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Premier Doug Ford's Ontario

thettctransitfanatic said:
https://www.cp24.com/politics/queens-park/2026/03/17/ontario-could-soon-let-lone-drivers-use-hov-lanes-at-off-peak-hours/

Drivers with no passengers could soon be allowed to use Ontario HOV lanes​

Lone drivers battling gridlock may soon be able to make use of carpool lanes to get around Ontario highways faster during certain times of the day.
The Ford government is eyeing changes to the Highway Traffic Act that would allow single-occupant vehicles to use High Occupancy Vehicle (HOV) lanes during off-peak hours, CTV News Toronto has learned.
“Gridlock is costing our economy billions of dollars every year and robbing Ontario drivers of valuable time and quality of life,” Ontario Transportation Minister Prabmeet Sarkaria said.
“By allowing single-occupant vehicles to use HOV lanes during off-peak hours, we would help keep drivers moving across the province, so they can spend less time in traffic and more time with their families and friends.”
The government has not yet defined what times would constitute off-peak hours, but officials say that will be determined through consultations and by analyzing traffic data.
The new off-peak hours would be set out in regulation after being finalized later this year. The changes would apply to all existing, planned and future HOV lanes.
If finalized, the proposed changes would be implemented by the end of the year.

Changes would save drivers time, province says​

Government data show that as of 2022, single-occupant vehicles represented 72 per cent of vehicles on provincial highways.
Sarkaria’s office said Ministry of Transportation modelling shows the proposed changes would improve travel times for all users, with average speeds increasing in both HOV and general-purpose lanes across major highways during off-peak hours.
Details about the projected time savings from the modelling have not yet been shared publicly.
Currently, HOV lanes are restricted to vehicles with two or more occupants. Other vehicles that are allowed to use the lanes include buses, licensed taxis, green-plate vehicles, airport limousines, motorcycles and emergency vehicles.
Lone drivers who win High-Occupancy Toll permits through a lottery can also pay to access HOV lanes on sections of the Queen Elizabeth Way, Highway 403 and Highway 410.
There are currently 237 kilometres of HOV lanes in the province, with another 146 kilometres planned.
Commercial vehicles longer than 6.5 metres would still be restricted from using HOV lanes under the proposed changes, the province says.
A study released in late 2024 estimated that congestion costs the Greater Toronto and Hamilton Area close to $50 billion a year.
Last year Manhattan, N.Y. introduced a congestion toll to deal with gridlock, a move many congestion experts applauded, but some politicians decried.
The Ford government has vowed never to add tolls or congestion pricing to Ontario roads and has passed legislation in 2024 to prevent any future administration from taking that step.
Click to expand...
So does that turn HOV lanes into . . . lanes? This sounds like his motorized version of eliminating bike lanes.
 
thettctransitfanatic said:
New Ontario Abacus poll:

OPC 44 (-)
OLP 32 (+2)
ONDP 16
GPO 5 (-1)
Other 3 (-1)

OPC leads in every region of Ontario, but huge differences among age:

18-29: OLP 48 OPC 26
30-44 OPC 39 OLP 37
45-59 OPC 52 OLP 23
60+ OPC 51 OLP 26

48% say it is definitely time for a change in government. Another 18% say it would be nice to have a change in government. Combined, 66% say they want a change, just 35% combined say the PCs deserve to be reelected.

abacusdata.ca

Ford Government Approval Stabilizes as Ontario Liberals Continue to Gain - Abacus Data

%
abacusdata.ca abacusdata.ca
Click to expand...
Interesting how age dynamics are inverted federally. CPC + OLP have highest support among young people. LPC + OPC (incumbents) have highest support among older people.
 
afransen said:
Interesting how age dynamics are inverted federally. CPC + OLP have highest support among young people. LPC + OPC (incumbents) have highest support among older people.
Click to expand...
LPC is doing well among young people right now, actually. CPC is also historically higher then usual, with NDP getting squeezed both federally and provincially.
 
thettctransitfanatic said:
New Ontario Abacus poll:

OPC 44 (-)
OLP 32 (+2)
ONDP 16
GPO 5 (-1)
Other 3 (-1)

OPC leads in every region of Ontario, but huge differences among age:

18-29: OLP 48 OPC 26
30-44 OPC 39 OLP 37
45-59 OPC 52 OLP 23
60+ OPC 51 OLP 26

48% say it is definitely time for a change in government. Another 18% say it would be nice to have a change in government. Combined, 66% say they want a change, just 35% combined say the PCs deserve to be reelected.

abacusdata.ca

Ford Government Approval Stabilizes as Ontario Liberals Continue to Gain - Abacus Data

%
abacusdata.ca abacusdata.ca
Click to expand...

Interesting that the 18-29 support for Ontario Liberals (48%) is similar to 18-29 support for Federal Conservatives in the last election.
 
urbanclient said:
Interesting that the 18-29 support for Ontario Liberals (48%) is similar to 18-29 support for Federal Conservatives in the last election.
Click to expand...
I think there does exists a CPC-OLP swing vote of young people who want change in the federal and provincial governments. Now of course though, as I said above, LPC has gone up among 18-34 since last April and now leads with CPC in strong second and NDP in a distant third for both.
 
