Premier Doug Ford’s Speech at the 2025 AMO Conference

Premier Ford delivered the following remarks at the 2025 Association of Ontario Municipalities annual general meeting and conference.

“Good morning, everyone!

It’s great to be back here in Ottawa with all of you…
For the 2025 AMO Conference.

I want to start by thanking Mayor Robin Jones…
And everyone at AMO for hosting this year’s conference.

And I want to thank Mayor Mark Sutcliffe…
For having us here in Ottawa.

I also want to thank all the hard-working mayors, councillors, wardens and municipal officials across Ontario…
For everything you do to serve your communities.

And for your continued partnership…
As we protect Ontario…
And build for the future.

Friends, we all know…
Just how much the world has changed…
Since we met last year.

President Trump’s tariffs are taking direct aim at our country…
Our province…
And our people.

Communities across Ontario are feeling the impact…
And I know workers and their families are worried.

I have been clear since day one…
Making the case to the Trump administration…
And to ordinary Americans:

This is no way to treat their best customer…
Their friend…
And their closest ally.

These tariffs aren’t just impacting Canadians.

They’re hurting American families and businesses.
They’re making life more expensive south of the border…
And they’re making life more uncertain for millions of workers …
Who depend on free and open trade.

Because a tariff on Canada…
Is a tax on Americans.

And it needs to end.

We’re going to keep making the case that we’re better off working together…
But as Canadians, we also need to be prepared to stand on our own.

And folks…
I know that Canada is up to the challenge.

Over the last few months…
We have seen our country come together…
Like never before.

We are more united…
And more determined to stand up for Canada…
Than at any time in my life.

We’ve made it clear to President Trump…
And to the world…
That Canada is not for sale…
And Canada will never be the 51^st state.

But now…
It’s up to all of us here…
To put those words into action.

Because the challenge we are facing today…
Is about more than just tariffs…
Or one man in the White House.

As Canadians…
We need to look at ourselves…
And make sure we are doing everything in our power…
To unleash the incredible potential of our province…
And our country…

So that no matter who the next president is…
Or whatever the next crisis…
We are able protect our workers…
Our public services…
And our communities…
Not just from President Trump…
But from anything that comes our way…
For decades to come.

We need to build a stronger…
More resilient…
And self-reliant economy.

We need to make Ontario the most competitive place in the G7 to invest…
Create jobs…
And do business.

And we need to do it together…
Working with all levels of governments…
And Indigenous communities.

Over the last few months…
That’s what our government has been doing.

We’re tearing down internal trade barriers…
To make it easier to work, buy and sell across Canada.

We’ve already signed trade agreements with 10 other provinces and territories…
And Ontario was the first province in Canada to remove all of its exceptions…
Under the Canadian Free Trade Agreement.

We’re also unlocking Ontario’s critical mineral reserves…
And providing more than $3 billion dollars in support…
To give First Nations equity and ownership…
In these important projects.

And we’re investing $500 million dollars in a new Critical Minerals Processing Fund…
So minerals mined in Ontario…
Are refined in Ontario…
By Ontario workers.

This fund will be a gamechanger for northern communities…
Places like Thunder Bay…
Sault Ste. Marie…
Timmins…
And Sudbury.

We’re delivering nearly $30 billion in relief and support for workers and businesses…
That have been hit hard by U.S. tariffs.

That includes our $1 billion dollar Protect Ontario Financing Program…
Which was launched just last week.

And we’re investing $2.5 billion dollars in our Skills Development Fund…
To support workers with the training they need to find good-paying jobs…

And of course…
We’re continuing to invest record amounts to protect important services like health care…

With nearly $60 billion dollars to build and upgrade more than 50 hospitals…

New medical schools to train more nurses and doctors…

And $2.1 billion dollars to connect everyone in Ontario to a family doctor or primary care team…
By 2029.

As we make these investments…
Our government is buying Ontario and Canadian-made products wherever we can.

Every year, Ontario spends nearly $30 billion dollars on procurement.
And over the next 10 years…
We are spending more than $200 billion dollars through our plan to build.

