A majority of Ontarians oppose the Ford government’s freedom of information crackdown, according to a new poll, as the province prepares to shield political leaders and their staff from scrutiny.

Research conducted by Abacus Data on behalf of the Canadian Union of Public Employees found just 24 per cent of those asked support the new changes, while 60 per cent are against them.

As part of its budget, the government will bring in retroactive changes to exclude the premier, cabinet ministers, parliamentary assistants and their staff from transparency and privacy oversight entirely.

The polling found that not only do 60 per cent of those polled oppose the move, but only 32 per cent of Progressive Conservative voters are in favour.

Opposition grows stronger when the retroactive nature of the move is added to the question. Seventy-three per cent of those polled said they oppose the move, compared to just 13 per cent in favour. Fifteen per cent were unsure.

The retroactive nature of the plan will likely nullify a legal defeat Premier Doug Ford suffered over his personal phone.

Both the Information and Privacy Commissioner and a panel of three judges sided with Global News in a years-long battle to get access to the government calls Ford makes on his personal device.

After losing in court, the government said it would bring forward a law to essentially void the defeat.

The Abacus poll found 63 per cent of those polled said Progressive Conservative MPPs should vote against the freedom of information changes. That included 53 per cent of Progressive Conservative voters who felt the same way.

Ford said CUPE, which commissioned the goal, “hates” him and suggested the findings were biased. He said only the media and his opponents care about the freedom of information changes.

Ontario NPD Leader Marit Stiles suggested the poll’s findings show interest is more widespread than the premier believes.

“He says nobody cares about the FOI laws and the fact that his government is trying to wrap everything in a cloak of secrecy, but actually it turns out that many more people do,” she told reporters.

As pressure on his transparency changes has increased, Ford has turned on the Information and Privacy Commissioner, accusing her of “politicizing” the issue by saying the government’s changes will make Ontario less secure and less transparent than other parts of the country.

“I’ve never seen a privacy commissioner go out and do media; it’s very politically driven, in my opinion,” he told reporters. “It’s very unfortunate we have a privacy commissioner that wants to politicize this.”

The minister in charge of the changes, Stephen Crawford, also suggested the independent watchdog — appointed by the legislature in 2025 — shouldn’t be taken too seriously.

“In terms of the IPC, the privacy commissioner, I mean, her word is not gospel,” he said in a brief interview with Global News.

“As you’re probably aware, she lost a case in court in 2024 when she basically challenged the government on cabinet confidentiality, so I wouldn’t place too much emphasis on her words.”

The IPC itself released a statement on Tuesday, underlining Commissioner Patricia Kosseim’s independence and saying her feedback was to ensure good governance.

“Her comments on this latest legislative proposal to amend FIPPA are based on the IPC’s expert knowledge and experience in administering this law for nearly 40 years, and the potential impact of these proposed changes on the rights of all Ontarians,” the statement said.

“The Commissioner’s focus remains on the content of the proposed amendments and their real-world impact. These are matters of public interest, regardless of political affiliation.”

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