Ontario Budget 2012

This briefing looks at the 2012 Ontario budget and the provincial government’s plan to eliminate its deficit by 2017–18.

Document Highlights

• Over the next six years, fiscal austerity will see growth in total program spending average well below 1 per cent per year as the Ontario government moves to balance its books by 2017–18.
• The government plans to slow annual growth in public health care spending sharply—from the 7 per cent pace experienced over the last decade to just 2.1 per cent per year beginning in 2012–13.
• Ontario’s deficit stands at a high 2.4 per cent of GDP.
• Substantial changes are needed to avoid the debt downgrades and spiralling debt costs that would threaten the quality of social programs.