Provincial Press Release

HAMILTON — In order to protect and strengthen Ontario’s current and future workforce, the Ontario government is investing $750 million to support Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) programs at colleges and universities across the province. This investment will fund up to 20,500 STEM seats per year, building a skilled, made-in-Ontario talent pool that will cement the province as one of the most competitive places in the G7 to invest, create jobs and do business.

TORONTO — As a next step in its plan to protect Ontario by unleashing the province’s economy, the Ontario government is introducing the Protect Ontario through Free Trade within Canada Act to unlock free trade and labour mobility within Canada. This legislation will, if passed, create new opportunities for job creation and investment attraction, supporting economic integration across Canada and cutting costly and unnecessary red tape to help protect and grow Ontario and Canada’s economies.

As a next step in its plan to protect Ontario by unleashing the province’s economy, the Ontario government is introducing the Protect Ontario through Free Trade within Canada Act to unlock free trade and labour mobility within Canada. This legislation will, if passed, create new opportunities for job creation and investment attraction, supporting economic integration across Canada and cutting costly and unnecessary red tape to help protect and grow Ontario and Canada’s economies.

TORONTO — Today, the Ontario government launched the first call for proposals to create and expand up to 80 primary care teams that will connect 300,000 more people to a family doctor and primary care team this year, bringing the province one step closer to connecting everyone in Ontario to primary care by 2029.

KLEINBURG — The Ontario government is investing up to $50 million over three years to update and expand the McMichael Canadian Art Collection (McMichael) facility and grounds in Kleinburg. This capital funding will ensure one of the country’s largest collections of Canadian and Indigenous art will be ready to welcome and inspire visitors of all ages for generations to come.

Starting today, nine drug injection sites located within 200 metres of a school or child-care centre have successfully transitioned into and opened as new Homelessness and Addiction Recovery Treatment (HART) Hubs.

The Ontario government is launching a new round of the Hydrogen Innovation Fund, investing $30 million to unlock hydrogen’s potential to drive economic growth, create jobs and support the province’s position as a leader in the clean energy economy. The new fund will have double the budget of the $15 million 2023 fund and broaden eligibility criteria to include electricity grid-focused initiatives, as well as applications across other sectors, such as transportation.

Effective today, the Ontario government has applied a 25 per cent surcharge on all electricity exports to the United States as part of the province’s initial suite of retaliatory measures to U.S. tariffs on Canada. This surcharge will affect 1.5 million homes and businesses in Michigan, Minnesota and New York, costing up to $400,000 every day the surcharge remains in place.

TORONTO — The Ontario government is investing $1.8 billion to connect two million more people to a publicly funded family doctor or primary care team within four years, which will achieve the government’s goal of connecting everyone in the province to a family doctor or primary care team. This investment includes $1.4 billion in new funding, alongside more than $400 million in already-approved funding for primary care.

The Ontario government has approved Ontario Power Generation’s (OPG) plan to proceed with the Project Definition Phase, the next step toward refurbishing Pickering Nuclear Generating Station’s “B” units to secure more power and create thousands of jobs across the province. As part of the preparation for refurbishment, the government has authorized OPG to sign a $2.1 billion contract with CanAtom for early engineering and procurement to prepare for the execution of the Retube Feeder and Boiler Replacement Program, creating more than 2,400 jobs across the province.