Would Bonnie Crombie reinstate licence plate registration fees? The answer depends on the day

Ontario Liberal Leader Bonnie Crombie offered two competing answers on whether or not the party would revive the provincial licence plate registration fee if she becomes premier after the next election: at first stating she “would look at it” before reversing course one week later.

In a one-on-one interview with Global News, ahead of a planned provincial tour serving as a dry-run for an election campaign, Crombie criticized the Ford government’s runaway spending and questioned the premier’s priorities.

“They’ve decreased the fiscal capacity in this government,” Crombie told Global News. “The highest spending budget at $214 billion, increased debt, increased deficit. We don’t know where the money is going. It’s certainly not going where it’s needed.”

Crombie pointed to government policies such as spending $225 million to fast-track the end of the contract with The Beer Store to accelerate booze in corner stores, as an example of a “gimmick” that comes at the cost of program spending.

“They’re these little gimmicks, such as canceling the licence plate stickers,” Crombie said. “If you knew that also cost $1 billion a year, would you not rather pay the $200, knowing that that money would have gone to the health-care system or schools for your children, or build affordable housing?”

The annual $120 licence plate renewal fee, which brought $1.1 billion into the provincial coffers each year, was scrapped by Premier Doug Ford ahead of the 2022 general election as a measure to ease affordability concerns among voters.

Asked if the Liberals would bring the sticker fees back if they formed government, Crombie said: “We would look at it, certainly.”

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“That’s a billion dollars of revenue,” Crombie said. “I know that they would prefer that billion dollars going into their health care, going into building affordable housing, or going into our education system.”

Roughly a week after the interview took place, as Global News was preparing to publish a story, a spokesperson for the provincial party sent a statement from Crombie looking to clarify her earlier comments on reinstating the license plate sticker fee.

“Let me be clear — when I say I will “look into” the licence plate sticker issue, I mean that as Premier I will look into all of Ford’s gimmicks and backroom deals to make sure they are providing a value for money for consumers,” Crombie said.

“Would I bring back an unnecessary fee on families who are struggling to make ends meet right now? No,” Crombie said.

Crombie’s prompt backtrack follows a familiar pattern that began on the day she announced her bid for the Ontario Liberal leadership.

The former Mayor of Mississauga faced criticism from other Liberals after she suggested protected Greenbelt land could be swapped out for land on the fringes of towns and cities if municipalities made an official request. Crombie was forced to clarify that she was “100 per cent committed” to the Greenbelt.

Crombie then faced further party criticism after asserting that she wanted to move the Ontario Liberals to the centre-right which she called the “secret sauce” to forming government. Crombie later claimed she misspoke after receiving backlash over the comments.

After becoming leader, Crombie refused to take a position on the federal carbon tax before eventually ruling out a consumer price on carbon entirely.

Crombie’s record of backtracking stands in contrast to how she presents herself to the public: as a clear alternative to Premier Doug Ford, a bombastic politician with a reputation for rushing into policy before reversing course when faced with public backlash.

Ford faced more than a year of scathing criticism after his government decided to open up 7,400 acres of protected Greenbelt land for housing development. The premier eventually apologized and walked back the decision after facing public and political pressure.

Crombie has consistently accused Ford of “driving in reverse,” a point she reiterated to Global News when talking about the possibility of an early election in Ontario.

“It’s interesting that he’s thinking about going to an early election because he has a majority government and can literally pass any piece of legislation or reversal of his legislation that he would like to,” Crombie said.

Despite the Liberal leader’s latest backtrack, a spokesperson for Ontario Premier Doug Ford said even considering reviving the licence plate fee was a sign that Crombie would spend recklessly if she were to become premier.

“Bonnie Crombie will cost the people of Ontario,” they said.

“She raised property taxes every single year she was mayor. She wants to hike taxes and fees on beer and wine. Now she wants to do the same to Ontario drivers by increasing the gas tax, bringing back road tolls and charging people to renew their licence plate, all while keeping drivers stuck in gridlock by opposing Highway 413.”

The language aligns with attack ads the Progressive Conservatives have been playing widely across the province, working to frame the new Liberal leader as financially imprudent.

Ford, however, has faced criticism for his own overspending.

Public salary records show Ford has the most staff earning more than $100,000 per year of any premier in provincial history, while a cabinet reshuffle at the beginning of June also gave Ford the largest cabinet in history.