Ontario voters will head to the polls June 7 to cast their ballots. And with the election fast-approaching, leaders of the three major parties – Ontario Progressive Conservative Leader Doug Ford, NDP Leader Andrea Horwath, and incumbent Liberal Party Leader Kathleen Wynne – have been making pledges on everything from the cost of hydro bills to corporate tax rates on the campaign trail.

Here’s a breakdown of where each major party stands on key fiscal and economic issues as of Friday, June 1.

DEFICITS

Liberal Party of Ontario: The Liberals outlined their fiscal plan in the 2018 spring budget, in which they projected a $6.7-billion deficit in 2018-19 and did not forecast a return to balance until 2024-25. Meanwhile, the provincial debt is projected to be $325 billion in 2018-19, and interest payments this year will cost Ontarians $12.5 billion. The Liberals also said they will introduce legislation that would require all provincial budget surpluses to be spent on repaying the province’s debt.

PC Party of Ontario: Ford has said he would run a deficit in first year, if elected. He also vowed to cut $6 billion from Ontario’s budget without laying off public employees, by eliminating “inefficiencies.”

Ontario New Democratic Party: The Ontario NDP Party projects it will run five straight deficits to pay for their plan, in which the province would incur a deficit of $3.3 billion in 2018-19 , peaking at more than $5 billion in 2020-21, before shrinking to $1.9 billion by 2022-23.

HYDRO

Liberal Party of Ontario: Wynne promises to reduce hydro bills by 25 per cent for residential consumers, and up to 50 per cent for those who live in rural or northern communities, or low-income Ontarians. 

PC Party of Ontario: Ford has pledged to get rid of the “$6-million man,” referring to Hydro One CEO Mayo Schmidt, along with the company’s entire board of directors. He has also pledged to reduce hydro bills by 12 per cent by returning Hydro One dividend payments to families.

Ontario New Democratic Party: Horwath has pledged to buy back the shares of Hydro One that Wynne's Liberal sold, and has promised to reduce hydro bills by 30 per cent.

TAXES

Liberal Party of Ontario: The Liberals plan to maintain the corporate tax rate at 11.5 per cent. They still plan to hike tobacco taxes, continuing a three-year plan to increase the price per carton by $10 by 2019-20.

PC Party of Ontario: The PCs have promised to cut the corporate tax rate to 10.5 per cent from 11.5 per cent. Ford also said he would remove income tax for minimum wage workers and cut income tax by 20 per cent for middle-income earners. The PCs also plan to cut the small business tax rate by 8.7 per cent.

Ford pledged to scrap Ontario’s cap-and-trade system and advocate for the elimination of the federal carbon tax. He also plans to reduce gasoline taxes by $0.10 per litre. The PCs also promised to bring a “buck a beer” back to Ontario by reducing the minimum price for the sale of beer in Ontario to $1, plus deposit, per bottle.

Ontario New Democratic Party: The NDP plans to raise the corporate tax rate to 13 per cent from 11.5 per cent, and maintain the Liberals’ reduction to small business corporate tax rates. The party also pledged to tax tobacco on value instead of volume. 

WAGES

Liberal Party of Ontario: Wynne's Liberals raised the minimum wage in the province to $14 from $11.60 on Jan. 1, 2018, with plans to increase it further to $15 on Jan. 1, 2019. The party says any future annual increases will be at the rate of inflation.

PC Party of Ontario: Ford said he would scrap the Liberals’ plan to increase minimum wage next year, but would keep it at $14 an hour.

Ontario New Democratic Party: The NDP plans to raise minimum wage to $15 per hour, but did not provide a timeline for the increase.

HOUSING

Liberal Party of Ontario: The Liberals introduced their 16-point Fair Housing Plan in April 2017, which included a 15-per-cent foreign buyers' tax. Beyond that, the party is promising to start a fund to create new co-op housing and tighten rental rules in order to prevent unfair “renovictions” and rent increases.

PC Party of Ontario: Ford told the Globe and Mail in March he would consider abolishing the 15-per-cent foreign homebuyers’ tax the Liberals implemented last April and instead work to create more affordable housing on underused land.

Ontario New Democratic Party: The NDP promises to build 6,500 affordable homes over the next decade by signing on to the federal government’s National Housing Strategy. The party also plans to crack down further on foreign speculators with a new tax, overhaul current inclusionary zoning rules, and implement stricter rental controls.  

CHILDCARE

Liberal Party of Ontario: As part of a $2.2-billion plan, the Liberals have vowed to provide free care for children aged two-and-a-half until kindergarten, beginning in 2020, which they say will help families save an average of $17,000 per child. The Liberals also plan to create 100,000 new child care spaces over five years.

PC Party of Ontario: The PCs pledged to cover 75 per cent of families’ child care costs up to $6,750 for children between the ages of 0 and 15. The party says the plan would cost $389 million per year.

Ontario New Democratic Party: Horwath is promising free child care for families who earn $40,000 or less and an average of $12 per day for those who earn more.   

HEALTHCARE

Liberal Party of Ontario: The Liberals plan to invest $822 million in hospitals over the next year to reduce wait times, and expand free prescriptions to those 65 and over who are OHIP-insured beginning Aug. 1, 2019. The party also promises to cover all medications on the Ontario Drug Benefit program, including drugs for cholesterol, hypertension, thyroid conditions, diabetes and asthma.

PC Party of Ontario: Ford has vowed to cut wait times by opening 15,000 new long-term care beds in five years and 30,000 new beds over the next decade. He also promises to spend $98 million per year to cover dental care for low-income seniors.

Ontario New Democratic Party: The NDP have promised to provide free dental and drug coverage for all Ontarians. The party has also pledged to put $19 billion over 10 years into hospitals and provide 2,000 hospital beds immediately.

EDUCATION

Liberal Party of Ontario: The Liberals plan to boost education spending by $625 million, with $300 million allocated for special needs education programs. Wynne’s government also plans to help low-income students cover tuitions through OSAP grants.

PC Party of Ontario: Ford has pledged radical changes to “fix” Ontario’s education system, by replacing the province’s sexual education and math programs. The PCs also pledged to spend an additional $38 million in funding for children with autism.

Ontario New Democratic Party: The NDP plans to provide students who qualify for OSAP with grants instead of loans. Horwath also said her party will invest $16 billion over 10 years to repair public schools.  

Sources: BNN Bloomberg compiled this information from the various party platforms listed on their respective websites, comments made in debates or publicly to reporters, and from media reports. Information on the Liberals’ platform was also sourced from the province’s spring budget.