By Gazette Staff
March 27th, 2026
BURLINGTON, ON
When the legislators stand up at Queen’s Park and talk in terms of billions of dollars in deficits, most of us pause to recall just how many zeros there are in a billion – knowing that we are never going to see one. Millions has a hope, as long as you are buying lottery tickets.
But there was a small perk for the small business sector. Taxes for small business companies are being reduced from 3.2% to 2.2%, which will give $1.1 billion in relief to 375,000 small businesses over three years.
As for the rest of the economy: health care is getting more, education is getting more:
Health and hospitals
$1.1 billion over three years for increased home and community care, serving thousands more patients plus a $1.1 billion — or four per cent — funding boost for hospitals. The Ontario Hospital Association has warned many of its members are projecting deficits as costs rise six per cent a year due to a growing population.
This situation will only get worse – the baby boomers have already begun to overwhelm the public health system.
Education funding
Somewhere between $300 million and $400 million more annually for education over the next three school years, representing a 2.47 per cent increase from an estimated $40.5 billion this year to $41.5 billion in 2028–29; colleges and universities will receive a previously announced $6.4 billion in additional funding over four years.
There was never a consensus on having police officers in schools.
The budget includes money to put police officers in schools.
In 2026–27, the government is projecting a deficit of $13.8 billion, improving to a deficit of $6.1 billion in 2027–28 and a surplus of $0.6 billion in 2028–29 – which is the year the next provincial election is projected to take place.
All of the numbers above don’t factor in the decisions made by the President of the United States.
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