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OntarioPassed44th Parliament, 1st Session

Bill 72 explained in plain English

Buy Ontario Act, 2025

Ontario legislature bill summary, status, timeline, sponsor, votes, and official sources.

At a glance

Jurisdiction
Ontario Legislature
Legislature / Parliament
Legislative Assembly of Ontario
Session
44th Parliament, 1st Session
Bill number
Bill 72
Full title
Buy Ontario Act, 2025
Current status
Passed
Latest event
Royal Assent received
Last updated
Dec 11, 2025

Official Legislative Assembly of Ontario snapshot for 44th Parliament, 1st Session. Representative vote breakdowns appear when the Assembly publishes an Ayes and Nays page for the bill.

Chamber
Legislative Assembly of Ontario
Current Stage
Royal Assent received
Latest Activity
Dec 11, 2025
Plain-language explanation
In plain English (our explanation)

Our plain-language take, written for civic education.

Source: By PoliticalData.ca

AI-assisted, reviewed before publishing
Short Version

Bill 72 enacts the Buy Ontario Act to prioritize Ontario goods and services in public procurement, repeals a previous initiative act, and amends traffic and legislative acts.

What It Means

This bill enacts the Buy Ontario Act (Public Sector Procurement), 2025, which establishes rules for how the Ontario government and certain other public organizations buy goods and services. It aims to support Ontario businesses and workers and build a stronger provincial economy. The bill also repeals the Building Ontario Businesses Initiative Act, 2022, makes changes to the Highway Traffic Act regarding the installation of signs in school and community safety zones, and amends the Legislation Act, 2006, to ensure certain provisions of the Protecting Condominium Owners Act, 2015, do not automatically expire.

What This Bill Does
  • Enacts the Buy Ontario Act (Public Sector Procurement), 2025.
  • Authorizes the Management Board of Cabinet to issue directives on public sector procurement policies and standards.
  • Allows directives to prioritize Ontario or Canadian made goods and services.
  • Repeals the Building Ontario Businesses Initiative Act, 2022.
  • Amends the Highway Traffic Act to allow the Minister to direct municipalities to install signs in community safety zones and to make regulations about flashing amber signals.
  • Amends the Legislation Act, 2006, to prevent certain provisions of the Protecting Condominium Owners Act, 2015, from being repealed on December 31, 2025.
Who Is Affected
  • Ontario government ministries and agencies (public sector entities)
  • Broader public sector organizations in Ontario
  • Supply chain managers contracting with public sector entities
  • Municipalities (regarding traffic signs)
  • Contractors and vendors doing business with the Ontario public sector
  • Ontarians who use public services
  • Businesses in Ontario
Rights, Duties, Or Obligations
  • Public sector entities may be required to give preference to Ontario or Canadian goods and services.
  • Public sector entities must ensure their supply chain managers comply with the Act's requirements.
  • Municipalities may be directed to install traffic signs in or near school zones.
  • The Minister may direct corrective actions if a public sector entity fails to comply with directives.
Important Dates
  • The Buy Ontario Act, 2025, and amendments to the Highway Traffic Act (Schedule 2) came into force on the day it received Royal Assent (December 11, 2025).
  • The repeal of the Building Ontario Businesses Initiative Act, 2022, comes into force on a day to be named by order of the Lieutenant Governor in Council.
  • Amendments to the Legislation Act, 2006 (Schedule 3), have two commencement dates: most provisions came into force on the day the Buy Ontario Act, 2025, received Royal Assent, while a specific subsection comes into force on January 1, 2027.
Financial Or Tax Impacts
  • The Management Board of Cabinet may direct that funds be withheld from designated broader public sector organizations or prescribed public sector entities if they fail to comply with the Act.
Enforcement Or Penalties
  • The Minister can require reviews of public sector entities' compliance.
  • If a municipality does not comply with a directive to install signs, the Minister may enter the municipality's highway and carry out the installation.
  • Funds may be withheld from non-compliant organizations.
  • Corrective actions can be directed by the Minister.
Uncertainties Or Limits
  • The specific details of 'procurement policies, procedures or standards' that public sector entities must comply with will be determined by directives from the Management Board of Cabinet.
  • The exact entities that will be prescribed as 'public sector entities' will be determined by future regulations.
  • The date for the repeal of the Building Ontario Businesses Initiative Act, 2022, is not yet specified.
Laws Or Regulations Affected
Buy Ontario Act (Public Sector Procurement), 2025
enacted

Establishes a framework for public sector procurement to support Ontario businesses and the economy.

Source: Schedule 1

Building Ontario Businesses Initiative Act, 2022
repealed

This Act is no longer in force.

Source: Section 13

Highway Traffic Act
amended

Allows the Minister to direct municipalities to install signs in or near school zones and permits regulations for flashing amber signals in school and community safety zones. It also adjusts the wording related to the location of school zones for sign installation.

Source: Schedule 2

Legislation Act, 2006
amended

Prevents specific provisions within Schedule 1 of the Protecting Condominium Owners Act, 2015, from being automatically repealed on December 31, 2025.

Source: Schedule 3

Protecting Condominium Owners Act, 2015
amended

Certain provisions in Schedule 1 of this Act will not be repealed on December 31, 2025, due to changes made by the Legislation Act, 2006.

Source: Schedule 3

Generated using AI from official bill text. Not legal advice. It is written by PoliticalData.ca for civic education, automatically checked and spot-reviewed before publishing.

Official text

Process Snapshot

Step 1
First reading
Nov 20, 2025
Step 2
Second reading
Dec 8, 2025
Step 3
Committee review
Not reached yet
Step 4
Third reading
Dec 8, 2025
Step 5
Royal assent
Dec 11, 2025

Vote Summary

No published recorded division

This bill does not have a published recorded division in the current official sources, so representative-by-representative vote counts are not shown.

Sponsor
Stephen Crawford
Progressive Conservative Party of Ontario | Oakville
Jurisdiction
Ontario Legislature

No published representative vote breakdown

The current official sources do not publish a recorded division breakdown for this bill, so there is no representative-by-representative table to show.

Official sources

Status, sponsor, votes, and timeline on this page are drawn from these official legislative sources and public records. Each summary above is attributed to its own source.

How this data is sourced