Premier Ford delivered the following remarks at the 2025 Association of Ontario Municipalities annual general meeting and conference.<\/p>\n
\u201cGood morning, everyone!<\/p>\n
It\u2019s great to be back here in Ottawa with all of you\u2026
\nFor the 2025 AMO Conference.<\/p>\n
I want to start by thanking Mayor Robin Jones\u2026
\nAnd everyone at AMO for hosting this year\u2019s conference.<\/p>\n
And I want to thank Mayor Mark Sutcliffe\u2026
\nFor having us here in Ottawa.<\/p>\n
I also want to thank all the hard-working mayors, councillors, wardens and municipal officials across Ontario\u2026
\nFor everything you do to serve your communities.<\/p>\n
And for your continued partnership\u2026
\nAs we protect Ontario\u2026
\nAnd build for the future.<\/p>\n
Friends, we all know\u2026
\nJust how much the world has changed\u2026
\nSince we met last year.<\/p>\n
President Trump\u2019s tariffs are taking direct aim at our country\u2026
\nOur province\u2026
\nAnd our people.<\/p>\n
Communities across Ontario are feeling the impact\u2026
\nAnd I know workers and their families are worried.<\/p>\n
I have been clear since day one\u2026
\nMaking the case to the Trump administration\u2026
\nAnd to ordinary Americans:<\/p>\n
This is no way to treat their best customer\u2026
\nTheir friend\u2026
\nAnd their closest ally.<\/p>\n
These tariffs aren\u2019t just impacting Canadians.<\/p>\n
They\u2019re hurting American families and businesses.
\nThey\u2019re making life more expensive south of the border\u2026
\nAnd they\u2019re making life more uncertain for millions of workers \u2026
\nWho depend on free and open trade.<\/p>\n
Because a tariff on Canada\u2026
\nIs a tax on Americans.<\/p>\n
And it needs to end.<\/p>\n
We\u2019re going to keep making the case that we\u2019re better off working together\u2026
\nBut as Canadians, we also need to be prepared to stand on our own.<\/p>\n
And folks\u2026
\nI know that Canada is up to the challenge.<\/p>\n
Over the last few months\u2026
\nWe have seen our country come together\u2026
\nLike never before.<\/p>\n
We are more united\u2026
\nAnd more determined to stand up for Canada\u2026
\nThan at any time in my life.<\/p>\n
We\u2019ve made it clear to President Trump\u2026 But now\u2026 Because the challenge we are facing today\u2026 As Canadians\u2026 So that no matter who the next president is\u2026 We need to build a stronger\u2026 We need to make Ontario the most competitive place in the G7 to invest\u2026 And we need to do it together\u2026 Over the last few months\u2026 We\u2019re tearing down internal trade barriers\u2026 We\u2019ve already signed trade agreements with 10 other provinces and territories\u2026 We\u2019re also unlocking Ontario\u2019s critical mineral reserves\u2026 And we\u2019re investing $500 million dollars in a new Critical Minerals Processing Fund\u2026 This fund will be a gamechanger for northern communities\u2026 We\u2019re delivering nearly $30 billion in relief and support for workers and businesses\u2026 That includes our $1 billion dollar Protect Ontario Financing Program\u2026 And we\u2019re investing $2.5 billion dollars in our Skills Development Fund\u2026 And of course\u2026 With nearly $60 billion dollars to build and upgrade more than 50 hospitals\u2026<\/p>\n New medical schools to train more nurses and doctors\u2026<\/p>\n And $2.1 billion dollars to connect everyone in Ontario to a family doctor or primary care team\u2026 As we make these investments\u2026 Every year, Ontario spends nearly $30 billion dollars on procurement. We\u2019re going to spend this money on Ontario-made products\u2026 Ontario municipalities spend tens of billions of dollars every year on procurement\u2026 Many municipalities are already doing this\u2026 Together with the federal government\u2026 And just last week\u2026 Thank you, Mayor Chow.<\/p>\n Last week\u2026 This decision reflects what we are seeing in businesses\u2026 On Friday, Mayor Brown announced that the City of Brampton\u2026 I want to thank Mayor Brown for his leadership\u2026 It will help bring the public service in municipalities\u2026 I also want to thank our incredible public service\u2026 They\u2019re at the heart of our plan to protect Ontario\u2026 To support our cities\u2026 We\u2019re also keeping our communities safe\u2026 We\u2019re also providing record support and new tools to speed up new home construction\u2026 And it\u2019s been great to see so many mayors\u2026 Over the last few months\u2026 Just last week, I was in Windsor\u2026 That\u2019s incredible progress\u2026 And of course\u2026 This plan to build\u2026 It\u2019s the largest plan to build in Canadian history\u2026 By investing in infrastructure\u2026 Through our Municipal Housing Infrastructure Program\u2026 Today, I\u2019m thrilled to announce that we will be increasing this program by another $1.6 billion dollars.