Ontario to table 2024 budget without tax increases on March 26

The Ontario government will table its 2024 budget at the end of the month.

Finance Minister Peter Bethlenfalvy announced Thursday the province’s next budget will be presented on March 26.

Speaking with CTV News Toronto, the minister said the new budget will “continue on the track to rebuild the economy.”

“Every budget is really focussed on helping people and businesses and families. So you can expect that we’ll continue to focus on that track that we've had in every budget that I've tabled.”

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Bethlenfalvy said the budget will focus on investing in infrastructure and keeping life affordable. All of this will be done, he said, without raising taxes and fees.

In February, Bethlenfalvy projected Ontario would end the year with a $4.5 billion deficit, which is a little over $1 billion higher than what was estimated during the fall economic statement.

The province’s failed legal appeal of Bill 124 has resulted in some overspending, according to Ontario’s financial accountability office, which could be contributing to the higher deficit. Their office has suggested it could cost the government over $13 billion.

The Ford government’s 2023 budget was the largest in the province’s history, standing at about $204.7 billion. At the time, the government said it was on track to balancing the budget by 2025. It’s unclear if this is still the case.

In the province’s fall economic statement, the Doug Ford government pledged to invest an additional $3 billion in a new “infrastructure bank” to help spur community development. Little information has been released about the new bank since it was first announced.

With file from CTV News' Queen's Park Bureau Chief Siobhan Morris