Economic Outlook and Fiscal Review 2017

A Strong and Fair Ontario

The 2017 Ontario Economic Outlook and Fiscal Review outlines our plan to create fairness and opportunity for everyone in Ontario.

The Review is an update on Ontario’s finances and our key commitments since the 2017 Budget.

Our top takeaways include:

proposing to raise the minimum wage to $14 an hour on January 1, 2018 and $15 an hour on January 1, 2019, and ensuring equal pay for part-time workers doing the same job as full-time workers.
launching OHIP+: Children and Youth Pharmacare. The most significant expansion of medicare in Ontario in a generation, this program will cover the cost of prescription medications for everyone under 25, regardless of family income, starting January 1, 2018.
providing free tuition to more than 210,000 college and university students by transforming the Ontario Student Assistance Program (OSAP). The government is also improving student assistance by ensuring that college and university students receive a reduced upfront bill, with OSAP already factored in.
supporting seniors through the Aging with Confidence action plan so they can live independent, healthy, active, safe and socially connected lives, including creating 5,000 new long-term care beds by 2022 — and more than 30,000 beds over the next decade. These new beds are in addition to the 30,000 existing beds that are being redeveloped.
investing in skills and training through programs like the Graduated Apprenticeship Grant for Employers to provide incentives to encourage apprentices to complete training.
strengthening small businesses by providing more than $500 million over 3 years in new initiatives that will lower costs and support growth, including a proposed 22% cut in the Corporate Income Tax rate for small businesses.

We are creating opportunity and making everyday life easier and more affordable by:

proposing to raise the minimum wage to $14 an hour on January 1, 2018 and $15 an hour on January 1, 2019, and ensuring equal pay for part-time workers doing the same job as full-time workers.
helping more people find affordable homes by encouraging increased housing supply, protecting buyers and renters, and bringing stability to the real estate market through the Fair Housing Plan.
reducing residential electricity bills by 25% on average and holding price increases to the rate of inflation for 4 years as outlined in Ontario’s Fair Hydro Plan.

We are strengthening small businesses by lowering costs, creating growth opportunities and making government more efficient by:

providing more than $500 million in new initiatives over 3 years to lower costs and support growth — including a proposed 22% cut in the Corporate Income Tax rate for small businesses — from 4.5% to 3.5%, effective January 1, 2018.
providing direct support for community capital improvements through a main street enhancement fund.
designating 33% of government procurement spending on goods and services for small and medium-sized businesses by 2020.

We are providing everyone in Ontario with fair and timely access to health care, including:

investing $618 million more this year in hospitals to provide faster access to procedures, new programs and digital technology.
launching OHIP+: Children and Youth Pharmacare, a new benefit that covers the cost of prescription medications for everyone under 25, starting January 1, 2018.
creating more than 30,000 new long-term care beds over the next decade in addition to the 30,000 existing beds that are being redeveloped.
providing more than 200 affordable housing units for seniors who need more community supports when they are discharged from the hospital.

We're committed to giving all students every opportunity to achieve their educational goals by:

providing free tuition to more than 210,000 college and university students by transforming the Ontario Student Assistance Program (OSAP) — and improving student assistance by ensuring that college and university students receive a reduced upfront bill, with OSAP already factored in.
encouraging youth employment by providing hiring and retention incentives of $1,000 to small businesses that employ young workers.
working with Indigenous partners to create a third pillar of the postsecondary education system so that students at Indigenous Institutes can receive diplomas and degrees.

Ontario is delivering on its commitment to balance the budget in 2017‑18. Highlights include:

beating the deficit target every year for the past 8 years.
the economy continues to outperform — growing faster than those of all G7 countries over the past 3 years.
the net debt-to-GDP is projected to decline to 37.3% in 2017‑18 and continue to decline.