The Ford government’s $28.9-million private jet has been sold back to Bombardier
Farewell to the briefly distracting and very expensive gravy plane
Following public outrage, Premier Doug Ford has made good on his promise to sell the Bombardier Challenger 650 plane, which the provincial government purchased for $28.9 million, intended for the premier’s private use.
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“The people don’t want it. That’s fine with me. I don’t mind the scrutiny. I make mistakes. Every premier makes mistakes. And when I get the calls, I listen to the people,” Ford told reporters.
Just a few days after news broke regarding the private jet purchase, Ford said the government would put it back on the market.
At an unrelated media conference today, according to CBC, Ford said the sale was now complete. “We sold the plane for the same price, right back to Bombardier,” he explained. “We gave it back to Bombardier at the exact same price, no one lost anything.” Many had expressed concern that the value would depreciate, causing the government to take a loss on a taxpayer-funded transaction.
In a statement, provincial NDP leader Marit Stiles said questions remain. “Families are being told to tighten their belts, while this government wastes millions behind closed doors. Every dollar lost on this deal is a dollar that could have gone to hiring nurses, building homes, or helping people afford groceries,” she said.
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Carly Lewis is a journalist whose work has appeared in the New York Times and the New York Times Magazine, Vanity Fair, Wired, Interview Magazine, Pitchfork, Elle, and Maclean’s, where she is a contributing editor. Her work has been recognized by the National Magazine Awards and the Digital Publishing Awards. She reports on city life, culture—including what people do online—politics, art and crime. She received the Dave Greber Freelance Writers Award for “The Murder of Ashley Wadsworth,” an investigative feature about a Canadian teenager who was killed by a man she met on social media, published by Maclean’s.
