---
title: "Toronto freezes non-frontline hiring as city faces $1.1B budget gap after province rules out new deal"
description: "Mayor Chow announced a non-frontline hiring freeze on November 6 as Toronto faces a $1.1B shortfall after Ford said there will be no new provincial deal."
canonical_url: "https://voche.me/on/toronto-2026/news/toronto-hiring-freeze-budget-shortfall-november-2026"
last_updated: "2026-11-07T03:08:45.775Z"
---

Mayor [Olivia Chow](/on/toronto-2026/candidates/olivia-chow) announced on November 6 that Toronto has frozen hiring for all non-frontline city positions as the city faces a $1.1 billion budget shortfall heading into 2027.

The freeze comes after Premier Doug Ford ruled out a new provincial funding deal for Toronto, saying the province has already given the city $9 billion and Toronto must manage its own finances. The existing arrangement, which gave Toronto $7.6 billion in capital funding and $1.2 billion for transit and shelter operations, expires in March.

"We've given Toronto $9 billion, with a B, $9 billion dollars. They have to be responsible for their own budget," Ford said at a joint event with Chow on November 6, as reported by CityNews Toronto. He added the province uploaded the Gardiner Expressway and the Don Valley Parkway to its own books to give the city financial relief.

Chow said frontline workers will continue to be hired and that the freeze targets only positions not directly delivering services to residents.

"We are continuing to hire all frontline people, however, anything that is not frontline, we have a freeze in place so that we can, like last year, do a line-by-line review to find the savings," Chow said.

## What the province gave and what expires

Toronto secured the $9 billion funding arrangement in 2023, in Chow's first term as mayor, after the city's finances were strained during the pandemic. The deal included $7.6 billion in capital funding and $1.2 billion annually for transit operations and shelter services.

That arrangement is set to expire in March 2027, leaving a gap in the city's budget that Chow had said during the October election she would work to refill through a new deal. Securing such a deal was one of her stated priorities for her second term.

Ford's remarks on November 6 appear to close that path, at least for now. Ford said he does not rule out giving Toronto money for specific priorities, and discussions between the city and province are expected in the coming weeks after Chow is sworn in for her second term.

## A similar freeze last year

Chow pointed to a hiring freeze the city ran at the same point in 2025, saying it generated millions of dollars in savings. That precedent is part of her case that the approach is effective and not a cut to services.

The city's 2027 budget process is expected to begin in the weeks after Chow takes office for her second term. Chow repeated her campaign commitment to hold property tax increases around the rate of inflation, saying she still believes that is achievable.

"There's a lot of funding arrangements through both levels of government, and you can count on me as the mayor of Toronto to work hard on behalf of the residents," she said.

Toronto residents can follow Chow's budget promises on the [/on/toronto-2026/tracker](/on/toronto-2026/tracker) page. The first meeting of the new City Council is on November 18, 2026.

## Sitemap

See the full [sitemap](/on/toronto-2026/sitemap.md) for all pages.