The Ontario NDP is asking the integrity commissioner and Elections Ontario to investigate a campaign video from PC Leader Doug Ford’s trip to Washington D.C. this week, portions of which were supported using taxpayer resources.
The complaint was lodged after a new video was posted on social media Thursday morning showing Ford and two Progressive Conservative candidates walking around Washington D.C.
The video also included footage from an event at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and meetings with elected officials, which were paid for and organized by the government.
The video, uploaded to Ford’s social media page ended with the PC Party’s campaign slogan, Protect Ontario.
The footage was deleted several hours after it was first posted online on Thursday and re-uploaded to Ford’s social media account without the campaign slogan.
Ontario NDP Leader Marit Stiles said Ford was using “his taxpayer funded photo op for partisan purposes” and said she would write to both the integrity commissioner and Elections Ontario to complain.
“Doug Ford keeps finding new and expensive ways to erode our democracy,” Stiles wrote in a social media post. “He’s using his position to further his own political goals first – he’s not looking out for Ontario jobs. Doug Ford isn’t on your side.”
The PC campaign defended the video in a statement.
“Footage of the premier being the premier is routinely used in political social content; however, out of an abundance of caution, the video was reposted without campaign branding,” a spokesperson said.
Ford spent Tuesday and Wednesday in Washington looking to convince the Donald Trump administration to back away from tariffs on a trip that blurred the lines between campaigning leader and incumbent premier.
The PC leader held meetings with several Republican congresspeople and senators, and also attended a taxpayer-funded fireside chat and networking reception.
The decision to travel during an election has sparked controversy, with the Ontario Liberals, NDP and Greens all suggesting Ford may be using taxpayer resources to campaign.
The Progressive Conservative campaign funded Ford’s flights and hotel but didn’t pay for all the events while he was there, a PC spokesperson said. The integrity commissioner said the trip could go ahead given the threat of tariffs “provided that the activities are not then used for partisan purposes.”
The PC campaign said the trip was in line with previous precedent and that Canada’s other premiers had supported Ford’s decision to chair their group and lead them to Washington.
“The integrity commissioner had no concerns about the premier’s trip to Washington, D.C. in his role as both premier and chair of the COF,” they said.
“This occurred at a time when Canada was facing significant financial challenges that required full engagement from each province and leader, similar to the tariff threat we’re facing from the United States.”
How much Ford achieved in his role as Ontario premier while in D.C. is unclear.
Ford, along with Canada’s 12 other sitting premiers, secured a meeting at the White House with one of Trump’s staffers. The event on Wednesday afternoon did not include Trump himself.
When Ford emerged from the event he said the premiers had had a “positive conversation” with a “high-ranking official” but refused to say who.
B.C. Premier David Eby clarified that the meeting was with Deputy Chief of Staff James Blair and Director of Presidential Personnel Sergio Gor. He said the two men had agreed to share a message that the premiers were willing to engage and that Canada would not become the 51st state.
“To be clear, we never agreed that Canada would not be the 51st state,” Blair said in an X post shortly after the meeting. “We only agreed to share Premier Eby’s comments.”
He described the meeting as “pleasant” and repeated a warning that Canada must take Trump “at face value.”
Global News’ Washington bureau sent questions to the Trump administration last week asking if Trump was aware of Ontario’s election and if the province’s leader would make a difference to his tariff plans.
The White House did not respond.
Ontario Liberal Leader Bonnie Crombie said Ford’s trip had been a failure.
“This looks like a photo opportunity — I can go stand by the White House and get my picture done as well,” she said. “The only job he’s gone there to protect is his own.”
Ford also met with a number of senators and congresspeople to discuss tariffs and working together with Ontario. The PC leader posted images with Rep. Rob Wittman, Rep. Lisa McClain and Sen. Kevin Cramer.
The latter two have previously shared support for Trump’s tariff strategy.
“I’m not an expert but I think at 10 to 15 [per cent] a universal tariff works, I think in a lot of cases the nations themselves absorb it,” Cramer said in a Feb. 7 appearance on Fox News.
“What he understands as a business guy, as a negotiator, is leverage. As I tell my Canadian friends who I love very much, they’re our neighbours. I talk to lots of them every day, they’re 41 million people, we’re 341 million people. [Trump] understands that leverage.”
Global News sent questions to the three Republicans asking if they still supported tariffs and if meetings with Ford had changed their minds. They did not respond ahead of publication.
Ontarians head to the polls on Feb. 27.