Hour 1 of Ottawa Now for Thurs. May 15th, 2025

Within a matter of hours, the 2025 Ontario Budget will be delivered by Finance Minister Peter Bethlenfalvy, as Queen’s Park ramps up operations before the Summer Break. When the Doug Ford government tabled its Fall Economic Statement last year, it projected a relatively small deficit of $1.5 billion for 2025-2026, and a small surplus of $900 million in 2026-2027. What points of discussion should be prioritized, and does that differ from what Ontarians are expecting? Kristy Cameron digs deeper with Mahmood Nanji, a former Associate Deputy Minister at Ontario’s Finance Ministry. Plus, as OC Transpo follows through with a recent ‘route optimization’, music teacher Saira Lyons is facing a very difficult choice. She explains further in Hour 1.