Will Brampton politicians resign over $40K hotel expenses?

Opposition members are calling for the resignation of two Brampton politicians after learning they spent more than $42,000 on Toronto hotels despite living 45 minutes away.

News broke last week that some of Ontario Premier Doug Ford’s cabinet ministers and other caucus members who live in and around Toronto had been hotel expenses in the city since about 2023.

The expenses of two Brampton MPPs have come under criticism from both the Ontario NDP and Ontario Liberals – Brampton East’s Hardeep Grewal, who billed nearly $19,000 in hotels, and Charmaine Williams of Brampton Centre, who expensed more than $15,000.

Along with representing Brampton Centre, Williams is also the associate minister of women’s social and economic opportunity.

Toronto Willowdale MPP Stan Cho has resigned his post as minister of tourism, culture and gaming after spending some $16,000 in Toronto hotel stays expensed to tax payers. He will remain MPP for the riding.

Minister of Sport Neil Lumsden announced last week he is also retiring from cabinet and the legislature on Aug. 4 amid the spending scandal.

But Ontario Liberal Interim Leader John Fraser said on Friday that the two resignations are “just the tip of the iceberg,” and is calling on any cabinet minister who abused taxpayer dollars, including Williams, to resign from cabinet.

“There are 16 members of the PC caucus who are caught up in this hotel room scandal, and two ministers – two ministers who had access to a driver. It’s just crazy that they would spend taxpayers money this way. Those two ministers? They need to resign,” Fraser said in a post on social media.

READ MORE: Ontario cabinet minister resigns in hotel expense saga

“The sense of entitlement starts at the top with the Premier buying himself a luxury private jet, and it just trickles on down,” Fraser later said in a release. “Doug Ford needs to show us the receipts: who was where, when, and why. The public deserves to know.”

Ford called the spending “unacceptable” on Friday, but dodged questions from reporters on whether he expects any more resignations. NDP Leader Marit Styles questioned whether the two Brampton MPPs “still have the Premier’s confidence.”

Post on social media on Friday called for Grewal and Williams to resign, and the NDP also questioned on Friday whether Grewal will be next to step down on its www.respectfortaxpayers.ca website.

“Stan Cho’s resignation doesn’t explain a single hotel bill. He was living the suite life on your dime, got caught, and is now dodging accountability,” Styles said in a statement. “The refund is still owed. So are the answers.”

INsauga.com has reached out to both Grewal and Williams for comment on whether they plan to resign their posts, as well as details about the expenses. No responses were received by the time of publication.

Data from the NDP shows Williams billed $6,579 for hotels in 2025-2026, $6,239 in 2024-2025, and $3,047 in 2023-2024. Grewal billed $13,282 for Toronto hotels in 2025-2026, $6,546 in 2025-2026 and $7,447 in 2023-2024.

Grewal had the highest overall expenses at $27,275, and the highest hotel expenses in a single year than any other on the list. Chop had the second-highest single year hotel expenses at $11,691 in 2025-2026, and a total of $16,203 in hotel expenses over the three years.

The province says it plans to scrap the rule which lets members who live within 50 kilometres of Queen’s Park expense those hotel stays in extenuating circumstances, such as snowstorms. But opposition parties say the rule wasn’t the problem, rather Progressive Conservative caucus members who abused it.

– With files from The Canadian Press