Highlights from Ontario’s 2025 fall economic outlook

Ontario Minister of Finance Peter Bethlenfalvy released the province’s 2025 economic outlook and fiscal review on November 6, 2025.

Titled A Plan to Protect Ontario, this year’s economic outlook and fiscal review aims to make Ontario the most competitive place in the G7 to invest, create jobs and do business: by cutting red tape, investing in infrastructure, supporting workers, improving services, and making life more affordable.

No personal or corporate income tax rate changes were announced.

Highlights of new tax measures include the following:

Business tax measures

Implementing 2025 Budget tax measures

The government included proposed amendments to the Taxation Act, 2007 to implement certain measures announced in the 2025 Budget. Refer to our 2025 Ontario Budget Highlights for complete details.

Key measures include enhancements of the Ontario Made Manufacturing Investment Tax Credit (OMMITC) and implementation of the Ontario Shortline Railway Investment Tax Credit (OSRITC).

OMMITC Enhancements

These measures provide a temporary enhancement to the OMMITC which will increase the refundable tax credit for qualifying Canadian-controlled private corporations (CCPCs) from 10 percent to 15 percent and allow a 15 percent non-refundable tax credit to non-CCPCs operating in Ontario. Both measures apply to eligible investments made on or after May 15, 2025, and before January 1, 2030.

Implementation of OSRITC

This is a new temporary 50 percent refundable tax credit for capital and labour expenditures made on railway-related maintenance and improvement in Ontario. This tax credit would provide up to $8,500 per track mile annually to support improvements in railway infrastructure leased or owned by a qualifying corporation, for eligible investments and expenditures made on or after May 15, 2025, and before January 1, 2030. A Ministry of Transportation certification process will be required before submitting claims to the Canada Revenue Agency.

Increased flexibility for machinery and equipment expenditures

The government is also proposing an amendment to improve the usability of the OMMITC for machinery and equipment (M&E) investments.

M&E expenditures currently must be incurred, and the asset must become “available for use” in the same taxation year to qualify. The proposed amendment would allow M&E expenditures to be eligible if incurred in the taxation year immediately preceding the year the asset becomes available for use. This change would apply to expenditures incurred on or after March 23, 2023, and would benefit both refundable and non-refundable OMMITC claimants.

Indirect tax measures

HST relief for first-time home buyers on new homes

In response to the federal First Time Homebuyers’ GST Rebate announced in May 2025, Ontario proposes to introduce a matching provincial rebate, in addition to the existing Ontario HST New Housing Rebate. Combined with the existing rebate, the new Ontario rebate would provide relief of the full 8 percent provincial HST on qualifying new homes valued up to $1 million for first-time home buyers. For new homes valued between $1 million and $1.5 million, the rebate would gradually decrease, following the federal reduction. However, for new homes over $1 million, the total provincial relief from the combined rebates would not fall below what is currently provided under the Ontario HST New Housing Rebate, ensuring eligible buyers continue to receive at least $24,000 in provincial relief.

Eligibility for the new Ontario rebate would align with the federal rules and its implementation depends on the passage of federal legislation and related regulatory changes.

For additional details regarding the eligibility criteria and other details regarding the federal GST rebate for first-time home buyers, please see our tax insight here.

Other tax measures

Attracting foreign industrial investment to Ontario

The government proposes to amend a regulation under the Land Transfer Tax Act related to the Non-Resident Speculation Tax (NRST) to introduce a new NRST rebate. The rebate would provide relief for the purchase of residential properties that are repurposed for industrial use.

To qualify, the property must be reclassified within four years of the property purchase into one of the following property classes under the Assessment Act:

• Industrial
• Large Industrial
• Aggregate Extraction

The rebate would apply to property conveyances on or after November 6, 2025.

Development of Ontario’s Tax Action Plan

The government announced its intention to develop the Ontario Tax Action Plan. This will focus on updating Ontario’s personal and corporation income taxes to ensure they attract more business investment, improve overall competitiveness, and lower costs for individuals.

An update on the Tax Action Plan will be provided in the 2026 Ontario budget.

Establishing a beneficial ownership registry

The government is proposing amendments to the Corporations Information Act to create a Beneficial Ownership Registry for privately held corporations, planned for implementation in 2027.

Currently, under the Business Corporations Act, privately held corporations must collect and maintain information about individuals with significant control, including:

• Name and date of birth
• Latest known address
• Tax residency
• Dates when the individual gained or ceased significant control
• Description of how the individual exercises control
• Any other prescribed information

At present, law enforcement, tax authorities, and certain regulatory bodies can only access this information by requesting it from the corporation. The proposed amendments would enable corporations to file this information through an online registry, improving access to various authorities. Access levels and implementation details will be defined in future legislation and regulations.

Technical amendments

The province announced several technical amendments generally aimed at improving administrative effectiveness and enforcement, maintaining the integrity of the tax and revenue collections system, and enhancing legislative clarity.

Among these measures, additional proposed legislative amendments include:

• Amendments to the Employer Health Tax Act to provide a specific time frame for employers who cease to have a permanent establishment in Ontario, due to an amalgamation, to file their returns.
• Amendments to the Education Act and Assessment Act to support and simplify property tax administration.
• Amendments to the Taxation Act, 2007 to:
  • Clarify how the occupancy cost under the Ontario Energy and Property Tax Credit is to be calculated for land-lease homes and similar arrangements where the ownership of the residential structure is separate from the ownership of the land on which the residential structure is located;
  • Clarify how dollar amounts related to the Ontario Trillium Benefit and the Ontario Child Benefit are adjusted each year based on the Consumer Price Index for Ontario; and
  • Change the amount “0.6987” in the formula for the Small Beer Manufacturers’ Tax Credit to “0.6986” to properly align with the Liquor Tax Act, 1996.

More details and highlights of the 2025 Economic Outlook and Fiscal Review are available here.