Ontario Premier Doug Ford is facing questions after a report alleged that his Progressive Conservative party spent thousands of dollars to follow former Liberal leader Bonnie Crombie to Jamaica and spy on her while she was on vacation. Ford responded to the allegations on Wednesday, distancing himself from the arrangement while acknowledging that party money had been involved.
The report was published by the online outlets The Trillium and Polycorner, which alleged that the party spent money to track Crombie during her time in Jamaica. The claim centres on how the party used its funds to keep tabs on the movements of the then Liberal leader during a personal trip abroad.
Asked directly about the spending, Ford did not defend the decision. He said he did not approve of it, remarking that he was not there, before confirming that the sum in question amounted to about $3,000 of the party's money.
The public broadcaster said it had not independently confirmed the reporting. However, it pointed to the party's own records, noting that Progressive Conservative expenses from 2023 list two Jamaican hotels among the party's outlays for that year.
According to those expense records, the party paid for stays at two properties in Jamaica. One was the Ocean Eden Bay, listed for just over $1,000, and the other was the Royalton Negril, which cost almost $2,000, together accounting for the roughly $3,000 figure Ford referenced.
Notably, the two hotel charges were not filed under travel in the party's books. Instead, the expenses were recorded under a category described as other office and administration, a detail that has drawn attention as the story unfolds.
For her part, Bonnie Crombie confirmed the trip took place shortly after she won the Liberal leadership, placing the vacation in the period just after she had taken over as head of the party. The episode has now put the spending, and the way it was logged, at the centre of a growing political controversy at Queen's Park.