On May 15, 2025, Ontario Finance Minister Peter Bethlenfalvy announced Ontario's 2025 provincial budget, titled A Plan to Protect Ontario1(Budget 2025). Confronted with the threat of US tariffs and economic uncertainty, Budget 2025 positions infrastructure spending as a cornerstone of the province's economic response and long-term growth strategy. With over CA$200 billion allocated for infrastructure investment over the next decade, including CA$33 billion in projected spending from 2025 to 2026 alone, Budget 2025 seeks to demonstrate Ontario's long-term commitment to building critical public infrastructure.
Major infrastructure investments across sectors
A central pillar of Budget 2025 is its updated capital plan, which directs investment across multiple infrastructure sectors. The province's capital plan includes the following major infrastructure investments:
- CA$30 billion - Highway infrastructure
To support the planning and construction of new and expanded highways, including Highway 413 and the Bradford Bypass. - CA$61 billion - Public transit
Focused on network expansion, service improvement and new projects such as GO 2.0, with additional investments in TTC subway infrastructure, including CA$758 million for 55 new trains for Line 2. - CA$56 billion - Health infrastructure
Supports over 50 major hospital projects, including CA$103 million in additional planning grants. - CA$6.4 billion - Long-term care infrastructure
Aims to build long-term care homes, including 147 identified projects. - CA$30 billion - Primary and secondary education
infrastructure
Supports school construction and childcare infrastructure. - CA$5 billion - Postsecondary education
infrastructure
Invested to modernize facilities at colleges, universities and Indigenous institutes. - CA$5 billion - Building Ontario Fund (BOF)
To co-invest in strategic infrastructure projects across priority areas such as energy, housing, long-term care and Indigenous community infrastructure. - CA$4 billion - High-speed internet and digital
infrastructure
Dedicated to expanding high-speed internet access to underserved communities. - CA$2.3 billion – Housing-enabling
infrastructure
Delivered through the Housing-Enabling Water Systems Fund (HEWSF) and the Municipal Housing Infrastructure Program (MHIP), including a CA$400 million top-up to meet surging demand. - CA$400 million - Ontario Community Infrastructure
Fund
To support roads, bridges, water and wastewater infrastructure in small, rural and Northern communities. - CA$92 million - Electric vehicle charging
infrastructure
An expansion of the ChargeON program to increase the number and accessibility of public EV charging stations across the province.
Developing northern infrastructure and Indigenous partnerships
Budget 2025 also emphasizes the strategic importance of unlocking the Ring of Fire, a region rich in critical minerals such as chromite, cobalt and nickel. These resources are essential to the province's EV and clean tech supply chains. To facilitate development, Ontario is building all-season roads and energy transmission infrastructure through partnerships with Indigenous communities. This is highlighted by a new CA$3 billion Indigenous Opportunities Financing Program to increase Indigenous participation in major infrastructure projects.
Project delivery and oversight
To streamline project delivery, Ontario is adopting new strategies for faster builds and improved oversight. The Protect Ontario by Unleashing Our Economy Act, 20252, proposes a "One Project, One Process" model for infrastructure and mining approvals, aiming to cut review times by 50%. The province is also promoting made-in-Ontario and made-in-Canada construction materials for provincial public infrastructure projects amid US tariffs.
Conclusion
Ontario's Budget 2025 reaffirms infrastructure as a strategic anchor to safeguard the economy from external shocks, notably US tariffs, while building the foundation for a more resilient and self-reliant province. The distribution of infrastructure funding in Budget 2025 also highlights opportunities for private partners with experience in a number of specific sectors, notably transportation (highway and public transit projects), hospital projects and educational facilities. Indigenous stakeholders should also take note of Budget 2025, as the previous CA$1 billion in funding available under the Aboriginal Loan Guarantee Program for participation in electricity infrastructure projects has been tripled under the new Indigenous Opportunities Financing Program announced in Budget 2025. By virtue of Budget 2025, opportunities will be abound for public-private partnerships and collaboration as the provincial government will seek to deploy its infrastructure-funding commitments.
Footnotes
1 Ontario 2025 Budget
2 Protect Ontario by Unleashing Our Economy Act, 2025
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