Yet Conservatives always complain of Bill C-75 and offenders being released. This is all on Ford’s incompetence hence violence has been increasing in provincial jails
 
"Doug Ford suggests judge should apologize to Toronto cops in Umar Zameer case — ‘That’s the first step’ "

Having followed the case, this is clownery. The OPP was pressured to investigate Toronto Police officers (themselves) and find no wrongdoing...

www.thestar.com

Doug Ford suggests judge should apologize to Toronto cops in Umar Zameer case — ‘That’s the first step’

“Maybe the judge should apologize for accusing them of everything under the sun. That’s the first step,” Doug Ford said on Wednesday.
www.thestar.com www.thestar.com

 
urbanclient said:
"Doug Ford suggests judge should apologize to Toronto cops in Umar Zameer case — ‘That’s the first step’ "

Having followed the case, this is clownery. The OPP was pressured to investigate Toronto Police officers (themselves) and find no wrongdoing...

www.thestar.com

Doug Ford suggests judge should apologize to Toronto cops in Umar Zameer case — ‘That’s the first step’

“Maybe the judge should apologize for accusing them of everything under the sun. That’s the first step,” Doug Ford said on Wednesday.
www.thestar.com www.thestar.com

Click to expand...
Regardless on ones views of the original investigation and the review investigation, one branch of our governance passing judgement on another is both bad form and inappropriate. If he feels this is an okay response, they he should be okay with the bench providing commentary on how it thinks he is doing as premier.
 
Doug wants to be a judiciary, the legislature, a police rep and run several cities at the same time. And at this point he should go full on Krisiti Noem and cosplay for each of those roles...so the public knows what job he's playing on any given day... >.<
 

Ontario proposing to cap ticket resale prices at original value

Ford government initially shelved price cap in 2019 after it was introduced by Liberals

The Ontario government is planning to outlaw sky-high ticket resale prices, according to a news release.

“We’re putting ticket scalpers on notice: Your days of ripping people off are done,” said Ford on social media Friday.

The province is proposing amendments to the 2017 Ticket Sales Act — introduced by the former Liberal government — that would make it illegal for live event tickets to be re-sold for more than their original cost.

The cap would apply for anyone reselling a ticket and any platform facilitating the exchange.

The move comes years after the Ford government scrapped part of an anti-scalping law in 2019 that would have capped ticket resale prices at 50 per cent above the original face value.

“We are taking action to help ensure Ontario fans have access to fair resale prices and are not exploited by price gouging when they buy resale tickets for their favourite events,” said Stephen Crawford, minister of public and business service delivery and procurement, in the release.

The Ford government is also proposing to strengthen requirements against the sale of fake tickets and to create new policies that could stop unfair service charges.

Stan Cho, minister of tourism, culture and gaming, told CBC Toronto Friday that it's a great day for consumer protection, though he recognizes it doesn't fix the supply-demand imbalance.

"Technology has changed. Bots are buying up a whole swath of tickets and reselling it [for] outrageous prices, which makes it unattainable for those who are just trying to go to a game or see their favorite artist in concert," he said.

"If you're one of the fortunate few that get to go to the concert, you're not going to be ripped off for that experience."

Cho said a lot of consulting still needs to be done prior to the cap's implementation, especially around how to enforce the law. "The reality is it will be an illegal activity if this bill is passed ... and so, just like any other lawbreakers, we'll go after them in that appropriate manner," he said.

Ford walked back resale stance last year
The original legislation put forth by the Ontario Liberals was called “unenforceable” and just “a nice soundbite” by former government and consumer services minister Bill Walker in 2019.

But Ford walked back this stance last year amidst sky-high prices for the World Series in Toronto, and said he would review the legislation.

“They’re gouging the people,” Ford said in October. “We have one player in the market that controls the tickets, that’s not right for the people.”

Both the Liberals and NDP also urged the province to take action. The Liberals even put forward a bill last year to bring back the original resale price cap.

“If the Premier brings back the cap on resale tickets, it’ll be his best flip-flop yet,” said Ontario Liberal critic for tourism and culture Rob Cerjanec in an October media release.

Transportation Minister Prabmeet Sarkaria said at an unrelated news conference Friday that Ford has "always been on the side of consumers" and wants "fairness in the secondary market."

He said scalpers use bots and AI software to purchase large numbers of primary tickets once they're released and then sell them at "exorbitant" prices. The province's plan will "curb" that issue and people exploiting the market, said Sarkaria.

The shift in policy is welcome news, said Ontario NDP shadow attorney general Kristyn Wong-Tam in an emailed statement.

“Doug Ford has left Ontarians vulnerable to a system rife with fraud, automated bots, and predatory resellers," she said, adding the province needs to take action that "can't be circumvented by ticket resellers."

“Supporting your team or seeing your favourite artist shouldn’t be a major financial decision."

Ontario Green Party Leader Mike Schreiner said Friday that Ford did nothing about ticket prices for seven years.

"He's taken us in the opposite direction," he said. "This is the same government that said that they were taking this away — the caps on ticket resales — because it couldn't be enforced."

Schreiner said he's surprised they've reversed course.

"I think it's to distract from the failures of the Ford government to deliver on policies that make life more affordable and easy for the people of Ontario," he said. "Over the last seven years, the premier has prioritized the wealthy and well connected over everyday people and Ontario. So I'm glad he's finally seeing the light on this."
 
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