Budget includes Protecting Ontario Account of up to $5 billion to protect jobs, transform operations, and grow strategic sectors
Ontario has committed to allocating billions of dollars in support of both employers and workers under its 2025 budget.
“Our province has been faced with challenges before, and we have always emerged stronger and more united as a result,” said Peter Bethlenfalvy, minister of finance. “Today, with the 2025 Budget: A Plan to Protect Ontario, we put forward a plan that reflects the government’s vision and the mandate we received from the people of this great province to do whatever is necessary to protect Ontario workers, businesses and communities.”
Under Budget 2025, the government is backing businesses that invest in buildings, machinery, and equipment used for manufacturing or processing in Ontario. It is proposing to enhance and expand the Ontario Made Manufacturing Investment Tax Credit.
The proposed changes would temporarily raise the tax credit rate for Canadian-controlled private corporations (CCPCs) from 10% to 15%, and temporarily extend eligibility for a 15% non-refundable version of the credit to non-CCPCs, including public corporations that make eligible investments in the province.
These measures would help businesses reduce costs by providing an additional $1.3 billion in support over the next three years, according to the provincial government.
Previously, Ontario and Manitoba signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to support the removal of interprovincial trade barriers between the two provinces.
The province is also launching the Protecting Ontario Account—a fund of up to $5 billion aimed at providing businesses with critical support to protect jobs, transform operations, and grow strategic sectors facing tariff-related disruptions.
“This fund will provide immediate liquidity relief as an emergency backstop for Ontario businesses that have exhausted available funding,” the government said.
Ontario is also investing an additional $1 billion over the next three years in the Skills Development Fund Capital and Training Streams to ensure that workers “have the training they need to enter rewarding careers”.
“These investments will help organisations deliver better training programmes and help upgrade and build new training centres for skilled workers across the province,” according to the government.
The budget also includes the return of $2 billion in Workplace Safety and Insurance Board (WSIB) surplus funds to eligible businesses.
Canadian Manufacturers & Exporters (CME) applauded the Ontario government for its Budget 2025, recognising the investments to support manufacturers as they face historic challenges created by U.S. tariffs. In particular, the group welcomed the Ontario Made Manufacturing Investment Tax Credit and the Ontario Together Trade Fund.
“These historic commitments mark a turning point. By working together, we can build on Ontario’s strong industrial foundation to usher in an Ontario Made economic revolution—one that champions homegrown innovation, drives global competitiveness, and secures long-term prosperity for all Ontarians,” said Dennis Darby, president and CEO of CME.
The Huron Chamber of Commerce welcomed the proposed $2-billion WSIB rebate for employers.
“These funds will provide some relief for small and medium-sized businesses continuing to navigate the ripple effects of U.S. trade disruptions and cost inflation. In addition, the government has made the current gas and fuel tax cuts permanent—an important move for rural businesses reliant on transportation and logistics.”
However, the group also urged the province “to ensure that these investments are accessible to small and medium-sized enterprises in our region.”
However, the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE) has a different stand about the rebates.
“Instead of handing billions back to the bosses, the Ford government should be looking to expand WSIB coverage to the over 1.56 million workers excluded from the WSIB,” said Harry Goslin, president of OCEU/CUPE 1750. “$4 billion could also be used to end hallway medicine, end the cuts to injured worker benefits and significantly improve accident prevention in Ontario.”
Meanwhile, the Canadian Centre of Policy Alternatives (CCPA) notes that the Ontario budget “fails to address years-long funding shortfalls”.
On employer supports, Senior Researcher Ricardo Tranjan and Sociologist Ryan Romard stated: “What is clearly lacking are initiatives that support impacts to workers and communities directly. The Trade Impacted Communities Program is the exception. The initial amount is very timid—$40 million—and won’t do the heavy lifting necessary over the next months and years.”
They added: “Underfunding trends persist in total programme spending, education, post-secondary education, and health. Public services provide the support Ontarians need and good jobs that support the economy—investing in them is the best way to shield the province. But that’s not happening.”
Wage growth in Ontario has fallen behind the rest of Canada for more than two decades due to prolonged economic stagnation, according to a previous report from the Fraser Institute.
