Ontario Premier Doug Ford stated that he was not informed about the Progressive Conservative Party’s expenditure to allegedly monitor former Liberal leader Bonnie Crombie in Jamaica in 2023 until Wednesday. Reports from The Trillium and POLICORNER revealed that the provincial party purportedly spent close to $3,000 in donor and taxpayer funds on two luxury resorts in Jamaica to observe Bonnie Crombie as part of opposition research. The sources for this information were anonymous individuals familiar with the plan.
The alleged surveillance occurred shortly after Crombie’s victory in the Liberal leadership race in December 2023 while she was vacationing in Jamaica for three days, as reported by The Trillium and POLICORNER. CBC News has not verified this information independently. However, in a statement on Thursday, the Ontario PC Party acknowledged conducting opposition research that involved traveling to Jamaica in December 2023.
During an unrelated press conference on Thursday, Ford disapproved of the alleged spying and mentioned that he discussed the matter with the party after learning about the claims on Wednesday. He clarified that the expenses were covered by party funds, which include taxpayer money due to the per-vote subsidy allocated to political parties in Ontario.
Ford emphasized that incidents like these are common in politics and compared the trip to media coverage of his visits to the U.S. When asked whether his lack of awareness absolved him of responsibility, Ford indicated that he relies on his team to oversee appropriate spending and implied that he does not monitor every campaign dollar closely. Regarding the continuation of such tactics, Ford expressed hope that they would not recur, emphasizing the importance of fair and balanced elections.
Bonnie Crombie declined to comment on the allegations but verified that she had vacationed in Jamaica after the leadership contest in 2023 and stayed at one of the hotels listed in the PC party’s 2023 financial statement. The financial document obtained by CBC News from the NDP showed expenses at the Ocean Eden Bay and the Royalton Negril Hotel, without specifying the nature or timing of these expenditures.
Opposition party leaders, such as NDP Leader Marit Stiles and interim Leader of the Ontario Liberals John Fraser, condemned the alleged surveillance as inappropriate and an abuse of power. They criticized Ford for allowing such actions and called for accountability within the party for authorizing the expenses related to monitoring a political opponent during a private vacation.