Bill 68, Plan to Protect Ontario Act (Budget Measures), 2025 (No. 2)

Summary#

• This is Ontario’s 2025 budget bill (Plan to Protect Ontario Act, 2025 (No. 2)). It changes many laws, sets temporary spending limits for government operations, and introduces new tax credits.

• It also changes election timing and rules, creates a new provincial conservation agency, updates pension laws, and adjusts rules for health agencies, insurers, credit unions, and municipalities.

• Key changes:

  • Ends the legal requirement for Ontario to set greenhouse-gas reduction targets and publish a climate plan.
  • Creates a new Ontario Provincial Conservation Agency to oversee conservation authorities and move to regional, watershed-based operations.
  • Removes fixed-date provincial elections; elections can be called any time within five years.
  • Increases political donation limits; keeps quarterly public allowances for parties; adds checks on third‑party advertisers (groups that aren’t parties or candidates).
  • Adds/expands business tax credits (manufacturing; shortline railway); updates tax benefits (Trillium Benefit and Ontario child benefit) and widens eligibility for people in land‑lease or similar homes.
  • Sets large interim spending authorities for 2025–26 (supplementary) and 2026–27; updates rules for Ontario Health and Ontario Health atHome finances.
  • Changes OMERS governance; updates pension rules to allow easier conversion to jointly sponsored plans with opt‑out rights.
  • Adjusts pharmacy reimbursement rules so insurers pay the same amount per drug across pharmacies, with allowed maximum fees/markups.
  • Enables Ontario Place redevelopment steps and a Wasaga Beach land transfer/designation to support a new tourist district while keeping beach access public.

What it means for you#

• Voters and residents

  • Provincial elections will no longer have a fixed June date; they can be called any time within five years.
  • More advance polling days; Elections Ontario can run targeted registrations periodically.
  • Government advertising limits before the election period are eased; the pre‑election budget review is removed.
  • Political donations to parties rise (indexed to inflation), and parties keep quarterly public allowances.
  • Third‑party political advertisers must show registration proof to broadcasters/publishers, who must check it.
  • Ontario Trillium Benefit and Ontario child benefit amounts are indexed; rules now fully recognize mobile homes, land‑lease homes, and certain other homes, retroactive to 2020 (may help more low‑income households qualify).

• Patients, families, and pharmacies

  • Insurers must reimburse the same amount for a given drug across all pharmacies, but can set a maximum dispensing fee/markup and deny payment above that cap. Pharmacies must share fee/cost info with insurers on request.
  • Ontario Health and Ontario Health atHome get more flexible financial tools (borrowing/investing by by‑law approval), coordinated by the Ontario Financing Authority. Day‑to‑day care is unchanged.

• Nature and development

  • A new provincial Conservation Agency can set directions, standards, and fees for conservation authorities and recover costs from them. This may standardize permit processes and could change local fees/timelines.
  • Ontario Place: the minister can order municipal service and right‑of‑way terms if needed; more lands are listed for the redevelopment project.
  • Wasaga Beach: some beachfront lands leave the provincial park; Nancy Island area is designated a historical park; the province aims to transfer beach areas to the town with permanent public access.

• Workers, businesses, and investors

  • New/expanded tax credits:
    • Ontario Made Manufacturing Investment Tax Credit: adds 5 points (to 15% for certain firms) on eligible assets available 2025–2029; creates a parallel 15% credit for certain non‑CCPC corporations (up to $20M of spending per year).
    • New Shortline Railway Investment Tax Credit: up to 50% of eligible track capital and labour costs (caps tied to track miles), 2025–2029, with a certificate from the Minister of Transportation.
    • Updates to the small beer manufacturers’ credit formulas (retroactive).
  • Companies with “individuals with significant control” must file ownership information that can be shared with regulators (aimed at transparency and anti‑money laundering).
  • Credit unions may sell some securities to non‑members; non‑member shareholders can elect up to 20% of directors if bylaws allow.

• Municipalities and school boards

  • New schedules and methods for remitting education property taxes to school boards and new information returns (effective 2028).
  • Conservation authorities may receive directions/fees from the new Agency and see cost‑recovery charges apportioned to them.

• Pension plan members and employers

  • Easier conversion of single‑employer plans to jointly sponsored pension plans (JSPPs). Members get notice and can opt not to transfer; if no response in time, consent is deemed. On a JSPP wind‑up, benefits can be reduced if funds are insufficient.
  • OMERS governance shifts from the “Sponsors Corporation” to a “Sponsors Council”; limits on lawsuits and ability for the minister to set certain transitional rules.

Expenses#

Estimated annual cost: mainly spending authorities; tax changes reduce revenues through 2030; exact net impacts not published.

• Spending authority:
  • 2025–26 supplementary interim: up to $12.99B in expenses, $2.35B in investments, and $36.9M for Legislative Offices (added to prior interim authority).
  • 2026–27 interim: up to $211.66B in expenses, $9.74B in investments, and $392.3M for Legislative Offices.
• Revenues:
  • New/expanded corporate tax credits (manufacturing; shortline rail) will reduce corporate tax revenue during 2025–2029/2030.
  • Indexing and eligibility changes for the Ontario Trillium Benefit and Ontario child benefit affect personal tax/credit outlays, some retroactive.
• Agencies and oversight:
  • The new Conservation Agency can be funded by the Ministry and recover costs via fees/charges to conservation authorities.
• Exact fiscal notes for many items: No publicly available information.

Proponents' View#

• Supports jobs and growth by boosting manufacturing investment and modernizing shortline rail infrastructure.
• Modernizes health agencies’ financial tools without drawing funds into the province’s main account, allowing quicker decisions.
• Creates consistent, province‑wide standards for conservation authorities, speeds up permitting, and enables shared digital systems.
• Increases transparency of who owns and controls companies, helping fight financial crime.
• Keeps stable party funding, updates donation limits with inflation, and strengthens oversight of third‑party political ads.
• Updates benefits so seniors and residents of mobile, land‑lease, or similar homes are treated fairly.
• Gives flexibility to call elections when needed (within five years) and advances major projects like Ontario Place and Destination Wasaga.

Opponents' View#

• Removing fixed election dates and easing pre‑writ ad limits may advantage the governing party and reduce predictability for voters.
• Higher donation limits and continued public allowances could be seen as favouring larger parties and wealthier donors.
• Repealing legal requirements to set climate targets and publish a climate plan weakens accountability on greenhouse‑gas reductions.
• Centralizing control over conservation authorities and adding cost‑recovery fees may reduce local input, raise fees for applicants, and create privacy concerns due to wider data access.
• Pharmacy reimbursement caps could pressure small or rural pharmacies that rely on higher fees, potentially limiting patient choice.
• Pension changes (deemed consent; possible benefit reductions on JSPP wind‑up) may worry members; OMERS governance changes and lawsuit limits reduce avenues to challenge decisions.
• Large interim spending authorities are granted before detailed program‑by‑program votes, which some view as reducing legislative scrutiny.