![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/70c8fc80.png\")
<\/p>\nOntario is facing an increasingly dire economic future as the impacts of tariffs from the United States continue to bite, with the government revising down its estimates for growth, job creation and the housing market.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Finance Minister Peter Bethlenfalvy tabled his Fall Economic Statement<\/a> on Thursday afternoon with a smattering of minor policy changes dominated by the grim provincial outlook.<\/p>\n \u201cAs a province and a country, we find ourselves in the midst of trade uncertainty that we did not ask to be a part of, causing anxiety for workers and businesses alike,\u201d he is set to tell the house.<\/p>\n Since the budget was tabled less than six months ago, in mid-May, the government\u2019s job creation projects have been revised down from 73,000 to 70,000. Next year, the province is expected to see 35,000 new jobs created, up from 33,000 in the previous projection.<\/p>\n Story continues below advertisement<\/p>\n Over the next four years, the government has revised job creation down by a total of 1,000 \u2014 with 3,000 fewer this year and 8,000 fewer than expected in 2027.<\/p>\n The numbers for 2026 and 2028 have been updated upwards.<\/p>\n The unemployment rate has been revised to worsen from 7.6 to 7.8 per cent and is predicted to remain higher than the 2025 budget forecast through to 2028.<\/p>\n \u201cEmployment growth is projected to ease further in 2026 to 0.4 per cent as economic growth continues to be impacted by the ongoing trade conflicts and the effect of the associated uncertainty on investment and hiring,\u201d the document said.<\/p>\n \n\t\t\tMore on Politics Young workers, it added, \u201chave been particularly affected.\u201d<\/p>\n According to the government\u2019s website, more than 700,000 people are unemployed in Ontario.<\/p>\n The province\u2019s worsening jobs record is something opposition critics have increasingly focused on, with Ontario NDP Leader Marit Stiles referring to Premier Doug Ford as a \u201cjobs disaster.\u201d<\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\t \t\t\t\t\tGet breaking National news<\/p>\n For news impacting Canada and around the world, sign up for breaking news alerts delivered directly to you when they happen.<\/p>\n The jab is one of the few opposition questions the premier has stood up and responded to since the legislature returned in mid-October. Generally, Ford has allowed his ministers to field questions, criticisms and calls for their resignation.<\/p>\n \u201cHundreds and hundreds of thousands of Ontarians are unemployed already and we haven\u2019t even really felt the hit from the tariffs,\u201d Stiles said on Wednesday.<\/p>\n Story continues below advertisement<\/p>\n \u201cWorking people are waking up every morning and going, \u2018Do I have a job to go to? Is there going to be a sign on the plant when I get to work today?\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n The government said that, while the year began positively for jobs, things worsened in the second quarter.<\/p>\n \u201cIndustries particularly impacted by U.S. tariffs, such as manufacturing, transportation and warehousing, contributed to the second quarter employment decline,\u201d the province wrote.<\/p>\n Ministry of Finance officials said experts of autos and steel, in particular, had been impacted by tariffs from the United States.<\/p>\n Statistics Canada data for September shows Ontario had a 7.9 per cent unemployment rate, compared to a national rate of 7.1 per cent.<\/p>\n Despite the predictions, the Fall Economic Statement promised the government would take action to stem the bleeding.<\/p>\n \u201cOntario is prepared to do whatever it takes to provide critical financial supports to protect Ontario workers and jobs,\u201d the document states, touting up to $30 billion it says has been announced as tariff-related money.<\/p>\n The economic uncertainty could throw Ontario off its path to balance in the worst-case scenario, though the government is still planning to post a surplus in 2027-28. Its predicted deficit for the current year is roughly a billion less than expected, while next year and the year after are unchanged.<\/p>\n \n\t\tTrending Now\n\t<\/p>\n
\n\t\t\tMore videos\n\t\t<\/p>\n![\"For](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/1761854947_61_national.jpg\")
<\/p>\n
![\"\"\/](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/1762456571_602_Carney-budget-tax-policy.jpg\")
<\/p>\n![\"\"\/](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/1762456571_315_miss-universe-mexico-thailand-nawat-itsaragrisil.jpg\")
<\/p>\n