“Niagara families need opportunity, good jobs, and a government that keeps our money right here in Ontario. Niagara’s ready to build Ontario’s biggest projects, it just needs a government with the procurement policies in place to make that happen.” – Niagara Falls NDP MPP Wayne Gates
News from the Constituency Office of Niagara Falls NDP MPP Wayne Gates, whose riding includes Niagara Falls, Fort Erie and Niagara-on-the-Lake
Posted November 4th, 2025 on Niagara At Large
Ontario NDP Leader Marit Stiles and her party, including Niagara’s NDP MPPs Wayne Gates, Jennie Stevens and Jeff Burch, are pressing the province’s Ford government to spend every penny of our tax money on products and workers here in Ontario..
NIAGARA FALLS, Ontario — NDP MPP Wayne Gates is challenging the Ford government (https://drive.google.com/file/d/1mMTb8eXUxdYfcnlQg3V_22X3VVu1nxeV/view) to adopt Ontario First procurement rules at Queens Park, making sure public tax dollars create good local Niagara jobs and support Ontario businesses – not American companies.
“When we say Buy Ontario, Buy Local, we don’t mean sometimes. We mean every single time public dollars are spent,” said Gates.
“The province spends more than $30 billion a year on goods and projects – That money should be creating local Niagara jobs, supporting Ontario workers, and investing in Ontario businesses, not going to foreign-owned firms while our people get left behind.”
Gates pointed to major projects like the Garden City Skyway in Niagara and the Banwell interchange in Windsor, where the Ford government has refused to commit to using Ontario-made steel.
“In Niagara, we’ve got Airbus in Fort Erie building world-class helicopters, Abatement Technologies making cutting-edge clean-air systems, and thousands of tradespeople ready to build Ontario’s future. What they need is a government that has their back, not one that ships jobs and contracts south of the border,” said Gates.
Gates reiterates a long-standing push to buy local with Ontario NDP’s Ontario First motion calling for value-based procurement that prioritizes Ontario jobs, Ontario training, Ontario steel, Ontario food, and Ontario businesses, as provinces like Quebec and Manitoba already do.
“Our workers built this province,” said Gates. “Niagara families need opportunity, good jobs, and a government that keeps our money right here in Ontario. Niagara’s ready to build Ontario’s biggest projects, it just needs a government with the procurement policies in place to make that happen,” said Gates.
An Update On This Issue from Ontario’s NDP –
November 3, 2025
Ford’s Conservatives vote against strengthening Ontario
QUEEN’S PARK – Marit Stiles and the Ontario NDP debated their Buy Ontario First motion this afternoon, calling for a plan to create good jobs, strengthen our local economy, and tariff-proof our future.
Conservatives and Liberals refused to vote for a plan to strengthen Ontario and create good jobs.
Ontario NDP Official Opposition Leader Marit Stiles
“Today (this November 3rd, 2025), Premier Ford voted against Ontario workers and the Liberals refused to stand for a better future,” said Ontario NDP Leader Marit Stiles.
“Every year, Ontario spends $30 billion on public procurement; money that could create good jobs and opportunities right here at home,” said Stiles. “Ford’s Conservatives and the Liberals don’t care about keeping good jobs and opportunities here in our province.
“We need bold, effective policies that give Ontarians a real chance to get ahead. That’s exactly what our Buy Ontario First strategy was designed to do; to strengthen our economy, support local businesses, and create good, stable jobs for Ontario families. Ontario is in the middle of a jobs disaster, and both Conservatives and Liberals voted against a stronger, better future for Ontario.
The motion, if passed, would implemented a Buy Ontario First procurement plan to prioritize Ontario and Canadian companies for government contracts, while creating local job and training opportunities in communities across the province.
NIAGARA AT LARGE Encourages You To Join The Conversation By Sharing Your Views O This Post In The Space Following The Bernie Sanders Quote Below.
“A Politician Thinks Of The Next Election. A Leader Thinks Of The Next Generation.” – Bernie Sanders
Niagara At Large 