade.
With files from the Canadian Press