Ontario budget promises billions for infrastructure, critical minerals; could eliminate deficit sooner than expected – by Barbara Shecter (Financial Post – April 28, 2022)

https://financialpost.com/

Doug Ford’s government said the economic recovery plan could eliminate Ontario’s deficit two years earlier than projected

In a budget delivered just over a month before voters head to the polls, in what amounts to an election platform, the Ontario government is promising to invest billions of dollars during the next three to five years to shore up infrastructure, boost the supply of critical minerals and commercialize promising technologies.

Despite the spending, the government said the economic recovery plan laid out Thursday could eliminate Ontario’s deficit two years earlier than projected in the 2021 budget.

Echoing the recent federal promise to invest billions of dollars in critical minerals development this decade, Finance Minister Peter Bethlenfalvy unveiled a five-year roadmap to boost the province’s ability to supply critical minerals such as cobalt and nickel, including $4 million in each of the next three years to create a new critical minerals stream.

The economic plan for Canada’s most populous province also committed $1 billion to critical infrastructure, including all-season roads to the Ring of Fire mining district in northern Ontario.

For the rest of this article: https://financialpost.com/news/economy/ontario-budget-promises-billions-for-infrastructure-critical-minerals-could-eliminate-deficit-sooner-than-expected