Submit your recommendations for Ontario's budget

Every year, the Ontario government prepares a budget on how it will fund the programs and services it’s responsible for.

As part of the budget development process, the government meets and holds annual pre-budget consultations giving individuals and organizations the opportunity to share their recommendations and help inform the government’s decisions in the budget.

You can provide your views, comments and recommendations on a subject being studied by submitting an:

to the Ministry of Finance:
- Online survey
- Written proposal

and/or to the Standing Committee on Finance and Economic Affairs:

Written submission/brief (submit material to a committee), and/or a
Verbal presentation to the Legislative Committee (appear as a committee witness) to the

For the 2026 Ontario Budget, consultations opened November 21, 2025.

Ministry of Finance

Survey

The online survey takes 3 to 5 minutes to complete and closed January 30, 2026 at 4:00 p.m. (ET).

Aside: Open Council does not recommend completing this survey as it includes leading language and missing options.

Online written submission

Submit your proposal

Mailed written proposal

Minister of Finance
c/oa Communications Services Branch
Frost Building North, 3rd Floor
95 Grosvenor Street
Toronto, Ontario
M7A 1Z1

Standing Committee

Committees of the Legislative Assembly of Ontario are working groups created by Ontario provincial parliament made up of selected Members of Provincial Parliament (MPPs) from each political party. They study issues relating to the committee’s mandate or referred to them by parliament in greater depth and report back to the Assembly. They execute a large portion of parliamentary work.

There are Standing Committees on:

The number of representatives that each political party has on each committee is determined by the proportion of seats in the Legislature held by each party. So when there is a majority government, the party with the majority has the majority of seats on each Committee.

The Committees hold hearings (the Ford government is not doing that for major pieces of legislation) and they vote on amendments to legislation. A government will often amend legislation based on what it has heard in consultations.

When you send in a written submission or make a verbal presentation before the Committee, you are giving your input to the MPPs on that Committee. It is important for the public to provide input so that MPPs have to face it and respond to it. Members of the media also usually attend the hearings.

Written submissions

All Ontario residents can apply to make a written submission to the Committee.

A brief is a written submission that provides your opinions, comments and recommendations on a subject being studied.

Verbal submissions

All Ontario residents can apply to make a verbal submission before the Committee.

You can apply to the nearest hearing and go in person or you can appear by Zoom. They will give you a time limit for the length of your presentation and it is strict. They will cut you off at that time limit. After you present, the MPPs will ask you questions about your input. You do not have to have your submission ready when you apply. You only have to get it in before the deadline.

When are the public hearings?

The Committee intends to hold public hearings in:

Brockville on Tuesday, January 13, 2026
Ottawa on Wednesday, January 14, 2026
Pembroke on Thursday, January 15, 2026
Kitchener on Tuesday, January 20, 2026
London on Wednesday, January 21, 2026
Niagara Falls on Thursday, January 22, 2026
Kapuskasing on Tuesday, January 27, 2026
Thunder Bay on Wednesday, January 28, 2026
Sudbury on Thursday, January 29, 2026.

Interested people who wish to be considered to make an oral presentation to the Committee are required to register by:

12:00 p.m. (EST) on Monday, January 5, 2026, for Brockville, Ottawa and Pembroke;
12:00 p.m. (EST) on Monday, January 12, 2026, for Kitchener, London and Niagara Falls;
12:00 p.m. (EST) on Monday, January 19, 2026, for Kapuskasing, Thunder Bay and Sudbury;

Please note that the registration form does not have an option to indicate whether you are joining the hearing in-person or virtually by Zoom. After the registration deadline, people who are scheduled to present will be contacted and asked whether you are joining in-person or virtually by Zoom.

Those who do not wish to make an oral presentation but wish to comment on the issue may send a written submission by 6:00 p.m. (EST) on Thursday, January 29, 2026.

How to apply

To apply to appear as a committee witness or submit a brief use this online form: Request to participate in committees

Written submissions should follow the guidelines outlined in Guidelines for submitting written materials to committees. Submissions that don’t follow the guidelines won’t be penalized. Hard copy submissions are also accepted.

If you want to present your written brief to the committee in person, choose “request to appear as a committee witness”.

Recommendations

include factual information to support your conclusions, views, or claims
recommendations should be as specific as possible
begin with a summary of the main conclusions and recommendations
be brief/concise

The deadlines are strict. If you do not apply for standing – that is to make a verbal presentation – before the deadline for that town, you will not be considered. If you do not get in your written submission by the deadline, it will not go into the record.

For a list of past submissions relating to a particular bill, for more information about any committee or consultations please contact the clerk of the committee:

Lesley Flores, Clerk
Whitney Block, Room 1405
Toronto, ON M7A 1A2
Telephone: 416-325-3509
Facsimile: 416-325-3505
TTY: 416-325-3538
E-mail: [email protected]

How to watch committee meetings

Committee meetings are streamed live from location when available. For the link to the webcast, and to find times and availability, see the committee meetings weekly notice and our guide on how to watch Ontario government meetings.

Submissions become part of the public record

Documents or briefs submitted to committees of the Legislative Assembly of Ontario are considered public documents. They are made available to MPPs and the public for inspection or for copying.

Submissions become a part of the official record of our province. It will be included in Hansard (which is the transcript of the hearings) and researchers can use it when they study what happened in this period. When the government is listening to its constituents, public input is also used to shape public policy.

Submit your recommendations for Ontario’s budget