{"id":331251,"date":"2026-04-18T20:27:00","date_gmt":"2026-04-18T20:27:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/usa.timesofnews.com\/breaking-news\/political\/ontario-government-buys-28-9m-private-jet-for-doug-fords-use.html"},"modified":"2026-04-18T20:27:00","modified_gmt":"2026-04-18T20:27:00","slug":"ontario-government-buys-28-9m-private-jet-for-doug-fords-use","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/usa.timesofnews.com\/breaking-news\/political\/ontario-government-buys-28-9m-private-jet-for-doug-fords-use.html","title":{"rendered":"Ontario government buys $28.9M private jet for Doug Ford’s use"},"content":{"rendered":"

The provincial government has purchased a pre-owned private jet for $28.9 million to be used by Ontario Premier Doug Ford.<\/p>\n

The premier’s office confirmed the purchase in a statement sent to CBC News Friday morning.<\/p>\n

\u201cAs part of the job of being Premier of Ontario, there is extensive travel within Ontario, a province twice the landmass of Texas,” the statement reads.\u00a0<\/p>\n

“This is in addition to travel across Canada for Council of the Federation and First Ministers’ Meetings, which have increased in frequency, as well as travel to the United States to help make the case against President Trump\u2019s tariffs.”<\/p>\n

The province says the Bombardier Challenger 650, which was made in Canada in 2016, would allow “more certain, flexible, secure and confidential travel.”<\/p>\n

A government source told CBC News the province has been working for several months to buy the plane, and they expect it to be in operation by the end of July.<\/p>\n

The plane was purchased directly from Bombardier and was previously owned by someone in South America, the source said. Ontario Provincial Police and Bombardier performed security and mechanical checks on the plane, and no upgrades were needed, according to the province.<\/p>\n

The government source could not provide a firm estimate on operating costs, and said they will fluctuate.<\/p>\n

Opposition NDP Leader Marit Stiles called the jet a “gravy plane” in a social media post Friday morning, adding that Ford should be “flying economy like the rest of us.”<\/p>\n

“I think it’s outrageous that the premier would be considering spending 30 million dollars on a luxury private plane at a time like this \u2014 when Ontarians are struggling with the price of rent, the price of food,” Stiles said at an unrelated news conference. <\/p>\n

“That’s the reality of most Ontarians.”<\/p>\n

Liberals dub Ford ‘tired and out of touch’<\/h2>\n

Interim Liberal Leader John Fraser issued a similar statement, also using the “gravy plane” refrain, harkening back to Ford and his brother Rob Ford’s repeated use of the term “gravy train” while they were serving as a councillor and mayor at Toronto City Hall, respectively.<\/p>\n

“People can\u2019t afford groceries and gas, and Doug Ford is buying himself a private jet. That is tired and out of touch,” Fraser said. <\/p>\n

“It is incredible that the Premier is so disconnected from the reality of Ontarians\u2019 everyday lives that he could do something this tone-deaf. He should be focused on the simple things.”<\/p>\n

\"The
This photo from Bombardier’s website shows the cabin in the current model of the Challenger 650, saying it is ‘the widest cabin in its class.’ (Bombardier.com)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The NDP also issued a statement Friday morning referencing a 2019 Toronto Star story<\/a>, in which Ford said he was “the only premier in history” who would prefer to drive around the province than spend taxpayer dollars flying.<\/p>\n

This was after details emerged about the camper van Ford wanted customized to his specifications<\/a> at the time.<\/p>\n

Groups outside of the opposition benches were similarly quick to denounce the provincial government’s purchase. The Canadian Taxpayers Federation (CTF) demanded in a statement that Ford reverse plans to spend taxpayer dollars on a private jet, noting mounting government debt<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Debt servicing costs alone for Ontario were listed at $17.2 billion in this year’s budget<\/a>, which is more than the province is spending on post-secondary education. <\/p>\n

\"A
Premier Doug Ford, and other dignitaries, tour Bombardier’s Global 7500 business jet assembly plant, in Mississauga, Ont., in 2024. (Evan Mitsui\/CBC)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u201cInstead of taking commercial flights like many premiers in this country do, Ford would rather cosplay the life of the rich and famous on taxpayers\u2019 dime,\u201d said Noah Jarvis, CTF Ontario director.<\/p>\n

\u201cOrdinary taxpayers are struggling to make ends meet and Ford is making them pay for a personal jet so that he doesn\u2019t have to wait in line at the airport like everyone else.” <\/p>\n

The provincial government says the plane will not be flown for personal use.<\/p>\n

Questions about Billy Bishop airport connection<\/h2>\n

NoJetsTO, a citizen group that opposes the province’s plans to take over Billy Bishop airport<\/a> from the city\u2019s jurisdiction to allow jets to land at the island airport, alleged in a statement the province’s move coinciding with the Challenger 650’s purchase isn’t “a coincidence.”<\/p>\n

\u201cFor eight years Premier Ford has not said a single word about the island airport, and suddenly he\u2019s hell bent on expand the airport to allow him to fly Gravy Plane jet from there,” Chair Norm Di Pasquale said in the statement.<\/p>\n

“Ford continues to make decisions affecting Torontonians with the sole focus of him being able to get to work and his fundraisers across Ontario faster.”<\/p>\n

\"Leader
Opposition NDP Leader Marit Stiles condemned the jet’s purchase at a news conference Friday morning. (Evan Mitsui\/CBC)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Stiles, the NDP Leader, similarly said the timing seemed like “more than a coincidence.”<\/p>\n

“He tried to argue that was somehow about ‘competition,'” she said at the news conference, using air quotes. “I think probably it’s more about him being able to land his luxury jet.”<\/p>\n

The province, meanwhile, maintains the plane would fly out of Pearson airport.<\/p>\n

Bombardier’s website advertises the current iteration of the Challenger 650<\/a> as having the widest cabin in its class, and combining “world-class interior design with the ultimate value proposition.”<\/p>\n

The statement issued by Ford’s office contrasts the price of Ontario’s plane to $107 million it says Quebec paid for one used and two new Challenger 650s, and $753 million the federal government paid for six new Global 6500 jets.<\/p>\n

Article source: https:\/\/www.cbc.ca\/news\/canada\/toronto\/doug-ford-private-jet-9.7167824?cmp=rss<\/a>\r\n<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The provincial government has purchased a pre-owned private jet for $28.9 million to be used by Ontario Premier Doug Ford. The premier’s office confirmed the purchase in a statement sent to CBC News Friday morning. \u201cAs part of the job of being Premier of Ontario, there is extensive travel within Ontario, a province twice the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[84],"class_list":["post-331251","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-political","tag-political"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/usa.timesofnews.com\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/331251","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/usa.timesofnews.com\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/usa.timesofnews.com\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usa.timesofnews.com\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usa.timesofnews.com\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=331251"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/usa.timesofnews.com\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/331251\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/usa.timesofnews.com\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=331251"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usa.timesofnews.com\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=331251"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usa.timesofnews.com\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=331251"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}