Skip to content
Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Youtube
Ontario chamber of commerce logo.
  • Advocacy
    • Campaign Trail & Advocacy Updates – 2025 Federal Election
    • Ontario Competes
    • Our Publications
    • Ontario Economic Report
    • Ontario’s Mining Future 2030
    • Artificial Intelligence Hub
    • Economic Reconciliation Initiative
    • Housing Affordability Initiative
    • Policy Brief Series
  • Councils
  • Events
    • Advocacy Day
    • Annual General Meeting
    • Ontario Business Achievement Awards
    • Ontario Business Advisory Council
    • Ontario Economic Summit
    • Smart Growth Symposium
    • Webinars
  • Programs
    • Seeding Digital Skills
    • Skills Bridge
    • Talent Opportunities Program
    • Export and Trade
  • Membership
    • Affinity Programs
  • News
    • Media Releases
    • Policy Updates
    • Blogs
  • About
    • Contact
    • Board of Directors
    • Staff
    • Employment
    • Strategic Plan
A magnifying glass icon on a white background.
x
x
  • Advocacy
    • Campaign Trail & Advocacy Updates – 2025 Federal Election
    • Ontario Competes
    • Our Publications
    • Ontario Economic Report
    • Ontario’s Mining Future 2030
    • Artificial Intelligence Hub
    • Economic Reconciliation Initiative
    • Housing Affordability Initiative
    • Policy Brief Series
  • Councils
  • Events
    • Advocacy Day
    • Annual General Meeting
    • Ontario Business Achievement Awards
    • Ontario Business Advisory Council
    • Ontario Economic Summit
    • Smart Growth Symposium
    • Webinars
  • Programs
    • Seeding Digital Skills
    • Skills Bridge
    • Talent Opportunities Program
    • Export and Trade
  • Membership
    • Affinity Programs
  • News
    • Media Releases
    • Policy Updates
    • Blogs
  • About
    • Contact
    • Board of Directors
    • Staff
    • Employment
    • Strategic Plan
A man is riding a bike on a hill.

Chamber: Ontario’s 2023 Budget Must Focus on Growth-Enabling Investments

COVID-19 Information Tariff Resources
Navigating U.S. Tariffs
Become a Member
Become a Member >
Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Youtube

Media Release

Chamber: Ontario’s 2023 Budget Must Focus on Growth-Enabling Investments

March 16, 2023

Toronto – March 16, 2023) – According to the Ontario Chamber of Commerce’s (OCC) Ontario Economic Report (OER), Ontario business confidence has dropped to a record low in 2023. Labour shortages, inflation, health care system vulnerabilities, and fears of a potential economic contraction are dampening confidence in the province’s economic outlook. To address these issues, the OCC’s 2023 Provincial Budget Submission provides recommendations to foster an environment that supports long-term, sustainable economic growth.

“We know from the OCC’s 2023 OER that many small businesses would like to see public policies that support their immediate financial and operational needs, while large businesses are more interested in broader workforce development and health care challenges,” said Rocco Rossi, President and CEO, OCC. “What we are looking for in Budget 2023 are measures that support greater productivity and long-term, sustainable economic growth. That means we want to see the government continue to prioritize growth-enabling investments to address labour shortages, the health care crisis, and infrastructure deficits, and modernize regulations and government services in the year ahead.”

OCC’s 2023 Provincial Budget Submission provides recommendations to the Government of Ontario under the following categories: Sustainable Growth, Complete Communities, and Modernization. Some key proposals include:

  • Fostering an inclusive workforce and addressing labour market challenges by supporting innovative training and education models, boosting immigration, making regional immigration pilots permanent, continuing to remove barriers to labour mobility and foreign credential recognition, and adopting supplier diversity programs to create opportunities for entrepreneurs and businesses that support diversity and inclusion.
  • Strengthening health system capacity and resilience by continuing to tackle the health human resources crisis, combating growing rates of mental health and addictions challenges, supporting the aging population, and continuing to address the backlog of surgeries and routine immunizations, as well as deferred cancer treatments, diagnostics, and procedures.
  • Investing in growth-enabling infrastructure by continuing to accelerate broadband rollout across the province, building affordable housing and complete communities, expanding regional transportation connectivity, and investing in energy generation, transmission, and distribution infrastructure to support long-term growth and resiliency.
  • Modernizing government services and regulations by building an integrated health data system, bolstering interprovincial trade, improving supply chain infrastructure and public sector procurement processes, and lowering administrative burdens on business.

