Ontario Premier Doug Ford speaks at The Globe and Mail’s Intersect 2026 conference in Toronto on Wednesday.Fred Lum/The Globe and Mail
Ontario Premier Doug Ford says the $28.9-million private jet his government bought last week – and then pledged to get rid of after an outcry – has already been sold, handed back to manufacturer Bombardier.
On stage at The Globe and Mail’s Intersect 2026 conference on Wednesday at Toronto’s Royal York hotel, the Premier brought up the controversy before even taking a question on it from reporter Laura Stone, who interviewed him at the event.
Mr. Ford launched into a lengthy defence of his need for the aircraft – but then said it had been sold for the “exact same price” the government had spent on it.
“I’m flying commercial. Or we’ll fly on a little puddle jumper that the OPP has,” he said.
Doug Ford says he reversed course on private jet purchase after hearing public’s concerns
He defended his need to charter private jets for trips jammed with meetings, including his recent trade mission to Texas, which he said garnered $6-billion in business investment.
Hannah Jensen, Mr. Ford’s spokesperson, later e-mailed a statement saying that Bombardier “is purchasing the plane for $28.9-million, the same amount the Ontario government paid for it.”
Bombardier spokeswoman Louse Solomita confirmed in an e-mail that the company “has purchased the aircraft back from the Ontario government” but provided no other details about the transaction.
Opposition politicians had railed against Mr. Ford’s move to purchase the Challenger 650 jet, calling it the “gravy plane” and saying that Ontarians facing pricey groceries and long waits in emergency rooms were in no mood to see their Premier jetting around in a luxury aircraft.
NDP Leader Marit Stiles released a letter to the province’s Auditor-General on Wednesday, requesting an investigation into the purchase, including the uncovering of any financial losses for taxpayers.
The Premier told the Royal York audience that he should have communicated the need for the plane more clearly, saying that Ontario ranks 20th in the world for gross domestic product and covers the same area as France and Spain combined.
He added that the Challenger could have been used by other ministers, or to transport firefighters battling burning forests. The model typically seats 12 people, however, and critics say it could not manage landings at many remote northern airports, such as those with gravel runways.
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Mr. Ford said his plan to take over the City of Toronto’s stake in the Billy Bishop island airport – in order to expand its runways and allow jets –was unrelated to the purchase. Legislation to expropriate the city’s interest in the facility is expected soon, a provincial source said. The Globe and Mail is not identifying the source as they were not authorized to speak publicly about the matter.
The federal government must agree to the airport expansion and has not committed to the idea, though Mr. Ford has insisted Ottawa is on board. Asked on Wednesday what Prime Minister Mark Carney said when told of the plan, Mr. Ford pivoted into a sales pitch for the proposal.
“I think we came to consensus. I don’t like discussing our private conversations. But he’s a smart business person,” the Premier said. “He understands it’s a crown jewel.”
Mr. Ford has also suggested building an artificial island or extension of land for a two-million-square-foot convention centre on Toronto’s waterfront.
He went further on Wednesday, musing that with all the tunnelling under way for his government’s transit projects in the city, the massive amounts of excavated soil could be used as fill to “create more land and more opportunities and a park and a convention centre.” In the future, he floated, it could perhaps be used to build “maybe some sort of sports arena or sports complex.”
Doug Ford says his vision for Toronto’s waterfront, Billy Bishop Airport will expand economy
Addressing the topic of U.S. trade tensions, the Premier said he will lift his ban on American alcohol at provincial liquor stores in a “heartbeat” if U.S. President Donald Trump ends the steep tariffs on Canada’s auto industry and steel and aluminum sectors.
“You never roll over to a bully,” Mr. Ford said.
Asked whether he expects to have the tariffs removed as part of the renegotiation of the U.S.-Mexico-Canada trade agreement, the Premier said U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick had reneged on a pledge to lift steel tariffs last year, when Ontario briefly imposed a surcharge on the province’s electricity exports to the U.S. and attracted the President’s wrath.
“They double up on us,” Mr. Ford said, later adding that he believes Mr. Lutnick has been sidelined in Washington. “So you know, I just, I do not trust them whatsoever.”
The Premier said he agrees with Mr. Carney’s approach to the U.S. and the push to diversify Canada’s trading partners, and he supports building more pipelines in order for the country to become more self-reliant.
“There’s two good things that President Trump has done. He’s united our country and he woke us up.”
Mr. Ford also said he is confident that Mr. Carney will support his idea for an up-to-60-kilometre tunnel under the Toronto stretch of Highway 401. Experts say the concept, currently subject to a feasibility study, could cost $60-billion to $120-billion or more and would not solve the city’s traffic problems.
In a brief speech before his conversation with Ms. Stone, the Premier outlined his government’s efforts to build infrastructure and get rid of red tape to shore up the economy as it reels from tariffs.
“We can’t afford to be complacent,” Mr. Ford said. “We can’t accept the status quo.”
He suggested that instead of needing individual permits for the four small modular nuclear reactors Ontario has planned for its Darlington site east of Toronto, regulators should instead give the province a “blanket permit.”