Ontario Premier Doug Ford says the second-hand private jet purchased for his use to travel provincewide and beyond will be sold, after facing backlash from numerous critics.
On Friday, Ford’s office confirmed it was buying a pre-owned Bombardier Challenger 650 for $28.9 million to aid “certain, flexible, secure and confidential travel” across Canada and the U.S.
On Sunday, however, the premier’s office said the plan has changed.
“Despite the best of intentions, I have heard and agree that now is not the right time for the expense of a government plane,” a statement from the premier’s office said.
He went on to say the province is working with Bombardier and other partners to sell the plane “as quickly as possible.”
NDP Leader Marit Stiles called Ford’s decision was an “emergency landing.”
“Today we heard that Doug Ford has done an emergency landing, I guess, reversing the decision to hold on to his luxury plane and instead apparently the government’s now going to try to sell it off,” Stiles said. “Obviously this should never have happened in the first place.”
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Following Friday’s news about the $28.5 million, 12-seater aircraft purchase, criticism was swift with the Ontario NDP questioning the decision.
“Ford needs to answer to the people of Ontario: Why is he using their hard-earned money to buy himself a plane,” a statement read. “Maybe it’s time to start flying economy like the rest of us.”
Interim Liberal Leader John Fraser on Friday called it Ford’s “gravy plane.”
“At a time when people can’t afford to buy groceries or gas, Doug Ford is buying himself a private jet,” said interim Liberal Leader John Fraser. “It doesn’t get much more out of touch than that.
“I guess the gravy train just wasn’t enough, now he’s got to get a gravy plane.”
In response to Ford’s reversal, Fraser said in an interview with Global News that the premier is “out of touch.”
“It’s just disconnected from, you know, what’s going on out there in people’s lives,” he said. “It was an unnecessary expense.”
Fraser went on to say now is not the “greatest time” to be selling a jet either, referencing Air Canada cancelling or suspending flights due to the cost of jet fuel.
Green Party Leader Mike Schreiner criticized Ford’s initial decision, telling Global News on Sunday he was “outraged” by the decision to purchase the plane and said selling the plane is still not enough.
“His backtrack isn’t enough because this is a pattern that happens over and over,” Schreiner said. “He doesn’t want to be transparent, he doesn’t want to be held accountable, and the people of Ontario, quite frankly, deserve honest government that’s going to put them ahead of the premier’s personal self-interest.”
The premier’s office stressed on Friday the plane “isn’t a private jet, it’s a plane for government business only,” but did not reply to a question asking if anyone other than Ford would get to use it.
The premier’s original planned purchase of the plane was a shift from his previous stance on using taxpayer-funded travel resources.
Ford in 2019 faced backlash on plans to build a custom OPP van for official travel, but he pushed back on his use of a government plane, claiming he was the only premier in history that refuses to use “the premier’s plane.”
In the statement from Ford’s office on Sunday, the premier said he would continue to build relationships with business and political leaders in Canada and the U.S. to “fight tariffs, attract investments and create jobs for Ontario workers.”
—with files from Global News’ Lexy Benedict, Colin D’Mello and Isaac Callan
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