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Premier of Ontario Doug Ford during a visit to the Austin Chamber of Commerce in Texas on April 2.Sergio Flores/The Globe and Mail
Ontario has purchased a $28.9-million private jet for Premier Doug Ford, which the government says is needed for more flexible and secure travel.
Mr. Ford’s office confirmed Friday the province bought the pre-owned 2016 Challenger 650, made by Quebec company Bombardier. The purchase was first reported by the Toronto Star.
Mr. Ford recently announced plans to take over the city of Toronto’s stake in downtown Billy Bishop Airport, which he wants to expand to allow for jets. However, Hannah Jensen, a spokeswoman for the Premier, said the plane will operate out of the larger Pearson Airport.
The government defended the decision to buy the jet, saying Mr. Ford travels frequently across the country for meetings with fellow premiers and the Prime Minister. He was also recently in Texas, a trip he said was intended to shore up support for Ontario businesses and argue against U.S. President Donald Trump’s tariffs.
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“As part of the job of being Premier of Ontario, there is extensive travel within Ontario, a province twice the landmass of Texas. 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’s tariffs,” Ms. Jensen said in a statement.
She also spoke to the purchase price. “This is significantly less than the $107-million Quebec paid for its fleet of one pre-owned and two brand-new Challenger 650s or the $753-million the Government of Canada paid for its six new Global 6500 jets,” she said.
The plane seats up to 12 passengers and has a range of approximately 7,400 kilometers. The government took possession this week after extensive mechanical checks, according to a senior government official. The Globe and Mail is not identifying the official because they were not authorized to speak publicly about internal government matters.
It was previously owned by a company that operated out of South America, and the Ontario Provincial Police surveyed its flight logs prior to the purchase, the official said.
The plane will feature a provincial logo.
The Ontario government previously owned two King Air turboprop planes, but they were sold. Mr. Ford travels frequently by private chartered jet, including on his recent trip to Texas.
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The notion of a buying a jet for an Ontario Premier to use has long been controversial. Previous premiers had to put up with aging, cramped turboprops on flights to events in Northern Ontario and elsewhere.
In 1981, PC premier Bill Davis ignited a political firestorm when he purchased a $10.6-million (about $35-million in current dollars, allowing for inflation) Challenger jet. Critics charged it was a needless luxury amid the high unemployment and high interest rates pummelling Ontario’s economy at the time.
While the government even said it had aircraft modified so it could double as an air ambulance, after 15 months of outrage from the opposition Mr. Davis relented and to sold it, replacing it with two forest-fire water bombers.
Mr. Ford also previously boasted in 2019 that he was the only Premier not using private aircraft.
“I’m the only Premier in history that refuses to use the Premier’s plane, the King Air, that costs the taxpayers hundreds of thousands of dollars. I prefer to drive around and talk to the people about things that matter,” he said in the legislature.
Ontario NDP Leader Marit Stiles criticized the purchase, saying the money should be used for classrooms, homes and health care.
She said the Premier should start flying economy class “like the rest of us.”
“Ford ran on a promise to stop the gravy train only to spend millions of taxpayer dollars on his gravy plane. This is ridiculous,” Ms. Stiles said in a statement.
Interim Ontario Liberal Leader John Fraser said people can’t afford groceries and gas while the Premier buys himself a private jet.
“It is incredible that the Premier is so disconnected from the reality of Ontarians’ everyday lives that he could do something this tone-deaf. He should be focused on the simple things,” Mr. Fraser said in a statement.
“There’s an affordability crisis in Ontario, and the Premier doesn’t see it. It will be harder to see clearly from 40,000 feet in a private jet.”
