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    • Freeland says feds' ability to spend 'not infinite' as Toronto requests more money

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    Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland says the province of Ontario should be contributing more to the City of Toronto, amid requests from Canada’s largest municipality for more money to help address its budgetary shortfall.

    Toronto Mayor Olivia Chow — who took office July 12 — addressed as one of her first orders of business what she has called a “crisis†level shortage of shelter beds in the city.

    Dozens of asylum seekers have been sleeping outside the city’s shelter intake centre for weeks, while the city has called on the federal government to help foot the bill for housing newcomers.

    Meanwhile, Toronto is facing a major budgetary shortfall of nearly $1 billion, and the city’s website has a page asking residents to email their MP to push the federal government to provide more money to address the lingering impacts of the pandemic.

    “Without federal support, City funding for future frontline services will be affected,†the website reads.

    In a letter to Chow on Monday, Freeland wrote that as deputy prime minister and finance minister, as well as an MP representing a Toronto riding, she understands “the vital importance†of Toronto, and reiterated the federal government is a “committed partner†to the city.

    Freeland said the federal government will continue to help fund infrastructure, public transit, and public safety projects, among others, but pointed to the Ontario government as one that should be providing more money if Toronto needs it.

    “The ability of the federal government to spend is not infinite — and the emergency support we provided during the pandemic led directly to the excellent fiscal position that the Province of Ontario currently enjoys,†Freeland wrote.

    She added the provincial government is forecasting a surplus for 2025-26, and pointed out the “additional support†the federal government provided for Ontario during the pandemic.

    “In order to address the City of Toronto’s budgetary requirements, I must reiterate a message that I conveyed directly to then-Mayor Tory and Deputy Mayor McKelvie: the Province of Ontario has both the constitutional responsibility and the fiscal capacity to support Toronto,†Freeland also wrote. “It is our firm expectation that they will do so.â€

    In a statement from Premier Doug Ford’s office, spokesperson Caitlin Clark writes that Ontario has “already stepped up†with both operational funding for Toronto and fulfilled the City’s request for help to address pandemic-related pressures.

    “The request by the City of Toronto for additional funding is directed to the federal government,†Clark wrote in an email to Â鶹´«Ã½. “We hope the federal government and Toronto can work together to find a solution.â€

    The finance minister’s two-page letter also outlines city projects in which the federal government has been a “partner,†including transit and infrastructure work, as well as substance-use treatment programs.

    “Our federal government has provided more support to Toronto than any other in Canadian history, with federal investments from 2015-16 to 2023-24 totalling $6.14 billion,†Freeland wrote.

    She also highlights funding Toronto has received from the federal government for housing and refugee resettlement initiatives specifically, and points to the city’s reserve fund as a way it can help address its current financial situation without additional federal funds.

    With files from CP24 web writer Joshua Freeman

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