{"id":62903,"date":"2026-05-27T10:30:46","date_gmt":"2026-05-27T10:30:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/canada\/62903\/"},"modified":"2026-05-27T10:30:46","modified_gmt":"2026-05-27T10:30:46","slug":"doug-ford-just-threw-ottawa-under-the-bus-opinion","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/canada\/62903\/","title":{"rendered":"Doug Ford just threw Ottawa under the bus | Opinion"},"content":{"rendered":"

Premier Doug Ford\u2019s unqualified support for Toronto\u2019s bid to host a multinational defence bank is a slap in the face of the City of Ottawa, which also wants the new bank in the capital<\/a> to secure new jobs and alleviate the effects of federal job cuts.<\/p>\n

Even knowing that Ottawa is also in the running, the premier said recently that Toronto \u201cis the only city\u201d in Canada capable of hosting the multinational bank. What is Ottawa, chopped liver?<\/p>\n

The comments clearly undermine Mayor Mark Sutcliffe\u2019s efforts to bring the bank and associated jobs to Ottawa. The federal government is planning to shed some 30,000 jobs in the public service, and Ottawa is expected to bear the brunt of the cuts. And as part of his plan to cushion the impact, Sutcliffe is hoping to draw the bank and its projected 3,500 new jobs to the city.<\/p>\n

The international defence bank \u2014 formally called the Defence, Security and Resilience Bank (DSRB) \u2014 is being set up to provide long-term, low-cost financing for defence and security projects for NATO members and partners. Canadian cities, including Montreal and Vancouver, are also chasing the bank.<\/p>\n

In such a big competition with so much at stake \u2014 and two Ontario cities chasing the same prize \u2014 Ford should not be taking sides. He should have sat this one out and left it to the mayors to make their case. Ford may believe that as the centre of Canada\u2019s financial industry, Toronto is the best place for the bank. But that argument is for Toronto Mayor Olivia Chow to make, not the premier \u2014 just as Sutcliffe could also argue that Ottawa, the seat of the federal government, embassies and the national defence establishment, is uniquely suited for the bank.<\/p>\n

Ford is the premier of Ontario \u2014 all of Ontario \u2014 and he should be even-handed in dealing with every part of the province. The premier\u2019s intervention in favour of Toronto reinforces the belief, particularly among Ottawa residents, that the capital is often an afterthought at Queen\u2019s Park. Whether it is funding for transit, homelessness and housing, Ottawa often gets shortchanged compared to Toronto. In 2023, Sutcliffe questioned why Toronto was getting 60 times more funding for homelessness than Ottawa.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe recently learned that Ottawa will receive $845,100 of this (homelessness<\/a>) funding while Toronto will receive $48 million. That\u2019s almost 60 times as much, despite Toronto\u2019s population being approximately three times larger than Ottawa,\u201d Sutcliffe said in a letter to Ford at the time. Then a report from the provincial financial watchdog, the Financial Accountability Office, revealed that Toronto gets more money per capita for transit than Ottawa. In 2022\/23, Toronto received $191 per resident in transit funding, while Ottawa got $59.61. That gap was projected to grow in 2024\/25, with Toronto getting $196.49, while Ottawa\u2019s share decreased to $31.91.<\/p>\n

In the midst of all this, Sutcliffe launched the \u201cFairness for Ottawa<\/a>\u201d campaign to secure money from the province and the feds, saying Ottawa taxpayers were being shortchanged. And now this?<\/p>\n

Consider this: If you are a decision-maker on the location of the bank, and you hear the premier of a province where two cities are vying for the right to host the bank say that only one of them can do the job, how much consideration would you give the other city?<\/p>\n

Some may argue that the premier is merely trying to boost Toronto\u2019s chances against what may be stiff competition from the other cities. But Ford shouldn\u2019t undermine Ottawa to boost Toronto. Why not champion both cities?<\/p>\n

No question Ford has thrown Ottawa under the bus on this one.<\/p>\n

Related<\/p>\n

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