TORONTO, May 13, 2026 — Today, the Financial Accountability Office of Ontario (FAO) released a report that compares 2024-25 Government of Ontario financial statistics against the other Canadian provinces based on Statistics Canada’s Government Finance Statistics (GFS). The GFS data adjust for differences in each province’s organizational structure and accounting practices, providing a standardized framework for comparing provincial budgetary results. In addition, the FAO presents the GFS data primarily on a per capita (or per person) basis to account for the impact of the size of each province’s population on financial results.
Ontario’s net operating balance, the difference between total revenue and total spending, was a deficit of $1,137 per capita in 2024-25, similar to the rest of Canada average of a net operating deficit of $1,131 per capita. Only three provinces – Alberta, New Brunswick and Nova Scotia – recorded net operating surpluses in 2024-25.
Ontario generated $13,333 in total revenue per capita in 2024-25, the lowest among the provinces and 19.6 per cent below the rest of Canada average ($16,576 per capita). Ontario’s relatively low revenue per capita resulted from above-average taxation revenue per capita that was more than offset by below-average federal transfers and other non-tax revenue per capita.
Ontario’s total spending per capita was $14,470 in 2024-25, the lowest among the provinces and 18.3 per cent below the rest of Canada average ($17,707 per capita). Ontario’s relatively low spending per capita resulted from below-average per capita program spending (health, education and all other programs) and interest on debt payments.
Finally, Ontario’s net financial worth, the difference between financial assets and financial liabilities, was -$19,667 per capita in 2024-25, the lowest among the provinces and 119.2 per cent below the rest of Canada average (-$8,973 per capita). Measured against each province’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP), Ontario’s net financial worth (-26.5 per cent of GDP) was the lowest among the provinces and below the rest of Canada average (-11.8 per cent of GDP).
To learn more, read the full report here.
Quick Facts:
- Since the start of GFS data collection in 2008-09, Ontario has collected the lowest or second lowest total revenue per capita among the provinces.
- Since 2008-09, Ontario’s total spending per capita has ranked lowest or second lowest among the provinces with the exception of 2010-11 (ranked third lowest).
About the FAO:
Established by 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.
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For further information, please contact:
Sophia Zhu l 416 931 5498 l SZhu@fao-on.org l fao-on.org