Ontario Premier Doug Ford stated that he only became aware on Wednesday of his Progressive Conservative Party’s expenditure on allegedly surveilling former Liberal leader Bonnie Crombie during a trip to Jamaica in 2023.
Reports from The Trillium and POLICORNER on Thursday indicated that the provincial party supposedly allocated almost $3,000 in donor and taxpayer funds on two luxurious resorts in Jamaica “to observe” Bonnie Crombie as part of its opposition research efforts. The claims were attributed to anonymous sources acquainted with the initiative.
The alleged surveillance reportedly occurred six days after Crombie secured the Liberal leadership in December 2023, while she was enjoying a three-day holiday in Jamaica, according to The Trillium and POLICORNER.
CBC News has not verified the findings from The Trillium and POLICORNER independently.
Nonetheless, in a statement released on Thursday, the Ontario PC Party acknowledged, “Like other political parties, the Ontario PC Party carries out opposition research. In this instance, that research involved travel to Jamaica in December 2023.”
During an unrelated press conference on Thursday, Ford expressed disapproval of the alleged surveillance and mentioned that he had discussions with the party after learning of the claims on Wednesday.
Ford clarified that party funds were used for the expenses. Political parties in Ontario receive funding based on the number of votes they receive, meaning that party budgets are partially composed of taxpayer money.
“Things happen” in the realm of politics, Ford remarked, suggesting that the trip was “no different” from media members following him during visits to the United States.
Bonnie Crombie, the former Liberal leader, did not respond to the allegations but confirmed to CBC News that she vacationed in Jamaica in December 2023 and stayed at one of the hotels mentioned in the PC party’s 2023 financial records. (Patrick Morrell/CBC News)
When questioned about whether his lack of awareness of the incident absolved him from any responsibility, Ford stated that he trusts his team to ensure proper spending of funds.
“I don’t oversee every single dollar while I am in the midst of a campaign,” he explained.
Ford was also queried about the potential continuation of such tactics, to which he responded, “I hope not.”
“Let’s just aim for fair and balanced elections,” he added. “Things can happen during elections.”
Crombie declined to comment at this moment but confirmed to CBC News that she did vacation in Jamaica following the 2023 leadership race and resided at the Ocean Eden Bay resort.
CBC News acquired a copy of the PC Party’s 2023 annual financial report from the NDP, revealing office and administrative costs of $1,000.05 at the Ocean Eden Bay and $1,971.67 at the Royalton Negril Hotel, another Jamaican resort.
The report did not specify when these expenses occurred, the duration of the stay, or who incurred them. Additionally, there were no details regarding the purpose of the spending at the Royalton Negril Hotel.
‘Heads need to roll’: opposition party leaders
In a statement on social media platform X, NDP Leader Marit Stiles described the alleged spying as “disgusting” and asserted that Ford should not be permitted to “shrug it off.”
“Surveilling a woman who is your political opponent during her private vacation is a creepy, Trump-style tactic that has no place here,” she stated.
Stiles emphasized that someone within the party must have authorized the expenditure, and that Ford would know exactly who that is.
“Heads need to roll,” she declared.
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John Fraser, interim Leader of the Ontario Liberals, urged Ford to clarify why someone was allegedly dispatched to follow Crombie in Jamaica and to identify those involved.
“This isn’t politics. This is creepy, disturbing behavior and a complete misuse of power,” Fraser asserted.
He characterized the use of donor and taxpayer funds to monitor an opponent as “extraordinary abuse of public money.”
Fraser added, “It raises serious concerns about how far Doug Ford is willing to go to target his political adversaries and whether such actions have occurred previously.”