<\/p>\n This brings the total size of the program to $4 billion dollars\u2026 Our government will continue investing in infrastructure\u2026 Today, I had the chance to speak with Prime Minister Carney… And look for ways to be even more ambitious\u2026 I\u2019m calling on everyone here to do the same.<\/p>\n That means lowering municipal development charges to kickstart construction\u2026 As I conclude\u2026 We live in the best province\u2026 And I know that we are united\u2026 I promise everyone here\u2026 I look forward to working with you to get it done.<\/p>\n I want to thank you again for inviting me here today\u2026 Premier Ford delivered the following remarks at the 2025 Association of Ontario Municipalities annual general meeting and conference. \u201cGood morning, everyone! It\u2019s great to be back here in Ottawa with …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_EventAllDay":false,"_EventTimezone":"","_EventStartDate":"","_EventEndDate":"","_EventStartDateUTC":"","_EventEndDateUTC":"","_EventShowMap":false,"_EventShowMapLink":false,"_EventURL":"","_EventCost":"","_EventCostDescription":"","_EventCurrencySymbol":"","_EventCurrencyCode":"","_EventCurrencyPosition":"","_EventDateTimeSeparator":"","_EventTimeRangeSeparator":"","_EventOrganizerID":[],"_EventVenueID":[],"_OrganizerEmail":"","_OrganizerPhone":"","_OrganizerWebsite":"","_VenueAddress":"","_VenueCity":"","_VenueCountry":"","_VenueProvince":"","_VenueState":"","_VenueZip":"","_VenuePhone":"","_VenueURL":"","_VenueStateProvince":"","_VenueLat":"","_VenueLng":"","_VenueShowMap":false,"_VenueShowMapLink":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[40],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-76361","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-local"],"publishpress_future_action":{"enabled":false,"date":"2026-04-11 22:38:23","action":"change-status","newStatus":"draft","terms":[],"taxonomy":"category","extraData":[]},"publishpress_future_workflow_manual_trigger":{"enabledWorkflows":[]},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/wawa-news.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/76361","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/wawa-news.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/wawa-news.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wawa-news.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wawa-news.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=76361"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/wawa-news.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/76361\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":76369,"href":"https:\/\/wawa-news.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/76361\/revisions\/76369"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/wawa-news.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=76361"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wawa-news.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=76361"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wawa-news.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=76361"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
\nAnd to the world\u2026
\nThat Canada is not for sale\u2026
\nAnd Canada will never be the 51st<\/sup> state.<\/p>\n
\nIt\u2019s up to all of us here\u2026
\nTo put those words into action.<\/p>\n
\nIs about more than just tariffs\u2026
\nOr one man in the White House.<\/p>\n
\nWe need to look at ourselves\u2026
\nAnd make sure we are doing everything in our power\u2026
\nTo unleash the incredible potential of our province\u2026
\nAnd our country\u2026<\/p>\n
\nOr whatever the next crisis\u2026
\nWe are able protect our workers\u2026
\nOur public services\u2026
\nAnd our communities\u2026
\nNot just from President Trump\u2026
\nBut from anything that comes our way\u2026
\nFor decades to come.<\/p>\n
\nMore resilient\u2026
\nAnd self-reliant economy.<\/p>\n
\nCreate jobs\u2026
\nAnd do business.<\/p>\n
\nWorking with all levels of governments\u2026
\nAnd Indigenous communities.<\/p>\n
\nThat\u2019s what our government has been doing.<\/p>\n
\nTo make it easier to work, buy and sell across Canada.<\/p>\n
\nAnd Ontario was the first province in Canada to remove all of its exceptions\u2026
