fr

Ontario
In office
Premier
Progressive Conservative Party of Ontario
2,070 days in office
Ontario's 42nd Parliament
07 Jun 2018 - 03 May 2022
Ontario's 43rd Parliament
24 Jun 2022 - Present

The 2022 Ontario general election was held on June 2, 2022 to elect the 124 members of the 43rd Parliament of Ontario. The Progressive Conservative (PC) Party of Ontario, led by Doug Ford, won a majority government with 83 of the 124 seats in the legislature. The incumbent party, they increased their seat share from 76 in the 2018 election. They campaigned on a slogan to “get it done,” pledging to build highways and transit infrastructure and open up the “Ring of Fire,” a mineral-rich area in northern Ontario. Instead of an election platform, the Ontario PC Party presented its promises on its website in the form of press releases throughout the campaign.

In partnership with

Promise History

1.03.11 - “Returning Hydro One dividend payments to families”

In progress
16-Feb-2022
Justification

The government receives 47% of Hydro One dividends, some of which are used to fund hydro rebates and credits. However, since the Ministry of Energy has not publicly disclosed the percentage of Hydro One dividends that are going directly to families, the promise remains in progress.

“[Energy Minister Todd] Smith’s office did not respond to questions from The Globe on the fate of the Hydro One dividend promise and the decision to run deficits while subsidizing electricity consumption.”

Partially kept
26-Oct-2020
Justification

The government receives 47% of Hydro One dividends, which are then used to fund hydro rebates and credits, including the Ontario Energy Rebate, and other additional credits for individuals who earn low incomes, live on a reserve, or who are customers of certain hydro companies. The new Ontario Energy Rebate returns 33.2% of the subtotal of an electricity bill, compared to the previous rebate, which returned only 8%. Since most (but not all) households, farms, long-term care homes and small businesses became eligible for the Ontario Energy Rebate in November 2019, this promise is considered partially kept.

“When Hydro One’s board of directors declares a dividend on common shares, all shareholders of the company as of a certain date are eligible to receive a dividend based on the number of common shares they own. Ontario owns approximately 47% of Hydro One shares. In the fiscal year 2019-20 Ontario received $291 million in dividends from Hydro One. This equals approximately $60 per electricity customer that benefits from rebates or credits on their bill, in 2019-2020.”

Your electricity bill

Published: Oct 2020
In progress
20-Oct-2020

“Effective November 1, 2021, the OER is providing eligible consumers with a 17% rebate from the province on the subtotal of their electricity bill. Consumers that are currently receiving the OER under the grandfathering regulatory provisions will continue to receive the rebate until October 31, 2022. When the OER was introduced, a grandfathering period was put in place for consumers that were previously receiving the 8% rebate as of October 22, 2019, if they met prescribed requirements to provide notice to their electricity vendor before February 1, 2020. […] The Hydro One dividend supports programs to keep your bill low. The Province of Ontario is Hydro One’s largest shareholder and receives a quarterly dividend that directly supports Ontario’s electricity rate relief programs, credits and rebates. When Hydro One’s board of directors declares a dividend on common shares, all shareholders of the company as of a certain date are eligible to receive a dividend based on the number of common shares they own. Ontario owns approximately 47% of Hydro One shares. In the fiscal year 2019-20 Ontario received $291 million in dividends from Hydro One. This equals approximately $60 per electricity customer that benefits from rebates or credits on their bill, in 2019-2020.”

In progress
31-Dec-2019

“The government is already spending about $4 billion per year to subsidize hydro rates. Industry estimates suggest a further 12 per cent drop for residential users would cost at least $800 million per year. The PCs had hinted they would partially fund this by using the dividend from the government’s shares in Hydro One. That money — roughly $240 million per year so far — has been spent on other things.”

Not yet rated
13-Jul-2018
Justification

This promise is not yet rated because the dividends that the province receives from Hydro One currently go to general revenues as well as to the Ontario Electricity Financial Corp., rather than to Ontario families.

“During the campaign, the Progressive Conservatives said they would be able to redirect the $1-billion in dividends and taxes paid by Hydro One from the government to ratepayers in order to reduce their hydro bills. However, that money currently goes to general revenues as well as to the Ontario Electricity Financial Corp., which finances the province’s long-term power-related debt.”

Not yet rated
Started tracking on: 29-Jun-2018

Reference Documents

“Established by the Financial Accountability Officer Act, 2013, the Financial Accountability Office (FAO) provides independent analysis on the state of the Province’s finances, trends in the provincial economy and related matters important to the Legislative Assembly of Ontario. […] In the 2015 Ontario Budget, the government of Ontario (the Province) announced its intention to sell up to 60 per cent of Hydro One. In December of 2017, the Province completed its final sale of Hydro One shares, generating an estimated $9.2 billion in proceeds by selling only 53 per cent of Hydro One.”

Developed in partnership with