Ontario Rushes to Sell Ford's $28.9 Million Jet After Public Backlash

The Ontario government will sell the $28.9 million private jet it bought for Premier Doug Ford's official travel "as quickly as possible" after a wave of public backlash and the disclosure that the aircraft could only operate from a small minority of the province's recognised airports. The announcement, made this week, marks a swift reversal on a purchase that the government had defended just days earlier.

The jet, intended to replace the ageing fleet used to ferry the Premier and senior officials around the province, became politically toxic almost as soon as the price tag was made public. Critics across the political spectrum, from opposition leaders to municipal mayors and editorial pages, attacked the optics of the purchase at a time when households are dealing with elevated grocery prices, mortgage renewals at higher rates and a softening labour market.

Why the runway analysis mattered

The decisive moment came when CBC News reported that the new jet would only have been able to fly in and out of about 10 per cent of recognised airports in the province. The aircraft requires runways longer than many of the provincial airstrips that previous government planes had served, particularly in northern and remote communities.

That detail collided badly with the original justification for the purchase, which the government had said was to ensure the Premier and ministers could reach far-flung parts of Ontario quickly during emergencies and routine travel. Mayors of communities served only by smaller airstrips publicly questioned how the new aircraft was supposed to advance that mission.

The government did not contest the runway data, and the Premier said the province would now sell the jet as quickly as possible. Officials have not yet detailed the process for the sale or estimated how much of the original purchase price the province expects to recover.

How we got here

The original announcement of the purchase landed with relatively little fanfare, but the price quickly became the focal point of public criticism. The opposition demanded the government release the analysis used to justify the cost and the choice of aircraft type. Ford initially defended the decision, arguing that the existing fleet was outdated and that an upgrade was overdue.

That argument unravelled in less than a week. By the time the runway analysis was published, the government had already begun signalling that it was willing to walk away from the purchase. The decision to sell, announced on April 22, was framed as a response to the public backlash.

The episode is the latest in a string of procurement controversies that have dogged the Ontario government in the past year, including disputes over highway tendering, an audit of mass timber procurement and questions about hospital build contracts in the Greater Toronto Area.

The political fallout

The political cost is harder to calibrate. Ford's Progressive Conservatives still hold a majority in the legislature, but the Premier's personal approval ratings have softened in recent polling. The jet controversy comes on top of other affordability-related stories, including the recent provincial budget and the ongoing debate over education legislation that proposes to count attendance and class participation toward high school marks.

Ontario NDP leader Marit Stiles said the government's about-face proved that the original purchase was a mistake from the start. Liberal leader Bonnie Crombie said the issue raised broader questions about the government's spending priorities, particularly given the cost of living pressures facing Ontarians. Green leader Mike Schreiner called for a full audit of the procurement process that led to the purchase.

Within Progressive Conservative ranks, several MPPs have privately expressed frustration that the issue was allowed to fester for as long as it did, particularly given the runway data was not difficult to compile. The episode is likely to lead to internal scrutiny of how major procurement decisions are reviewed and announced going forward.

Reaction from the regions

The reaction outside Toronto has been just as pointed. Mayors of communities in northern Ontario, where shorter runways are the norm and where access to a fast-moving emergency response can be a matter of life and death, criticised the original purchase for prioritising urban convenience over rural utility.

The mayor of Kenora and the chief of a nearby First Nation both said in interviews that the runway analysis confirmed what they had suspected: that the aircraft was poorly matched to the operational needs of a province as geographically vast as Ontario. Both said they expected the next provincial aircraft purchase to be guided by a clearer assessment of where ministers actually need to fly.

The Northeastern Ontario Municipal Association said the controversy underscored the need for a deeper conversation about regional transport equity, including better scheduled air service and more robust support for the existing northern airports. The association's president told reporters this week that the jet money would have been better spent on those services.

What it means for taxpayers

The most immediate question for taxpayers is whether the province can recover the $28.9 million it spent on the aircraft. The market for second-hand executive jets is active, but pricing depends heavily on the configuration of the aircraft, its hours of use and the broader business cycle.

Public-finance analysts have noted that even if the province manages a near-full recovery on the resale, transaction costs and any operational outlays since the purchase will leave a net loss. The province has not provided an estimate of the loss it expects to absorb.

The episode has also reignited debate about how the Ontario government accounts for executive transport more generally. The auditor general's office has previously flagged questions about the use of provincial aircraft, and opposition parties are now calling for a fresh review.

Provincial government priorities

The jet controversy has temporarily overshadowed several other major Ontario files, including the proposed expansion of provincial police patrols on the Gardiner Expressway and Don Valley Parkway, the package of education reforms tying high school grades to attendance, and the ongoing rollout of the Ontario Northland passenger rail service. Each of those files involves significant questions about cost, governance and service delivery.

Within the legislature, the focus is expected to return to the budget implementation legislation and to several pending committee studies on healthcare staffing and housing supply. The federal-provincial housing partnership announced by Prime Minister Mark Carney and Premier Ford in late March remains on the agenda for the spring session.

What's next

The government has not yet released a timeline for the sale of the jet or detailed how it will manage executive air travel in the interim. The province operates other aircraft, but officials have not indicated whether those will be used for the Premier's travel until a replacement strategy is determined.

The Auditor General's office has not yet announced whether it will undertake a formal review of the purchase, but opposition parties have written to the office asking for one. A report by the auditor on this file would land in a politically sensitive window heading into the next provincial election.

For Ford, the immediate political calculation is to put the controversy behind him and refocus on the affordability and housing files that have dominated his government's agenda. For voters, the question is whether the rapid reversal repairs the damage or simply confirms a perception that the procurement process needs deeper reform.