Ottawa residents and Ontarians across the province are raising eyebrows after newly released records show Premier Doug Ford racked up more than $140,000 in private plane charter costs over the past year — with the spending habit kicking in almost immediately after his party's 2025 provincial election victory.
Charting the Charters
According to records obtained by Global News, Ford's appetite for private air travel accelerated following the 2025 campaign, during which his party chartered planes for at least one high-profile trip to Washington, D.C. That particular flight drew attention at the time, but the full scope of the year's travel costs is only now coming into focus.
All told, the premier's office charged taxpayers over $140,000 in private charter flights — a figure that critics say is difficult to justify when commercial options are readily available for most domestic routes, including those between Toronto and the nation's capital.
Why This Matters for Ottawa
For Ottawa residents, provincial spending decisions hit close to home. The city is Ontario's second-largest, and its residents contribute significantly to the provincial tax base. When Queen's Park spends freely on executive perks, it's Ottawa families and businesses that help foot the bill.
Ottawa also sits at the intersection of provincial and federal politics. Ford has made several high-stakes trips to the capital region over the past year — particularly as Canada navigated trade tensions with the United States — making his travel habits a matter of direct local interest.
Opposition MPPs at Queen's Park have questioned whether private charters are an appropriate use of public funds when the province is simultaneously making difficult choices about healthcare, education, and municipal transfers that affect cities like Ottawa directly.
The Defence
Ford's office has historically defended private charter use by citing scheduling demands, security considerations, and the need for the premier to reach multiple destinations in a single day. Supporters argue that a premier's time has real economic value, and that missed meetings or delayed decisions can cost the province far more than the price of a charter.
That argument carries some weight in theory. But critics point out that the sheer volume of spending — and the timing, coming right on the heels of an election win — raises legitimate transparency concerns.
A Pattern Worth Watching
This isn't the first time a Canadian premier has faced scrutiny over travel expenses, and it almost certainly won't be the last. But with Ontario's fiscal pressures ongoing and municipalities like Ottawa pushing for more provincial support on housing, transit, and infrastructure, every line item in the government's expense ledger matters.
For Ottawa, which has been navigating its own budget crunch at city hall, the optics of $140,000 in private flights are hard to ignore — especially when the province controls key funding taps that the city depends on.
Whether the spending crosses a line is a matter of political debate. What's not debatable is that Ontarians — including the roughly one million people in Ottawa — deserve full transparency about how their tax dollars are spent at the top.
Source: Global News Ottawa — Ford charged more than $140K in private plane charters last year, records show
