Block Premier Doug Ford from Ever Receiving the Order of Ontario

The Petition Statement:
The Order of Ontario is our province’s highest civilian honour. It is legally and historically reserved for individuals whose exceptional achievements have left a positive, lasting legacy in Ontario. We, the citizens of Ontario, are launching this petition to formally demand that the Order of Ontario Advisory Council permanently exclude Premier Doug Ford from ever receiving this prestigious honour.
A leader who has systematically destabilized our public institutions, overseen a culture of rampant taxpayer-funded entitlement, and repeatedly breached the public trust does not embody the excellence the Order represents.
We oppose any future nomination of Doug Ford based on the following specific, documented record:

1. The July 2026 MPP Hotel Expense & Steakhouse Scandal
In an egregious display of financial excess, members of Doug Ford's cabinet and caucus were exposed for billing taxpayers tens of thousands of dollars for upscale Toronto hotel stays despite living mere kilometres from Queen's Park. [1, 2]
The Fallout: Tourism, Culture and Gaming Minister Stan Cho was forced to resign from cabinet after it was revealed he expensed over $16,000 in luxury downtown hotel stays. [1, 2, 3]
The Double-Dipping: Subsequent expense logs revealed Minister Cho went even further, billing his PC Riding Association nearly $100,000 for upscale dining at high-end venues like Barberian's Steak House and Sotto Sotto, luxury flights, and limo rentals. [1, 2]
Systemic Waste: At least 19 other PC MPPs (including senior parliamentary assistants) were caught exploiting "special circumstance" clauses to claim over $120,000 in hotel rooms just to avoid commuting home. Another PC MPP, Hardeep Grewal, faces an Integrity Commissioner investigation for funneling public ad money into his own family's newspaper. [1, 2, 3]

2. The $28.9-Million Private "Gravy Plane" Flip-Flop
While lecturing Ontarians about fiscal restraint during an acute affordability crisis, Doug Ford's government secretly began procurement in January 2026 to buy a $28.9-million private luxury jet (a Bombardier Challenger 650) for the Premier's personal use. [1, 2, 3]
Following a massive public outcry and phone lines flooding his office, Ford was forced into a humiliating u-turn and sold the jet back just days later. [1, 2]
Despite claims that the transaction cost nothing, leaked documents proved Ontario taxpayers were left on the hook for nearly $191,000 in unrecoverable maintenance, legal fees, and acquisition support costs. [1]

3. Chronic Underfunding of Public Education ($6.5 Billion Shortfall)
According to comprehensive tracking by the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives (CCPA), Doug Ford's government has underfunded Ontario's public education system by a staggering $6.5 billion since 2018. [1]
Board Takeovers: Rather than properly funding schools, the province sent in government-appointed supervisors to seize control of eight major school boards—representing 36% of all students in Ontario—blaming them for deficits that were actually caused by provincial funding shortages.
Special Education Crisis: The Auditor General sounded the alarm that special education programs are $398 million short of what is required to support children with disabilities. Classrooms are overcrowded, school infrastructure is crumbling, and the Ontario Student Assistance Program (OSAP) has had its student grants drastically gutted. [1, 2, 3]

4. Multiple Active Police & Criminal Investigations
Doug Ford's administration holds the shameful distinction of being deeply entangled in four separate police investigations, fracturing the public's trust in provincial governance:
The RCMP Criminal Investigation: A live, active federal criminal probe into the $8.3-billion Greenbelt land swap scandal, investigating backroom deals with billionaire developers.
The OPP Investigations: Multiple Ontario Provincial Police probes looking into structural corruption, untendered government contracts, and the allocation of funds within the province's $2.5-billion Skills Development Fund.

5. Healthcare Starvation and Forced Privatization
The Ford government has engineered a crisis in public healthcare by deliberately withholding billions in health funding. [1]
Local community operating rooms sit completely dark and empty because the province refuses to fund nursing staff.
Simultaneously, hundreds of millions in public tax dollars are being funneled into private, for-profit surgical clinics. When these private clinics break the Canada Health Act by extra-billing patients, it triggers millions in federal financial clawbacks, which Ford then uses as an excuse to claim the public system is "broke". [1, 2]

6. Disastrous Crisis Management and Financial Tracking
The COVID Bilking: The Auditor General confirmed that Doug Ford's government failed to track $4.4 billion in pandemic relief funds, while handing out $210 million to completely ineligible businesses due to non-existent vetting.
Response Failures: His tenure saw a chaotic, multi-tiered vaccine rollout that abandoned vulnerable hot-spots, and severe structural funding cuts to Ontario's wildfire and forest firefighting crews right before the province entered unprecedented, dangerous burning seasons. [1, 2]

7. A Ballooning $485 Billion Deficit
Despite continuous branding as "fiscally responsible managers," the Ford government's 2026 budget reveals an absolute failure of fiscal discipline, projecting a $13.8 billion deficit. Under his watch, Ontario’s total debt has exploded to $485 billion, meaning taxpayers now bleed $17.2 billion every single year just to pay the interest on Ford's debt—more than the province spends on post-secondary education. [1]

Conclusion:
Doug Ford has spent his tenure enriching his inner circle, flying private, and funding "staycations" for his MPPs while destroying public healthcare, starving our schools, and running up historic debt. The Order of Ontario must remain an untarnished award meant for citizens who truly serve the public good. [1, 2, 3]
Sign this petition to send a clear message to the Advisory Council: No Order of Ontario for Doug Ford.