Ford’s office reduces staff costs by $1M following spending criticism

TORONTO — Ontario Premier Doug Ford’s chief of staff is cutting the size of the office by 10 jobs and about $1 million, as the government faces criticism over its spending.

Ford has increasingly come under fire for the size of his office by critics who say its growing costs do not fit with the premier’s mantra of finding efficiencies.

In 2025, salaries in Ford’s office topped $8 million, a more than 150 per cent increase since 2019, the first full year he was in office.

A memo Thursday from chief of staff Travis Kann said he had implemented a hiring freeze and reduced the office’s head count by 10, resulting in annual savings of more than $1 million.

“The goal has been to rationalize the size of our office, deliver enhanced productivity and lower the cost of our operations without compromising our ability to advance the premier’s ambitious agenda,” he wrote.

“This has included relocating personnel within our office or across government to more productive areas, as well as saying goodbye to colleagues. I want to thank them for their contributions to our government and province.”

Promotions and pay raises will continue based on merit, Kann wrote. Next, he will look to some cabinet ministers’ offices to implement comparable cuts.

The move comes as Ford has told Toronto-area members of his caucus who expensed hotel stays in Toronto to reimburse taxpayers for the thousands of dollars they billed.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published July 16, 2026.

Allison Jones, The Canadian Press