Doug Ford backs off government plane purchase, seeks to sell aircraft

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Doug Ford announces Ontario will move to sell newly acquired jet following backlash

‘It’s not that the Premier saw the light, it’s that he felt the heat’: Interim Liberal Leader Fraser

Doug Ford ‘only backs down when he gets caught’: Stiles on Ford walking back private jet purchase

Just days after announcing plans to buy a nearly $30 million private jet, Ontario Premier Doug Ford says the province will now move to sell its newly acquired plane, acknowledging concerns about the timing and cost of the purchase.

In a statement to CTV News Sunday morning, Ford said the decision comes after hearing public feedback and reassessing priorities.

• Doug Ford facing criticism over purchase of $28.9M private jet

“Despite the best of intentions, I have heard and agree that now is not the right time for the expense of a government plane,” he wrote.

“The province is working with Bombardier and other partners to sell the plane as quickly as possible. I will continue the work of building relationships with business and political leaders, both across Canada and in the United States, to fight tariffs, attract investments and create jobs for Ontario workers.”

The province says it is now working with Bombardier and other partners to offload the aircraft as quickly as possible.

Ford’s comments marks a sharp reversal from the government’s earlier stance, which had been framed as a tool to support economic outreach and fight tariffs across the border.

The process to sell the aircraft is now underway.

Critics say purchase was ‘out of touch’

When news first broke of the government’s $28.9 million purchase, Ontario NDP Leader Marit Stiles told CP24 that the premier was “out of touch.”

She reaffirmed that same sentiment despite government’s reversal.

“It just shows you, again, how out of touch the premier is right now,” Stiles said Sunday morning.

“It wasn’t us raising our voices that made him change his mind. I think it was the fact that Ontarians were flooding his cell phone and his MPP offices with complaints,”

While details about the pre-owned 2016 Challenger 650 were not initially released by the province, according to the company’s website the aircraft holds up to 12 passengers with a “spacious interior.”

Stiles went on to add that government’s attempt at reversing the purchase reminds her of the controversial Ontario Greenbelt scandal in 2022.

“I have to say it reminds me a lot of the premier’s promises during the attempt to carve up the Green Belt, he only backs down and does the right thing when he gets caught,” she added.

“I certainly hope that we don’t sell this (plane) at a massive loss”

Interim Ontario Liberal Leader John Fraser also joined CP24 to share his reaction about the reversal, adding that the premier has more questions to answer.

“He bought the jet. And the good thing that came out of this is that everyone can see what we’ve all been seeing all along... the premier wants to live like a billionaire, just with your money,” he said. “The premier’s got to answer some more questions”

Ford’s office previously said the plane would help ease the premier’s “extensive travel,” citing regular travel throughout the province and the need to make frequent trips to the United States.

Ontarians share mixed reactions

While news of the plane was sharply met with criticism from political leaders, some residents speaking to CP24 say the need for a premier to have a plane is justified.

“100 per cent he should have one because he’s not going to be the premier forever,” one resident noted. “Somebody else is (eventually) going to come and they’re going to use it... we don’t have anything particular like that (in Ontario).

Another resident, who says she voted for Ford in the last provincial election shared a different opinion.

“I did vote for Mr. Ford in the last election, but I don’t agree with many of the things he’s been working on. And I personally think that there’s enough public transit or transit available to him that he could have used.”

Originally, the Ford government defended the purchase of the plane, comparing the use of similar aircrafts by other provincial and federal governments.

“This is significantly less than the $107 million Quebec paid for its fleet of one pre-owned and two brand-new Challenger 650s or the $753 million the Government of Canada paid for its six new Global 6500 jets,” the province said on Friday.

The aircraft was supposed to be in service by the end of July and fly out of Pearson International Airport.