The Ontario government is in a debt and deficit crisis, and the cost of living has skyrocketed; yet, the premier thought this would be a great time to buy himself a luxury jet with Ontario taxpayers’ money.

The decision to buy the secondhand Bombardier 650 jet for $28.9 million was recently approved by the flying monkeys who inhabit the Ontario cabinet. The Toronto Star discovered the purchase. It was not announced by the premier, nor did it appear in the recent budget. Merit Stiles, Ontario NDP leader, cleverly coined it the “gravy plane.”

The premier was equally chagrined and defensive. He reversed course within two days of the purchase being discovered. He did not say, “I am sorry. It was the wrong decision.” Instead, he said, “I am sorry, but it was the right decision.” This warrants analysis.

The province is carrying a cumulative debt north of $400 billion, the largest in Canada. The annual cost to service this debt is $16 billion, or 7.1 per cent of the Ontario budget. The 2026-27 budget forecasts an additional deficit of $13.6 billion which will only add to the bleeding. The days of blaming the Liberals or COVID are gone; it’s all on you Mr. Ford. This is just bad management by a government that has got a little too comfortable in power and is seeking some perks.

This purchase happened as Premier Ford was ramming through legislation protecting his  and his cabinet’s cell phone records retroactively from freedom-of-information requests (FOIs). The FOI plan was buried as an addendum to the recent budget bill. Doug Ford thinks he is above the law, and he clearly has something to hide. 

According to Bombardier, the jet Ford bought requires a runway length of 5640 feet to takeoff when fully loaded. In the same week as the jet buy, the premier introduced legislation to expropriate the Billy Bishop Airport from the city and proposed to allow jets and extend the runway to 5900 feet. Coincidence is unlikely here.

Ford defends the decision in several ways. Ontario is big, “twice the size of Texas” he says, and he needs the plane to get around. Other premiers have jets he said, and Ontario is playing catch-up.  He said that when he flies commercial, there have been occasions when other passengers have been verbally abusive. He also told Global News that he fears propeller aircraft. 

While it is true Ontario is big, the plane he chose can only land at 19 of Ontario’s 179 airports, including Billy Bishop, should it be extended. Poor research by the premier.

It is actually not the case that other premiers have jets and belong to a club Ford wants to join. According to the CBC, no other provincial or territorial leader has one. They all fly commercial, and half of them sit in economy. Quebec has government jets, but these are air ambulances, a fact Ford has chosen to overlook.

As for passengers being verbally abusive to him at 30,000 feet, maybe stop acting like such an asshole to invite such inappropriate conduct. 

It’s not the Ontario taxpayers’ job to help Doug Ford overcome his fear of propeller aircraft. He could try therapy or take the bus or train instead; it would certainly be cheaper that a $30-million jet equipped with leather lazy boys and all the associated costs of flying it.

Ford thinks he is invincible; he is not. The latest polls put him neck to neck in popular support with the leaderless Liberals at 37 per cent. Try governing for all of Ontario for a change, and stop conducting yourself like a monarch.

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