Liberals claim Ford’s plan to visit Washington during election ‘clearly partisan’

As Premier Doug Ford prepares to spark a provincial election on Wednesday, opposition parties are raising concerns about his two planned trips to Washington, D.C., during the campaign, calling them “clearly partisan” and an inappropriate use of taxpayer funds.

The moment the Ontario legislature is dissolved and an election is called, the government enters caretaker mode—a long-standing convention that prevents a political party from using partisan resources during election campaigns.

While the Premier and Cabinet Ministers retain their rights, privileges and responsibilities during and after elections, those powers are limited in exercise and must be exercised only in a caretaker capacity.

However, Premier Ford has signaled his party intends to ignore the caretaker convention, traveling to the United States twice during the election campaign in an effort to underline US President Donald Trump’s threat of tariffs on Canadian-made goods.

Ford will lead a joint mission with other premiers to Washington on February 12, to lobby American lawmakers, and again on February 20 to attend the annual meeting of the National Governors Association.

“Every day, during this election, I will still be premier,” Ford said during a campaign-style event in Brampton on Friday. “Every day I will talk to our ministers, we will get policies there.”

While Ford said the Ontario Progressive Conservative Party would pay for the trip to Washington, Ontario’s Liberal Party raised questions about whether taxpayer funds would be used for any part of the trip and whether government employees would support Ford during his visit. have been

Liberal House Leader John Fraser wrote a letter to the Cabinet Secretary, the Chief Electoral Officer, and the Integrity Commissioner, saying Ford’s planned visit would “damage confidence in our public institutions, and violate the core principles of our democracy.”

“We are deeply concerned that the Premier intends to use government resources and taxpayer funds to further his own political interests,” Fraser wrote in a letter shared with Global News. “In the context of early elections, this task will be categorical in nature.”

The Liberals argue that, given the caretaker convention, it “would no longer be appropriate” for Ford to travel to Washington or participate in the Council of the Federation, which represents Canada’s premiers.

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Fraser also argued that while Ford and his staff were in Washington — along with civil service expenses to support the premier — should be logged as election expenses, which the Progressive Conservative Party should charge.

A 2018 pre-election memo from then Cabinet Secretary Steve Orsini clearly laid out how members of the ruling party expected to fare during the election.

“Ministers will be asked to exercise care and avoid any perception that their ministerial offices, resources or portfolios are being used for political purposes,” the 2018 pre-election memo warned.

“While most government events are postponed during the election period, if any such event is allowed to go ahead during this time, ministers and parliamentary aides will be advised not to attend.”

The memo added that while some circumstances – such as a provincial emergency, national or international incident – may require ministerial involvement, that should be limited to “a statement by the Premier or responsible minister”.

The Liberals have asked the chief electoral officer to publicly weigh in on whether the use of taxpayer dollars during an election campaign would be considered an “improper contribution” and a violation of the Ontario Election Finance Act.

“As the Premier has announced his intention to call an election this Wednesday, we ask that you respond publicly as soon as possible to safeguard our democratic norms and ensure free and fair elections,” the letter said.

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