Ontario pauses 15 government advertising campaigns deemed to be partisan

More than two dozen television commercials, funded by Ontario taxpayers, were paused during the election period after the province’s auditor general deemed the advertising was “designed to promote the governing party” rather than the province itself.

In December, Auditor General Shelley Spence revealed that the province spent a total of $103.5 million on advertising in the previous year, including commercials highlighting Ontario’s economy.

Much of the language used in the publicly funded ads mirrored talking points used by Doug Ford and the Progressive Conservative Party leading to Spence flagging them as potentially partisan.

“It really was just fostering a positive view of the governing party without providing other information that most ads would have,” Spence said in December.

When Ford called a snap election, and the government entered caretaker mode, Ontario’s top civil servant “paused 15 government advertising campaigns” that had previously been highlighted by the auditor.

“In accordance with the Government Advertising Act, government advertising campaigns are paused during the election period, unless they are time sensitive (such as campaigns related to health and safety matters) or relate to revenue generation and are approved by the Auditor General of Ontario,” Michelle DiEmmanuel, Ontario Secretary of Cabinet, wrote in a letter sent to the Liberals.

The party had previously written asking for clarification.

In particular, the auditor took issue with the “Let’s Build Ontario” advertising campaign which focused on the electric vehicle supply chain, job creation, skilled trades and infrastructure — key planks of the Progressive Conservatives’ pitch for re-election.

“We assessed their primary purpose as promoting the governing party,” the auditor said in her December annual report.

Those campaigns, deemed to be partisan in nature by the auditor general were paused during the election campaign when parties have to adhere to strict spending limits on advertising and are prevented from using government resources to for partisan activity.

Trending Now

• Liberal leadership candidate Ruby Dhalla disqualified from race

• Canadians call Wayne Gretzky a ‘traitor’ after tense 4 Nations hockey final

The Secretary of Cabinet, however, looked for exemptions for one commercial in particular: pro-Ontario commercials that could run in the United States and during the Superbowl.

The ad, which has run on various American television networks and during the Superbowl, paints a positive portrait of the long-standing relationship between Ontario and the United States and is part of the province’s anti-tariff appeal to governors and senators.

“The ad in question was part of an Auditor General approved Ontario government advertising campaign in the United States,” DiEmmanuel said in her letter. “The campaign, which is not partisan in nature, and has previously been reviewed by the Auditor General, was authorized to continue in the US market by the Auditor General.”

Ford has refused to lay out how much money taxpayers have spend on the commercials only offering that the budget is in the tens of millions and, at a recent campaign event, saying the information could be compelled using freedom of information laws.

&copy 2025 Global News, a division of Corus Entertainment Inc.