TorontoCritics are calling on the Ford government to stop spending billions subsidizing hydro rates, and to instead find ways to reduce the cost of electricity across the province’s grid after a 29 per cent rate hike took effect earlier this month. Electricity rates jumped by 29% earlier this monthShawn Jeffords · CBC News · Posted: Nov 12, 2025 4:00 AM EST | Last Updated: 6 hours agoListen to this articleEstimated 6 minutesThe audio version of this article is generated by text-to-speech, a technology based on artificial intelligence.As electricity rates go up in Ontario this month, one of several critics slamming the province’s electricty rebate programs says they are simply the province redistributing taxpayers’ money to hydro ratepayers. (Michael Wilson/CBC)Critics are calling on the Ford government to stop spending billions subsidizing hydro rates, and to reduce the cost of electricity across the province’s grid after a 29 per cent rate hike took effect earlier this month.The calls come after an increase in electricity costs was approved by the Ontario Energy Board. But the blow to consumers will be cushioned as Premier Doug Ford’s government hikes the province’s largest taxpayer-funded hydro rate subsidy to 23 per cent. That will see the province spend billions next year to bring down the cost of electricity for ratepayers.Green Party Leader Mike Schreiner said the province appears set to subsidize hydro for every Ontarian, regardless of whether they need it or not, rather than address the problem of sky-rocketing rates head-on. “I want to know, why does Galen Weston get a subsidy on his electricity prices when this government says we don’t have money for health care, we don’t have money for housing, we don’t have money for education?” Schreiner said.Ontario Green Party Leader Mike Schreiner is criticizing the Ford government for subsidizing hydro rates for all ratepayers, regardless of income. (Alex Lupul/CBC)The rate hike, which came into effect on Nov. 1, is due to larger than anticipated costs in the nuclear sector and higher spending on electricity conservation programs, says the Ontario Energy Board. The province began to subsidize the cost of electricity in 2017 under the previous Liberal government, at a time when prices had risen dramatically. Premier Doug Ford’s government pledged to cut rates by 12 per cent when they took office in 2018 — a promise critics say he never fulfilled — while continuing the policy of annual multi-billion dollar ratepayer subsidies.Ontario to increase hydro subsidy to 23 per centThe government currently has nine different hydro subsidy programs, the largest of which is the Ontario Electricity Rebate. It provides money back to residential rate payers on their monthly bills, funded by Ontario taxpayers.That rebate jumped to 23 per cent earlier this month, up from 13 per cent, in conjunction with the latest rate hike.Based on calculations using figures by Ontario’s Financial Accountability Office, the rebate increase will drive the province’s annual cost up to over $8.5 billion, said Mark Winfield, a professor of environmental and urban change at York University.The province did not respond to CBC requests for clarification about the increased cost of the subsidy.Premier Doug Ford’s government pledged to cut rates by 12 per cent when they took office in 2018. Critics say the promise remains unfulfilled. (Evan Mitsui/CBC)But last week’s Fall Economic Statement estimated that the cost of all of the various hydro subsidy programs was $6.5 billion for this fiscal year. That document also showed that Ontario has spent $18.2 billion on hydro subsidies since 2022-2023.“This is a non-trivial line item in the overall budget now,” Winfield said. “It’s taking revenues that could be used for more general purposes, say, health care or education, and, using it to effectively, artificially, lower people’s hydro bills.”Hydro subsidies should be means tested, opposition saysNDP consumer protection critic Tom Rakocevic said the electricity rebate programs are simply the province redistributing taxpayers’ money to hydro ratepayers. The program should be means-tested in order to ensure the subsidies reach Ontarians who need them most, he said.“What this government is doing is very cynical, because they’re going to try to position it [by] saying, ‘we’re saving you money,’ but that’s not the long-term solution,” he said.Liberal MPP Ted Hsu accused Premier Doug Ford of breaking his promise to cut rates and trying to hide subsequent increases by spending billions on subsidies.“His system is now forcing a massive $6.5-billion hidden tax to cover the costs,” he said. “He didn’t deliver a cut; he engineered a colossal shell game to keep his broken promise from appearing on your bill.”A spokesperson from Energy Minister Stephen Lecce blamed the policies of the previous Liberal government for the increased costs.“After a decade of hydro hikes under the Liberals that cost working families and seniors an extra $1,000 a year, our government made a clear commitment: to keep energy rates stable and affordable,” Chelsea McGee said in a statement. “Since 2018, we’ve delivered on just that — ensuring electricity rates have stayed near or below inflation.” Critics call on Ford to revisit renewable energy projectsWinfield said the province is on an “unsustainable path” when it comes subsidizing electricity rates. And it’s actively building higher-cost electricity generation into the system by pursuing its nuclear refurbishment plan, he added.“This translates into a higher bottom line and electricity bills,” he said. “At the moment, the government is hiding that through the subsidization of the rates, but there’s a limit to how much that can go on and we’re probably somewhere near that limit now.”Winfield said the legacy of the Liberal government’s Green Energy Act, which subsidized renewable energy projects and drove up hydro rates, continues to loom large.“We’re now in this strange position where the government appears to still suffer from this renewable energy allergy and doesn’t seem to be able to move past it,” he said. “And indeed seems to be embedding pathways that almost make it impossible to go there, but [also] embedding enormous costs and enormous risks.”Jack Gibbons, of the Ontario Clean Air Alliance, opposes the nuclear and gas plant build-out of the province’s hydro system. He too believes the Green Energy Act created a stigma in Ontario around renewables. It’s time to let that go because renewables could drive down costs, he said.“It’s true that Dalton McGuinty paid very high prices for wind and solar, and that drove up electricity rates and it created a huge backlash,” Gibbons said. “But you know, Dalton McGuinty hasn’t been premier for over 12 years, and in the last 12 years, thanks to technological progress, the cost of wind and solar has fallen dramatically.”ABOUT THE AUTHORShawn Jeffords is CBC Toronto’s Municipal Affairs Reporter, but is currently covering the Ontario Legislature. He has previously covered Queen’s Park for The Canadian Press. You can reach him by emailing shawn.jeffords@cbc.ca.
Critics call on Ford government to address rising hydro rates