\nUnder the Canadian Free Trade Agreement.<\/p>\n
\nAnd providing more than $3 billion dollars in support\u2026
\nTo give First Nations equity and ownership\u2026
\nIn these important projects.<\/p>\n
\nSo minerals mined in Ontario\u2026
\nAre refined in Ontario\u2026
\nBy Ontario workers.<\/p>\n
\nPlaces like Thunder Bay\u2026
\nSault Ste. Marie\u2026
\nTimmins\u2026
\nAnd Sudbury.<\/p>\n
\nThat have been hit hard by U.S. tariffs.<\/p>\n
\nWhich was launched just last week.<\/p>\n
\nTo support workers with the training they need to find good-paying jobs\u2026<\/p>\n
\nWe\u2019re continuing to invest record amounts to protect important services like health care\u2026<\/p>\n
\nBy 2029.<\/p>\n
\nOur government is buying Ontario and Canadian-made products wherever we can.<\/p>\n
\nAnd over the next 10 years\u2026
\nWe are spending more than $200 billion dollars through our plan to build.<\/p>\n
\nLike steel\u2026
\nForestry products\u2026
\nAnd vehicles\u2026
\nAnd I encourage every municipality here\u2026
\nTo do the same.<\/p>\n
\nOn top of what the province spends\u2026
\nAnd that money should be going back into our communities\u2026
\nAnd our province.<\/p>\n
\nAnd I want to thank Mayor Chow, in particular, for her leadership.<\/p>\n
\nThe province and the city are spending nearly $2.3 billion dollars on new subway cars for Line 2 in Toronto.<\/p>\n
\nWe announced that these trains will be built through a contract with Alstom\u2026
\nIn Thunder Bay…
\nSo that Ontario tax dollars\u2026
\nAre supporting Ontario workers.<\/p>\n
\nOur government also announced that the Ontario Public Service will be returning to the office five days a week.<\/p>\n
\nAnd governments\u2026
\nAcross the province.<\/p>\n
\nWill do the same.<\/p>\n
\nAnd encourage other municipalities to follow his lead.<\/p>\n
\nCloser to the people they serve\u2026
\nAnd will revitalize our workplaces and downtowns\u2026
\nAcross Ontario.<\/p>\n
\nFor their dedication\u2026
\nAnd professionalism.<\/p>\n
\nAnd we couldn\u2019t do it without them.<\/p>\n
\nWe\u2019re also providing record investments to tackle homelessness\u2026
\nIncluding nearly $700 million dollars each year through our homelessness prevention programs\u2026
\nAnd more than $75 million dollars\u2026
\nTo end encampments in public parks.<\/p>\n
\nBy shutting down drug injection sites near schools and daycares\u2026
\nAnd we\u2019re investing almost $550 million dollars\u2026.
\nTo build 28 Homelessness and Addiction Recovery Treatment Hubs\u2026<\/p>\n
\nIncluding strong mayor powers.<\/p>\n
\nTake up the challenge.<\/p>\n
\nI\u2019ve had the chance to tour the province\u2026
\nHanding out cheques from our $1.2 billion dollar Building Faster Fund\u2026
\nTo municipalities that are making real progress on housing.<\/p>\n
\nPresenting Mayor Dilkens with a cheque for $5.2 million dollars\u2026
\nAfter the city beat its housing target by 213 per cent!<\/p>\n
\nAnd it\u2019s what we want to see\u2026
\nIn every corner of the province.<\/p>\n
\nWe\u2019ve also provided new support for housing through our more than $200 billion dollar plan to build Ontario.<\/p>\n
\nIncludes new hospitals\u2026
\nTransit\u2026
\nHighways\u2026
\nSchools\u2026
\nAnd roads.<\/p>\n
\nAnd it\u2019s an important part of our plan to protect Ontario.<\/p>\n
\nWe\u2019re making sure Ontario can continue to grow\u2026
\nAnd we\u2019re helping keep our workers on the job\u2026
\nNo matter what comes our way from President Trump.<\/p>\n
\nWe\u2019ve already invested nearly $2.3 billion dollars\u2026
\nSupporting the construction of 800,000 new homes across Ontario.<\/p>\n
\nAnd will support the construction of hundreds of thousands of homes\u2026
\nAcross Ontario.<\/p>\n
\nAnd doing everything we can to get shovels in the ground.<\/p>\n
\nAnd let him know that we want to work together to remove the HST for first-time homebuyers\u2026<\/p>\n
\nSo we can lower the cost of building.<\/p>\n
\nSo that working together\u2026
\nAcross all levels of government\u2026
\nWe can keep the dream of homeownership alive in Ontario.<\/p>\n
\nI want to again say how important your partnership and support are\u2026
\nAs we work to protect Ontario.<\/p>\n
\nIn the best country on earth.<\/p>\n
\nIn our fight to protect Ontario.<\/p>\n
\nThat our government\u2026
\nWill continue working with you\u2026
\nTo protect our communities\u2026
\nInvest in growth\u2026
\nAnd make Ontario safer\u2026
\nMore competitive\u2026
\nAnd more prosperous than ever before.<\/p>\n
\nAnd may God bless the people of Ontario.”<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"