Ontario Premier Doug Ford took four short-haul domestic flights and a chartered trip to Texas while the province finalized a private jet purchase [1].
The travel records raise questions regarding the use of public resources and the timing of the province's acquisition of a permanent aircraft for the premier.
Between early March and mid-April 2024 [1], Ford used an Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) plane for four domestic trips [1]. These flights took him to several cities across southern Ontario, including Windsor, Kingston, North Bay, and Ottawa [2].
During this same period, which spanned less than two months [1], Ford also chartered a private jet for a trip to Texas in the U.S. [1]. These flights occurred while civil servants were working to finalize the purchase of a private jet for the province [2].
The flights were conducted for official business [2]. The timeline indicates a reliance on both police aircraft and private charters as the government raced to complete the procurement process for its own aircraft [2].
Details regarding the specific costs of the chartered flight to Texas or the OPP flights were not provided in the available records. However, the overlap between the active purchase of a provincial jet and the use of alternative private aviation has become a point of scrutiny [2].
“Ontario Premier Doug Ford took four short-haul domestic flights and a chartered trip to Texas”
The use of OPP aircraft and private charters during the procurement of a dedicated provincial jet suggests a gap in transportation infrastructure for the premier's official travel. This sequence of events highlights the logistical pressures on civil servants to finalize the purchase while the executive office continued to require high-mobility travel across Ontario and into the U.S.
