Ford Sells Ontario's $28.9M Government Jet Back to Bombardier After Public Backlash

Ontario Premier Doug Ford announced on April 22 that his government has sold the $28.9 million Bombardier Challenger 650 business jet it purchased less than a week earlier, returning the aircraft to the manufacturer for the same price the province paid. The reversal ends a political furore that dominated question period at Queen's Park for most of the week and gave opposition parties a potent symbol as they accuse the Progressive Conservative government of drifting out of touch with voters squeezed by rising costs.

Ford, speaking to reporters at a Toronto announcement, said he remained convinced that Ontario should have access to a government aircraft for the premier and cabinet to travel safely across the province, but acknowledged that the optics of the purchase had become untenable. He called the episode 'kind of embarrassing' but insisted the decision to sell reflected the public mood, not any defect in the underlying rationale.

What was announced

The premier's office confirmed on the previous Friday that Ontario had taken possession of a second-hand Challenger 650, a mid-sized business jet manufactured by Montreal-based Bombardier. The province paid $28.9 million, funded from a treasury surplus the government had earmarked for strategic asset purchases, according to a statement from the Ministry of Transportation.

Officials initially defended the buy as a cost-effective upgrade over the current arrangements, which rely on chartered aircraft and the Ontario Provincial Police air wing. The government argued that a dedicated aircraft would improve flight safety in northern Ontario, where short runways and poor weather complicate travel, and reduce long-term chartering costs.

Within hours of the announcement, opposition parties, editorial boards and social-media users had labelled the aircraft 'the gravy plane,' a reference to Ford's longtime promises to find 'gravy' in government spending. By Wednesday, the premier had changed course and said the jet would be sold back to Bombardier at full price. The manufacturer agreed to repurchase the aircraft because it has other customers in line for the model, government officials said.

Why Ford reversed course

Ford said the breaking point was the gap between the government's affordability messaging and the image of a premier flying in a newly purchased executive jet. Ontario is in the middle of a broader push to ease pressure on households, including provincial rebates, transit fare adjustments, and small-business supports designed to offset the drag of U.S. tariffs and higher grocery prices. The optics of an eight-figure aircraft purchase, even one the province said would save money over time, cut against that storyline.

The premier added that he remained concerned about flight safety in smaller northern communities, and cited what he called 'terrifying' recent flights into regional airports as a reason Ontario should have a reliable government aircraft at some point in the future. He said he would not revisit the decision to sell during this term of government, however, leaving the question to a potential future premier.

The speed of the reversal was unusual. The aircraft had been in the government's possession for only days, and Ford's team moved the disposition through cabinet, treasury board and Bombardier within 96 hours. Officials said the structure of the resale means Ontario takes no financial loss on the transaction, an assertion that opposition parties promised to scrutinise through freedom-of-information requests.

Opposition response

The Ontario Liberals, NDP and Greens all welcomed the sale but said it does not answer the larger question of why the purchase was approved in the first place. NDP Leader Marit Stiles said the episode revealed a lack of judgement at the top of government and demanded internal documents showing the approval process. She said a government that has tightened spending in health care, education and social services cannot credibly justify a nearly $30 million aircraft purchase, regardless of the eventual savings.

Liberal Leader Bonnie Crombie echoed that critique, saying the jet was 'a symbol of a premier who is disconnected from the realities Ontarians face.' Green Leader Mike Schreiner said the focus should now shift to the broader procurement culture inside Ford's government, including the recent controversy over spaghetti dinners and thousands of hospitality expenses that auditors have flagged in past reports.

Opposition MPPs said they intend to file freedom-of-information requests for documents tied to the original procurement, the decision to sell, and the repurchase agreement with Bombardier. They are particularly interested in whether any cancellation fees or hidden costs will ultimately leave taxpayers on the hook.

What it means for Ontarians

In pure fiscal terms, the sale is close to a wash. Ontario bought a used aircraft for $28.9 million and sold it back for the same amount. The government has said there will be modest transaction costs, but neither side has disclosed the final numbers. Provincial finance officials promised a full accounting will appear in the next public accounts.

For many Ontarians, the larger takeaway is about political judgement. The province is navigating a rough economic patch shaped by U.S. tariffs on steel, aluminum and autos, and by manufacturing job losses that have hit communities from Windsor to Brampton. The government has argued that its main task is to protect workers and households, and that fiscal discipline matters more now than at any point since the pandemic. The jet purchase, even briefly, blurred that message.

The province's aerospace sector, centred on companies such as Bombardier, De Havilland Canada and numerous parts suppliers, was caught in an awkward position. A high-profile Ontario customer was a welcome signal for Bombardier at a time when the Canadian aerospace industry has been pushing Ottawa and provincial capitals to buy more Canadian-built equipment. Losing that customer within a week does not help that case, although Bombardier's quick willingness to repurchase the aircraft limits the damage.

Northern travel concerns

Beyond the political theatre, the underlying question remains genuine. Ontario stretches roughly 1,700 kilometres from the Manitoba border to the Quebec border and includes hundreds of communities that are reachable only by small aircraft or winter roads. Premiers and cabinet ministers travel to those communities throughout the year, and safety and reliability are legitimate concerns for any government.

The government's current practice of chartering aircraft through brokers has drawn scrutiny in previous auditor general reports, which raised flags about cost, record-keeping and oversight. The aborted jet purchase was partly a response to those findings, officials said, even though the chosen solution went much further than most observers had expected.

Indigenous leaders and northern mayors offered mixed reactions. Several said they would support a more modest aircraft solution in principle, such as a smaller turboprop that could reach their communities, but added that the premier's messaging around the Challenger had been clumsy and focused more on comfort than on service delivery. A broader discussion about how governments travel to remote parts of the province is overdue, they argued.

Ford's political standing

The jet episode lands at a delicate moment for Ford, whose PC government has been in power since 2018 and faces the next scheduled provincial election in 2029. Polls in recent months show the government with a comfortable but shrinking lead over the Liberals, who have rebuilt significantly under Crombie. Recent controversies over prison releases, long-term care staffing and manufacturing job losses have given opposition parties more ammunition.

Ford has usually deflected scandals by projecting a plain-spoken, 'folks' style. That approach looked less effective this week as he struggled to explain why a jet purchase approved under his watch was now being reversed. The premier repeatedly described the situation as embarrassing, a framing unusual in a politician known for steady confidence.

Government backbenchers, several of whom privately expressed frustration about being blindsided by the purchase announcement, welcomed the quick sale and hoped the story would fade. Whether it does depends on what additional documents surface through the opposition's freedom-of-information requests.

What's next

The aircraft has been returned to Bombardier. Ontario's procurement team will now restart its work on how the province meets genuine travel needs for the premier and cabinet. Officials indicated that options include a smaller and cheaper aircraft, expanded use of the OPP air wing, or continued reliance on charter flights with tighter oversight.

Opposition parties intend to keep pressing for documents and have signalled they will use question period over the next several weeks to probe the approval process and what officials knew before the purchase was finalised. The provincial auditor general's office is already looking at government travel as part of a scheduled review of ministerial offices, and the jet episode will almost certainly become part of that work.

For Ford, the lesson may be simpler. The premier has survived worse political scandals during his years in office, but this one landed hardest because the symbol was unusually clear. A jet is easy to describe, easy to price and easy to criticise. The next time his government considers a major discretionary purchase, the events of this week will weigh on every conversation in cabinet.