We’re going to spend this money on Ontario-made products…
Like steel…
Forestry products…
And vehicles…
And I encourage every municipality here…
To do the same.

Ontario municipalities spend tens of billions of dollars every year on procurement…
On top of what the province spends…
And that money should be going back into our communities…
And our province.

Many municipalities are already doing this…
And I want to thank Mayor Chow, in particular, for her leadership.

Together with the federal government…
The province and the city are spending nearly $2.3 billion dollars on new subway cars for Line 2 in Toronto.

And just last week…
We announced that these trains will be built through a contract with Alstom…
In Thunder Bay…
So that Ontario tax dollars…
Are supporting Ontario workers.

Thank you, Mayor Chow.

Last week…
Our government also announced that the Ontario Public Service will be returning to the office five days a week.

This decision reflects what we are seeing in businesses…
And governments…
Across the province.

On Friday, Mayor Brown announced that the City of Brampton…
Will do the same.

I want to thank Mayor Brown for his leadership…
And encourage other municipalities to follow his lead.

It will help bring the public service in municipalities…
Closer to the people they serve…
And will revitalize our workplaces and downtowns…
Across Ontario.

I also want to thank our incredible public service…
For their dedication…
And professionalism.

They’re at the heart of our plan to protect Ontario…
And we couldn’t do it without them.

To support our cities…
We’re also providing record investments to tackle homelessness…
Including nearly $700 million dollars each year through our homelessness prevention programs…
And more than $75 million dollars…
To end encampments in public parks.

We’re also keeping our communities safe…
By shutting down drug injection sites near schools and daycares…
And we’re investing almost $550 million dollars….
To build 28 Homelessness and Addiction Recovery Treatment Hubs…

We’re also providing record support and new tools to speed up new home construction…
Including strong mayor powers.

And it’s been great to see so many mayors…
Take up the challenge.

Over the last few months…
I’ve had the chance to tour the province…
Handing out cheques from our $1.2 billion dollar Building Faster Fund…
To municipalities that are making real progress on housing.

Just last week, I was in Windsor…
Presenting Mayor Dilkens with a cheque for $5.2 million dollars…
After the city beat its housing target by 213 per cent!

That’s incredible progress…
And it’s what we want to see…
In every corner of the province.

And of course…
We’ve also provided new support for housing through our more than $200 billion dollar plan to build Ontario.

This plan to build…
Includes new hospitals…
Transit…
Highways…
Schools…
And roads.

It’s the largest plan to build in Canadian history…
And it’s an important part of our plan to protect Ontario.

By investing in infrastructure…
We’re making sure Ontario can continue to grow…
And we’re helping keep our workers on the job…
No matter what comes our way from President Trump.

Through our Municipal Housing Infrastructure Program…
We’ve already invested nearly $2.3 billion dollars…
Supporting the construction of 800,000 new homes across Ontario.

Today, I’m thrilled to announce that we will be increasing this program by another $1.6 billion dollars.

This brings the total size of the program to $4 billion dollars…
And will support the construction of hundreds of thousands of homes…
Across Ontario.

Our government will continue investing in infrastructure…
And doing everything we can to get shovels in the ground.

Today, I had the chance to speak with Prime Minister Carney…
And let him know that we want to work together to remove the HST for first-time homebuyers…

And look for ways to be even more ambitious…
So we can lower the cost of building.

I’m calling on everyone here to do the same.

That means lowering municipal development charges to kickstart construction…
So that working together…
Across all levels of government…
We can keep the dream of homeownership alive in Ontario.

As I conclude…
I want to again say how important your partnership and support are…
As we work to protect Ontario.

We live in the best province…
In the best country on earth.

And I know that we are united…
In our fight to protect Ontario.

I promise everyone here…
That our government…
Will continue working with you…
To protect our communities…
Invest in growth…
And make Ontario safer…
More competitive…
And more prosperous than ever before.

I look forward to working with you to get it done.

I want to thank you again for inviting me here today…
And may God bless the people of Ontario.”