“A sustainable and predictable path forward will help restore business confidence, attract investments, and make Ontario more competitive on the global stage,” added Rossi. “With higher interest rates, governments should maintain fiscal prudence. However, as the province has locked in low long-term rates, the cost of servicing the province’s public debt should not grow significantly as a portion of the budget. Eliminating the debt need not take priority over growth-enabling investments.”

The recommendations outlined in the OCC’s budget submission were developed with businesses, associations, post-secondary institutions, and chambers of commerce and boards of trade from across the province.

READ THE OCC’S BUDGET SUBMISSION HERE.

About the Ontario Chamber of Commerce

The Ontario Chamber of Commerce (OCC) is the indispensable partner of business and Canada’s largest, most influential provincial chamber. It is an independent, not-for-profit advocacy and member services organization representing a diverse network of 60,000 members. The OCC’s mission is to convene, align and advance the interests of its members through principled policy work, value-added business services and broad engagement to drive competitiveness and economic growth in the province.

For more information, please contact:
Andrea Carmona
Manager, Public Affairs,
Ontario Chamber of Commerce
andreacarmona@occ.ca | Mobile: (647) 234-0255

 

Previous

Chamber: Ontario’s 2023 Budget Supports Greater Productivity and Workforce Development

Next

Tackling the She-Covery Critical to Canada’s Growth

Follow Us

Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Youtube

Site Nav

  • Advocacy
  • Events
  • Programs
  • Membership
  • News
  • About
  • Contact

Receive Updates

Subscribe to our mailing list and stay up to date on everything with the Ontario Chamber of Commerce

Subscribe Now
PREMIER MEMBERS
A purple and green logo on a black background. Atkins reals logo on a white background. A green logo on a black background. A teal color with a white background. A blue and green logo with a cross in the middle. A blue bell logo on a white background. Rbc bank of canada logo. A blue and white logo with a black background. A blue and gray logo with a blue and gray background. Chambers of commerce group insurance plan logo. Rr america logo on a black background. The cn logo on a black background. Canadian fuels association logo. A logo with a red, orange, and yellow background. Mccarthy tetrault logo on an orange background. The meridian logo on a black background. A black and white photo of a man and a woman. A blue and red logo with the word mcdonald's. Bruce power innovation at work logo. The logo for the ontario medical association. The power corporation of canada logo. The lily logo on a black background. Fresh intelligence logo on a black background. A colorful logo with the word mcdonald's on it. A black and yellow logo with a yellow arrow. Waste Connections of Canada A blue logo with the word cogeco on it. A blue and orange logo with the number 5 on it. The canadian maple leaf logo on a black background. A logo with an orange and black background. Imperial Oil logo A logo with a red and gray background. GSK's logo The university of cleveland college of business and economics logo. The logo for luna feel the power. A red and black logo on a black background. Tln media group logo. 404 etr express rail route logo. The logo for astrezeca. Biomarin logo on a black background. The logo for the board of canadian registered safety professionals. A green, blue, and yellow logo. A blue and white logo with a blue background. Magna logo on a black background. Pfizer logo Servicenow logo on a black background. Canada life logo on a black background. Northbridge insurance logo on a black background. A green logo with the word mnp. Tc energy logo on a white background. Destination northern ontario logo. The interac logo with a hand on it. A thin red line on a black background. The cadillac fairview logo. Meta logo. Beer canada logo on a white background. Cibc logo with a canadian maple leaf. The logo for port montreal. The federation of rental housing providers of ontario logo. The logo for bennett jones. Kpmg logo on a white background. Agnico eagle logo. The logo for colleges colleges ontario. Leger 360

Ontario Chamber of Commerce © 2025 | Privacy Policy | Service Standard | Employment Opportunities
The OCC is an accredited chamber of commerce