Ontario Warns Municipalities of Funding Cuts Unless They ‘Buy Ontario, Buy Canadian’

Ontario Municipal Affairs Minister Rob Flack attends question period at Queen's Park in Toronto, on May 13, 2025. The Canadian Press/Cole Burston

Ontario municipalities could risk losing provincial funding if they don’t comply with the province’s “Buy Ontario” policy amid Canada’s escalating trade conflict with the United States, the municipal affairs minister says.

Municipal Affairs and Housing Minister Rob Flack has sent a letter to Ontario’s 444 municipalities reminding them that provincial procurement rules require them to prioritize Ontario and Canadian goods and services.

Ontario municipalities spend more than $22 billion annually on goods and services, and the province wants those purchases to favour Ontario and Canadian products, Flack said in the letter posted to his social media accounts.

“Failure to comply with Buy Ontario requirements will force us to reconsider provincial funding made available to municipalities, in addition to other consequences under the Buy Ontario Act,” he wrote. “In the face of these unprecedented economic attacks against our province and country, we all have a responsibility to do everything within our control to protect our workers and communities.”

Premier Doug Ford also shared the letter on his social media.

“Buy Ontario. Buy Canadian,” he wrote. “For governments across Ontario, it’s not an option. It’s the law.”

Ontario townships are being directed to examine their supply chains, procurement policies, and purchases to identify opportunities to replace imported products and services with Canadian-sourced alternatives.

The Buy Ontario Act was introduced in November 2025 before being officially passed into law in December. 

The policy was expanded on April 13 under the Municipal Buy Ontario Procurement Directive to require that municipalities prioritize made-in-Ontario goods and services first, followed by Canadian options second, before sourcing internationally.

Flack called the law a “Team Canada approach,” on social media, saying that it reflects a province-wide effort to strengthen and protect Ontario’s economy.

NDP and Official Opposition Leader Marit Stiles criticized the province’s comments, saying the government is not following its own mandate.

“Ontario’s new subway cars: built in Maryland. Our highway maintenance: Texas. Our teachers’ supplies: Staples,” she wrote on social media. “You awarded $140M at Mississauga’s new hospital to a U.S. firm and sent WSIB work to Boston. Premier, if Buy Ontario is the law, you’re breaking it.”

The Epoch Times contacted the province for comment but did not immediately hear back.

The letter comes as Ontario continues to respond to U.S. tariffs affecting Canadian and Ontario exports. The province is home to much of Canada’s automotive manufacturing and steel production, sectors that have been affected by U.S. trade measures, including 50 percent tariffs on imported steel and a 25 percent duty on Canadian-built vehicles.

Ontario’s 2025-26 tariff-response plan says U.S. tariffs pose a significant threat to the provincial economy, with 285,000 jobs linked to U.S. exports.