Question 1

How will your party address the affordability problems facing Ontarians, including:

The housing shortage and barriers to building housing in infill locations with denser urban formats that would help lower costs and better match what families need.

NDP response
An Ontario NDP government will make it cheaper and easier to build more types of homes for more types of people, more quickly, in more neighbourhoods. This includes legalizing more affordable “missing middle” housing options like semis, townhomes and four-storey multiplexes in all neighbourhoods, and legalizing midrises along transit corridors transit as-of-right. We’ll also keep housing infrastructure costs down and protect farmland by focusing growth efficiently and cost-effectively within the pre-2022 municipal urban boundaries. The NDP also understands that not everyone can afford what the private market can profitably deliver, which is why the NDP has proposed a new public agency, Homes Ontario, that will provide grants, low-cost financing, public land and other support to enable the construction or acquisition of at least 300,000 new permanently affordable public, non-profit and co-op homes within ten years.

Increasing the frequency and reliability of public transportation and improving active transportation options to reduce dependency on costly personal vehicles.

NDP response:
An Ontario NDP government will enable immediate transit service improvements by providing 50% provincial funding for municipal transit and paratransit net operational costs. This will allow transit operators to deliver service that is more frequent, reliable, convenient and affordable, while boosting ridership and easing overall congestion. We will also end the Ford government’s shortsighted and dangerous culture war against cyclists, repealing recent anti-bike lane laws, and encouraging municipalities to expand active transportation options.

Taking full advantage of low-cost solar and wind power and efficiency measures and working with Quebec to deliver power storage services to lower energy costs.

NDP response:
The NDP supports investments in clean energy, including wind and solar, delivering electricity that is reliable and affordable. We support all options to make the system more efficient, including increasing investments in conservation and exploring greater energy system integration with other provinces, like Quebec.

Still rising grocery bills and growing food insecurity that may be increased by climate change and development on vital farmlands.

NDP response:
Without farmland, there is no food. But Ontario loses 319 acres of farmland every day to urban development. An Ontario NDP government will end the Ford government’s relentless attacks on farmers and farmland, and strengthen Ontario’s food security, by focusing growth sustainably and cost-effectively within the pre-2022 urban boundaries. To help families offset the rise in grocery costs, we will provide a recurring monthly grocery rebate that grows based on household income and family size. At a time when people are feeling anxious about their budgets, the Monthly Grocery Rebate will give stable relief to millions of households. We’ll also bring transparency to grocery prices by forcing big retailers to publicly post when they raise prices more than two per cent in a week. We’ll crack down on price fixing and other unfair practices by establishing a new watchdog to enforce competition laws and keep food prices fair.

Question 2

How will your party improve the livability and health of our communities in a way that reduces exposure to toxins and protects vital natural areas, specifically:

The huge infrastructure challenges facing municipalities, including the need to increase climate resilience and access to healthy green space combined with the need to get maximum value from public infrastructure dollars.

NDP response:
Many of the infrastructure challenges facing municipalities are the result of unfair downloads by past provincial governments that have left towns and cities struggling to maintain and repair infrastructure that is at increasing risk due to climate change. These struggles are particularly acute in rural and Northern Ontario, where municipalities must serve large land areas with comparatively smaller tax bases. The NDP has proposed a New Deal for Municipalities that would upload back to the province various costs that were unfairly downloaded onto municipalities by Liberal and Conservative governments. This new deal includes fair, predictable and consistent formula-based provincial funding that acknowledges the realities facing small, rural and Northern municipalities, ensuring that municipal infrastructure can be repaired and made resilient to the impacts of climate change, without driving up municipal property taxes through the roof.

The need for more robust and comprehensive waste diversion programs that retain resource value and avoid toxic emissions.

NDP response:
The Ford government has repeatedly weakened regulations aimed at diverting more waste from landfills. An NDP government would set high, realistic targets for recycling and waste reduction, and enforce them.

The destruction and deterioration of the natural areas and farmland that protect communities from flooding and other climate-driven disasters.

NDP response:
An Ontario NDP government would strengthen and expand the Greenbelt and other protections for natural and agricultural systems. We will also restore the powers of conservation authorities to protect people and property from floods and other natural hazards.

The need to protect globally important natural ecosystems with high ecological integrity in northern areas and remaining wetlands everywhere.

NDP response:
An NDP government will work with Indigenous communities and organizations to support Indigenous-led conservation efforts in Northern Ontario

Question 3

How will your party seize opportunities to grow Ontario’s economy and jobs, specifically:

Building a more circular economy that reduces over reliance on single-use products.

NDP  response:
The Ford government has repeatedly weakened regulations aimed at diverting more waste from landfills. An NDP government would set high, realistic targets for recycling and waste reduction, and enforce them.

Making the most of energy transition possibilities while ensuring impacts do not outweigh benefits for workers or the environment.

NDP response:
Equity is a core NDP value. The energy transition will create challenges as well as opportunities for Ontarians, and it is crucial that all benefits and burdens be shared fairly. This includes making sure that workers in energy-intensive and trade-exposed industries do not face disproportionate burdens as Ontario decarbonizes its economy.

Better recognizing the immense value of ecosystem services like climate control, clean air and clean water and the linkage of these to human health.

NDP response:
The Ford government often treats rural Ontario and its natural heritage as mere empty space to be paved over or dug up. Ontario’s natural heritage not only provides beauty and habitats for Ontario’s biodiversity, it also performs important environmental services that provides billions of dollars in value to people and businesses, while mitigating the worsening impacts of climate change such as floods, fires, droughts and other hazards. The immense value of such “green infrastructure” must be factored into the government’s land use planning and other decision-making, maximizing efforts to protect such important assets.

Using GHG emission reduction efforts to drive new economic opportunities and jobs across the province.

NDP response:
The NDP has proposed an ambitious plan to help people reduce their energy bills as well as their carbon footprints, while also creating good jobs. An Ontario NDP government will provide rebates depending on household income, to help households install electric heat pumps, with access to easy interest-free financing. An additional rebate will be available for households that heat with fuels like propane or heating oil. This program would not only help reduce greenhouse gases and help people save money, it would create good jobs for installers, renovators and heat pump manufacturers. An NDP government will also will help Ontario drivers make the switch to an electric vehicle, with income-tested rebates. We’ll also ensure that new homes are future-proofed for the energy transition with low-cost EV-ready infrastructure, so homeowners with garages can install electric vehicle chargers cheaply when they choose to make the switch, instead of paying thousands of dollars in retrofitting costs. We will also enhance Ontario’s SaveONEnergy Energy Affordability program to provide retrofit support to renters and low-income households, ensuring fair access to Ontario’s energy savings programs.