The Ford government<\/a> is in the midst of a large-scale advertising campaign, filling both radio and television with commercials that all end with the phrase, \u201cProtect Ontario\u201d \u2014 a nod to the Progressive Conservatives\u2019 election slogan.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n But how many different commercials the government is currently running and how much they\u2019re costing taxpayers is unclear.<\/p>\n Questions from Global News to the premier\u2019s office asking for a full list of different campaigns, and how much each is budgeted for, have gone unanswered.<\/p>\n Among the campaigns already in circulation is one promoting the government\u2019s vision to develop the mineral-rich Ring of Fire, another touting its plans to build small nuclear reactors and a separate slot broadly discussing building<\/a>.<\/p>\n There appear to be so many commercials that some think the government could be on course to blast past its commercial budget last year \u2014 which was the highest in provincial history.<\/p>\n Story continues below advertisement<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n \u201cIt does seem like the path to an even higher ad spend is on track,\u201d Ontario Liberal finance critic Stephanie Bowman told Global News. \u201cIt really shows to me they are just pretending to protect Ontario.\u201d<\/p>\n Get daily Canada news delivered to your inbox so you’ll never miss the day’s top stories.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n Auditor General Shelley Spence\u2019s annual review of advertising found that in the fiscal year ending in March 2025, the province spent $111.9 million on advertising \u2014 $8.4 million more than the year before, which had already set a record.<\/p>\n The largest campaigns run by the government over that period were its U.S. partnership commercial ads, which ran across major American networks, and a continuation of the \u201cIt\u2019s Happening Here\u201d commercial domestically.<\/p>\n Bowman said the spending was hard to justify in a year when the government ran a $13.8 billion deficit \u2014 an increase of more than 75 per cent on the year before.<\/p>\n \u201cThis is just one more example of the taxpayers of Ontario footing the bill for this government to pat itself on the back,\u201d Bowman added.<\/p>\n Premier Doug Ford has defended his government\u2019s advertising campaign, saying it is important people understand how their money is being spent.<\/p>\n \n\t\t\t![\"Get](\"https:\/\/globalnews.ca\/wp-content\/themes\/shaw-globalnews\/images\/skyline\/national.jpg\")
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