The Ford government’s push to make Ontario a “manufacturing powerhouse” appears to be faltering, according to the latest data from the province’s budget watchdog, which found manufacturing activity is at its “lowest level since 2015.”

The Financial Accountability Officer’s (FAO) latest economic review found that manufacturing – which represents about 10 per cent of the province’s economy – has faced a number of challenges, including pandemic-related shutdowns, supply-chain disruptions, shipping issues, auto plant retooling, slowing demand, and, most recently U.S. tariffs on Ontario’s exports.

The result, the watchdog found, was a decline in manufacturing output in seven of the past eight quarters between mid-2023 to mid-2025, leading to 20,600 fewer jobs, representing a declining share o

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