A Full Text of Premier Doug Ford’s Speech at the 2026 Association of Municipalities of Ontario (AMO) Annual Conference, August 17th , 2026
Posted August 17th, 2026 on Niagara At Large
(A Brief Foreword Note by Doug Draper at Niagara At Large – Those of you who are regular visitors to Niagara At Large would know by now that this reporter/commentator has many significant concerns with the policies and with the decisions made by Premier Ford. Nevertheless, I am posting his full speech to our municipal leaders for the record and for those of you who may wish to read it for information purposes.)
Ontario Premier Doug Ford
OTTAWA — Premier Ford delivered the following remarks at the Association of Municipalities of Ontario (AMO) 2026 annual general meeting and conference.
“Good morning, everyone.
It’s great to be back here in Ottawa with all of you for the 2026 AMO Conference.
I want to thank Mayor Mark Sutcliffe for hosting us here in Ottawa, as well as Mayor Robin Jones and everyone at AMO for organizing this year’s conference. I also want to acknowledge Her Honour, the Lieutenant Governor, Regional Chief Benedict and all the First Nations leaders who are here today. And to all the hard-working mayors, councillors, wardens and municipal officials gathered here and working across Ontario, thank you for your continued partnership as we protect and build Ontario.
Before I begin, I want to thank the brave men and women who are working day and night to fight the wildfires that have affected so many communities in Northern Ontario. I also want to thank host cities from across the province for stepping up to support evacuees. This is the very best of the Ontario spirit.
Since our government took office, we have spent nearly $1.5 billion to fight wildland fires. We’re adding six new water bombers and five new helicopters to our fleet. We’ve created over 170 permanent frontline positions over the last three years, and we’ve increased compensation for pilots and firefighters so that we can continue to hire and retain staff.
To those who have been forced from their homes, know that our government will not spare a single penny to fight these fires and keep people safe. And when you return home, we will be there to help you recover and rebuild.
As we gather here today, workers and businesses across Ontario continue to be threatened by U.S. tariffs, including President Trump’s latest threat of new tariffs up to 50 per cent. Ontario will be prepared for any and every scenario, but this is why I have been pushing so hard for a united Team Canada response to this attack on Canadian workers.
And the message I continue to share in my meetings with American governors, senators, members of Congress and industry leaders is that Canada, the United States and Mexico are so much stronger when we work together. Together, we have a chance to build on the most successful economic partnership in the world to create lasting prosperity, economic opportunity and security across North America.
When it comes to protecting Ontario, as I have said from the start, while we may not be able to control President Trump, we can and are controlling the decisions we make here in Ontario, delivering on our plan to build the most competitive, resilient and self-reliant economy in the G7.
The fact is, we have never raised a tax — and we never will. In fact, we have cut taxes and fees, reducing the burden of taxation on people and companies by $12 billion each and every year.
Our plan is working and we’re seeing the results. We’ve created the conditions for growth, attracting more than $235 billion in investments since 2018 and creating more than one million new, good-paying jobs in every corner of our province. Just last month, Ontario led North America in job creation, with more than 52,000 new jobs created in July and nearly 120,000 new jobs over the last four months.
And we’re going to keep creating the conditions to attract investment, which is exactly what we did last week when we announced our Data Centre Playbook. Data centres have been around for decades, not just to support AI, but for goods and services everyone in Ontario relies on. And as I said last week, Ontario has a choice: we can build the economy of the future and ensure Canadians’ data remains in Canada, or, we can get left behind and risk Canadians’ data being sent to the U.S. and into the hands of President Trump.
Our framework will ensure data centres cover the full cost of their electricity usage. Ontario will not offer financial incentives to attract investments. Instead, we will rely on our natural competitive advantages, including our clean and reliable electricity system, available land, cool climate and world-class workforce.
We will only advance projects that strengthen Ontario and Canada’s control over sensitive data. We will only advance projects that meet Ontario’s strict environmental standards around water consumption and noise. And we will only advance projects that bring real benefits, and significant investment in local infrastructure and host communities, including investments in community centres, parks, roads, broadband infrastructure and other projects that commit to job creation, job training and long-term economic growth.
We have a historic opportunity, to deliver for communities across Ontario, attracting millions of dollars in tax revenue while safeguarding people’s information and keeping it out of President Trump’s hands. Ontario is going to choose only the best projects and we’ll be relying on many of you here today to help us build for the future.
Working with First Nations partners, we are also delivering on our plan to build the roads to the Ring of Fire. Earlier this summer I was in Webequie First Nation to break ground on the first of these new roads, which will be completed five years ahead of schedule. These roads will help unlock $22 billion in economic opportunity and create 70,000 good-paying jobs from northern mines to southern manufacturing floors.
We’re also moving ahead with our plan to build the Northern Shield Energy Corridor, which will bring Canadian oil through an all-Canadian route from Alberta to Sarnia, Ontario in a pipeline made by Canadian workers with Canadian steel. We’re moving ahead on this transformational project because the fuel that powers Ontario homes and businesses should not be put at risk because of decisions made outside of Canada.
To support Ontario’s growth, we’re also doubling down on our $236 billion plan to build, which is the largest infrastructure plan of its kind in Canadian history — building hospitals, schools, highways and transit to connect communities, create jobs and grow our economy. Because without a strong economy, we can’t deliver the world-class services that families and communities are counting on.
To keep the dream of home ownership alive and build affordable homes faster, we’re investing $8.8 billion in partnership with the federal government to support housing-enabling infrastructure across the province in municipalities that reduce development charges, which add hundreds of thousands of dollars to the cost of a new home.
In June, I was pleased to award Toronto with $1.5 billion following their decision to cut development charges by up to 60 per cent on new homes. And we will be rolling out more funding in the coming weeks to other municipalities that have also shown leadership by lowering their development charges.
Yesterday, Minster McCarthy and Minister Flack also announced that, through our $8.8 billion partnership, we are investing $1 billion to support housing-enabling infrastructure in communities that do not levy development charges, with applications to open on October 29 of this year. When combined with our HST cut on new homes, we’re saving home buyers up to $200,000, and by getting shovels in the ground faster, we are keeping thousands of workers across the province on the job.
We’re seeing the results with new homes sales up 130 per cent compared to last year. My message is clear: there’s never been a better time to buy. There’s never been a better time to build.
And to everyone here today, there’s never been a better time to work with us to lower the costs of homes and protect workers and families.
Working with municipalities, we’re cleaning up our streets and cracking down on crime so people can feel safe again in their own communities. We’re shutting down drug injection sites, clearing encampments out of parks and fixing the broken bail system to keep violent, repeat criminals behind bars where they belong.
And we’re investing in the world-class community spaces families deserve through our Community Sport and Recreation Infrastructure Fund, which is the largest investment of its kind in Ontario’s history, allowing us to build and upgrade arenas, community centres, pools and playing fields.
These projects are creating good-paying local jobs and world-class community spaces that residents can enjoy for decades to come.
Earlier this year, through our 2026 provincial budget, we increased the fund to $500 million, and today I’m thrilled to announce that the next round of applications for the fund is officially open. So, if your community has an eligible project that is ready to go, I encourage you to apply so we can get building.
We’ll keep working with municipalities that are ready to work with us to lower costs for workers and families, attract investment and build homes and businesses — because that is the best way we can protect Ontario.
I have never been more optimistic about our province’s future, because we have everything we need right here to protect Ontario. We have the resources, the expertise and the world-class workers that are building the most resilient, self-reliant and competitive economy anywhere in the world.
And working together, we will get it done. So let’s keep working together to protect Ontario.
Thank you, and may God bless the people of Ontario.”
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