Ford faces backlash after Ontario buys $28.9 million private jet

Ontario’s decision to buy a pre-owned 2016 Bombardier Challenger 650 for $28.9 million for Doug Ford’s travel was meant to project control, security and flexibility. Instead, it became a political liability within days, forcing the premier into a rapid reversal and raising questions about how such a purchase cleared government oversight in an affordability-driven province.

The plane was intended for travel within Ontario, across Canada and to the United States. The government said it would provide “more certain, flexible, secure and confidential travel,” and said it had been previously owned by someone in South America before being purchased directly from Bombardier. Ontario Provincial Police and Bombardier carried out security and mechanical checks, and officials said no upgrades were needed. The plane was expected to enter service by the end of July, but the province did not give a firm estimate of operating costs, saying they would fluctuate.

Ford’s office defended the purchase by tying it to the demands of the job. Ontario, it noted, is twice the landmass of Texas, and the premier’s travel schedule has grown with more Council of the Federation and First Ministers’ meetings, along with trips to the United States to push back against President Trump’s tariffs. That argument did little to blunt the first wave of criticism, which quickly framed the jet as a symbol of political tone-deafness rather than a practical tool of government.

Marit Stiles, the Ontario NDP leader, branded the aircraft a “gravy plane” and said Ford should be “flying economy like the rest of us.” Interim Liberal leader John Fraser called the move “tired and out of touch,” arguing that families facing high grocery, gas and rent bills could not square that pressure with a premier buying a private jet. Fraser also said the “gravy plane” label echoed the Ford family’s old “gravy train” language. Mike Schreiner of the Ontario Greens said Ford was putting his own interests ahead of Ontarians and later argued that the reversal only came after he had been caught and criticized, drawing a parallel to the Greenbelt scandal.

On Sunday, Ford backed away from the purchase and said the government would sell the plane “as quickly as possible.” He added that “now is not the right time for the expense of a government plane.” Even with the retreat, the episode may leave a mark. Critics warned the aircraft could be sold at a loss and remain a taxpayer burden for months, while the Canadian Taxpayers Federation blasted the buy as luxury spending on taxpayers’ dime. Quebec’s $107 million spent on two new Challenger jets and one used one offers context, but it does not erase the central problem in Ontario: a government that signed off on a conspicuous purchase, then scrambled to unwind it once the political cost became obvious.