Opinion

Over 700,000 Ontario workers are now unemployed. Where’s the concern?

A political leader who failed to protect manufacturing and affordability has left 700,000 Ontarians jobless. Ford’s free ride has got to end.

Published Aug 14, 2025 at 12:14pm

Tom Parkin

Over 700,000 Ontario workers are now unemployed. Where’s the concern?

Ontario Premier Doug Ford appears at a campaign even at BWXT Precision Manufacturing Inc, in Oakville, Ontario, on Monday February 10, 2025.THE CANADIAN PRESS/Chris Young

For the past 51 months, long before Donald Trump’s return to power, Ontario unemployment has been climbing, now leaving over 700,000 Ontario workers jobless. But it’s barely made a media ripple. Why?

Ontario’s April 2023 unemployment rate was a reasonable 5.0 per cent, 0.1 percentage points below the national rate of 5.1 per cent.

But by July, Ontario unemployment was 7.9 per cent, second only to Newfoundland and Labrador, and a full point above the national rate.

Over 700,000 Ontario workers are now unemployed. Where’s the concern?

Read this for free.