Right of Center Think Tank Comes Out Against Premier Ford

By Gazette Staff

February 24th, 2026

BURLINGTON, ON

The Fraser Institute, a right-of-centre think tank released the following this morning:

Not the kind of report card the Premier wanted from the Fraser Institute

Despite Premier Doug Ford’s explicit commitment to fiscal policy reforms in the province, Ontario has failed to constrain the growth in overall spending, achieve balanced budgets consistently, or reduce provincial debt and lower tax rates.

While the provincial debt relative to the size of the economy (i.e. GDP) has declined slightly (3.5%), the decline is a result of modest economic growth rather than the elimination of government deficits and borrowing. Moreover, most of this limited progress is forecast to be undone over the next three years.

Premier Ford made many early campaign promises of structural policy reform, but the government’s actual fiscal outcomes have included increased spending, persistent deficits, and an absence of any meaningful tax reductions.