FAO RELEASES 2024–25 ANNUAL REPORT
TORONTO, July 23, 2025 – Today, the Financial Accountability Officer, Jeffrey Novak, released his 2024-25 Annual Report. This report summarizes the work of the Financial Accountability Office of Ontario (FAO) in support of its mandate to provide independent financial and economic analysis to the members and committees of the Legislative Assembly of Ontario. In 2024-25, the FAO provided forecasts of Ontario’s economy and financial position, a summary of the Province’s credit rating, a comparison of Ontario’s finances against the finances of the other provinces, a review of the Ministry of Children, Community and Social Services’ spending plan, and quarterly information on unaudited government spending. The FAO also released four reports that provided financial analysis of government programs and policies: Ontario’s Public Transit Agencies: Ridership, Finances and Operating Subsidies, Ontario School Boards: School Building Condition, Student Capacity and Capital Budgeting, ServiceOntario Relocations: Financial Analysis of the Agreement with Staples Canada, and The Financial Impact of Expanding the Beverage Alcohol Marketplace in Ontario.
To better serve Members of Provincial Parliament (MPPs) and committees, the FAO introduced two new products in 2024-25. The FAO launched the Ontario Economic Monitor series to provide the most up-to-date information about trends in the provincial economy. To support Standing Committees’ reviews of ministries’ Expenditure Estimates, the FAO created a new interactive webpage, Examining Ontario’s Expenditure Estimates, which allows users to compare requested spending against actual spending over the previous three years.
The FAO is proud to support MPPs and committees in their work by providing independent, authoritative, accessible and timely financial and economic analysis. As mandated by the Financial Accountability Officer Act, 2013, the FAO accepts requests from MPPs and committees to undertake research. In addition, the FAO offers briefings for interested committees, MPPs and staff; produces a quarterly newsletter that summarizes recently completed work and upcoming work in progress; and publicly posts all of its work on the FAO’s website and social media channels.
To learn more, read the full report here.
Quick Facts:
- 2024-25 marked the FAO’s 10-year anniversary. Over its first 10 years, the FAO received 75 research requests from MPPs and committees, released 162 reports and had over 1.4 million visits to our website.
- In 2024-25, the FAO produced 14 reports, 14 briefing decks, nine videos and one interactive website tool.
- The FAO received seven research requests from MPPs in 2024-25 and accepted five.
- Of the Legislative Assembly’s eight Standing Committees, five referenced the FAO’s work in 2024-25.
About the FAO
Under the Financial Accountability Officer Act, 2013, the Financial Accountability Office of Ontario (FAO) provides independent analysis on the state of the Province’s finances, trends in the provincial economy, and related matters important to the Legislative Assembly of Ontario. Visit our website and follow us on X and LinkedIn.
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For further information, please contact:
Sophia Zhu | 416 931 5498 | SZhu@fao-on.org | fao-on.org