Ontario cabinet minister resigns in hotel expense saga

Ontario Premier Doug Ford is losing two cabinet ministers, as one resigns amid criticism for expensing hotel stays in Toronto despite living in the city and a second announces his retirement.

Ford says in a statement today that Stan Cho, who had been serving as minister of tourism, culture and gaming, has resigned from cabinet, effective immediately.

Cho plans to continue as the member of provincial parliament for Willowdale, a north Toronto riding.

Publicly available expense records show that some of Ford’s cabinet ministers and other caucus members who live in and near Toronto had been using a so-called special circumstances rule on Toronto hotel expenses since about 2023.

Cho did not rack up the largest bills, but his riding is much closer to Queen’s Park than the other top spenders.

Ford also says Minister of Sport Neil Lumsden has announced that he is retiring from cabinet and the legislature on Aug. 4.

By Allison Jones