The Ford government is ending its spring session two days early and embarking on an extended 21-week break, saying it doesn’t want the legislature to be in session during municipal elections this fall.
Government House Leader Steve Clark confirmed politicians won’t return to Queen’s Park until Oct. 27, suggesting he was worried returning earlier could “interfere” with local mayoral races around the province.
The 21-week summer break comes after just over seven weeks of legislative sittings and a 14-week winter break.
At the same time, Premier Doug Ford’s sporadic attendance at question period is also being scrutinized by the opposition, who argue Ford is actively evading accountability by shortening the sitting periods and skipping MPP queries.
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The spring 2026 session of the legislature — which was scheduled to return just after Family Day — was delayed until late-March after Government House Leader Steve Clark argued the Progressive Conservatives needed to “consult our communities” before returning with new legislation.
Then, over the course of three months, MPPs were given three constituency breaks — once again after the government changed the legislative calendar.
In total, MPPs have spent 30 days inside the Ontario legislature proposing, debating and passing legislation. While the house was set to rise on June 4, the government decided to wrap up business two days early.
By contrast, the House of Commons has sat for 55 days and isn’t scheduled to rise for another three weeks.
“Less than a month and here’s what the premier had time for: buying a luxury private jet; hiding his phone records; cutting OSAP; making a mess of our books and throwing taxpayers to the wolves,” NDP Leader Marit Stiles said during question period.
Finance Minister Peter Behtlenfalvy countered that the government has overseen $12 billion in tax cuts since it took office in 2019 and chided the opposition for not voting in favour of his record $244 billion budget.
Critics said the government was using the calendar to run away from accountability.
Both Clark and Ford have argued that the breaks are important for members to return to their ridings for local work and point out that committees will still sit over the summer.
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