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TORONTO — Ontario Premier Doug Ford is losing two more cabinet ministers, as one resigned Friday amid criticism for expensing hotel stays in Toronto despite living in the city and a second announced his retirement.
Stan Cho, who represents the north Toronto riding of Willowdale, resigned his post as minister of tourism, culture and gaming after coming under fire for expensing $16,000 in Toronto hotel stays.
“Looking back now, I made a mistake,” he wrote in a statement.
“I am taking full responsibility, as I do not want to be a distraction from our plan to grow the economy, keep families safe, and build this province.”
Cho said he claimed accommodation on nights the legislature sat late but has now repaid all of the money.
“I have a young family at home and a schedule that too often kept me from them,” he wrote. “On late nights I made a choice that was easier for me. I did not stop to ask how it would look to a person in my riding working a double shift.”
Cho plans to continue as the member of provincial parliament for Willowdale, a north Toronto riding.
Publicly available expense records show that some of Ford’s cabinet ministers and other caucus members who live in and near Toronto had been using a so-called special circumstances rule on Toronto hotel expenses since about 2023.
Cho did not rack up the largest bills, but his riding is much closer to Queen’s Park than the other top spenders.
Hardeep Grewal, who represents Brampton East, had more than $27,000 in Toronto hotel expenses since 2023. Nina Tangri, the associate minister of small business who represents Mississauga-Streetsville, billed nearly $19,000.
Charmaine Williams, the associate minister of women’s social and economic opportunity who represents Brampton Centre, expensed more than $15,000.
NDP Leader Marit Stiles wondered if Grewal, Tangri and Williams still have the premier’s confidence.
“Ford’s MPPs were caught with their hands in the taxpayers’ pockets, and it’s time for some real answers,” she wrote in a statement.
Interim Liberal leader John Fraser called Cho’s expenses “the tip of the iceberg.”
“The sense of entitlement starts at the top with the premier buying himself a luxury private jet, and it just trickles on down,” he wrote in a statement.
“Doug Ford needs to show us the receipts: who was where, when, and why. The public deserves to know.”
Ford called the spending “unacceptable” but did not directly answer questions about the other members of his caucus at an unrelated press conference Friday, except to say they will be reimbursing taxpayers.
“We have to be prudent fiscal managers,” he said. “Stan did the right thing, and he handed in his resignation as cabinet (minister), and it’s just unacceptable, and they’re paying back every single penny of it.”
The government has said it intends to eliminate the rule that let members who live within 50 kilometres of Queen’s Park expense those hotel stays in extenuating circumstances, such as snowstorms.
Opposition parties have said the rule itself was not the problem, rather it is that Progressive Conservative caucus members were abusing it.
Also on Friday, Minister of Sport Neil Lumsden announced that he is retiring from cabinet and the legislature on Aug. 4. That leaves Ford down a total of three cabinet ministers, after former Treasury Board president Caroline Mulroney resigned last month.
“Representing the people of Hamilton East-Stoney Creek has been an honour,” Lumsden wrote in a statement.
“Every day, I had the privilege of advocating for our community and bringing the voices of local families, individuals, businesses and community organizations to Queen’s Park.”
Ford thanked Lumsden, a former football player and manager in the Canadian Football League, for his service.
“Neil has been a dedicated public servant with a storied career during his time in the CFL, as a minister and as the MPP for Hamilton East-Stoney Creek,” he wrote.
“Ontario is lucky to have benefited from his leadership. I wish Neil and his family all the very best in his retirement.”
Lumsden was elected in 2022 and has served as minister of sport since then, including when it was combined with the tourism and culture portfolios until 2024.
Cho was elected in 2018 and has served as associate minister of transportation, and minister of long-term care, in addition to his current portfolio.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published July 17, 2026.
Allison Jones, The Canadian Press
