-

“Piccini must go”: new poll shows majority want Labour Minister fired for Skills Development Fund corruption

TORONTO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--New public opinion research reveals that a majority of Ontarians believe Labour Minister David Piccini should resign or be removed from Doug Ford’s cabinet because of the ongoing stream of scandals surrounding the government’s Skills Development Fund (SDF).

In an Abacus Data poll commissioned by CUPE Ontario, 52% of respondents think that Minister Piccini should quit or be fired for the misuse of SDF funds, first flagged in a scathing report by Ontario’s auditor general. Even 43% of past Ontario Progressive Conservative Party voters agree it’s time for Minister Piccini to leave cabinet, with only 19% of PC voters saying he should stay on.

“Calls for accountability are only growing louder,” said CUPE Ontario President Fred Hahn. “Minister Piccini has used the Skills Development Fund – $2.5 billion of the public’s money – as a slush fund to benefit insider friends of the Ford Conservatives. It’s the latest corruption involving lobbyists from the Ford government and clearly the people of Ontario want the person in charge to be held responsible.

“The question is, does Doug Ford respect the people of this province enough to demand basic ministerial accountability from David Piccini, or has the premier learned nothing from the Greenbelt lobbyists’ scandal?”

Hahn cited a second finding from the poll: 46% of those surveyed believe this latest controversy indicates a broader problem with the Ford government and how it awards contracts and grants, while 23% said the scandal is mainly about Minister Piccini.

“The ‘circular economy’ of donations to the Ontario PC Party is sadly familiar,” remarked Hahn. “Parts of this latest funds-for-friends debacle are eerily reminiscent of the Chrétien Liberals’ sponsorship scandal, and that led to arrests by the RCMP, a federal election and a national public inquiry.”

The Abacus Data poll was taken after the public learned that the church in which another Conservative cabinet minister was married received a total of $2.8 million from the Ministry of Labour, including two SDF grants; but before it was revealed that Piccini’s own spouse lobbied for Career Colleges Ontario, two of whose members got millions from the SDF.

The survey was conducted online by Abacus Data for CUPE Ontario with 2,000 Ontario residents from October 24 to 29, 2025. The margin of error for a comparable probability-based random sample of the same size is +/- 2.19%, 19 times out of 20.

Contacts

For more information: Mary Unan, CUPE Communications | munan@cupe.ca 647-390-9893

Industry:

Canadian Union of Public Employees

Release Summary
A majority of Ontarians think Labour Minister David Piccini should resign/be fired over scandals around the Skills Development Fund: new poll
Release Versions
English

Contacts

For more information: Mary Unan, CUPE Communications | munan@cupe.ca 647-390-9893

More News From Canadian Union of Public Employees

Fruitvale municipal workers give 72-hour strike notice

FRUITVALE--(BUSINESS WIRE)--The union representing municipal workers for the Village of Fruitvale, CUPE 2087, served the Village a 72-hour strike notice this morning. If the Village does not improve its monetary offer, workers will be taking job action, up to and including a full strike. “We came to the table to get a fair deal that is consistent with other municipalities in the region. But the Village’s refusal to offer us what other workers that do the same work means we need to turn up the p...

Majority of Ontario hospitals have been operating in the red over the last three years, new report shows

TORONTO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--The majority of Ontario’s 136 hospitals have carried operational deficits since 2022, and this puts an already precarious public system at risk, says new analysis from the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives (CCPA). In Failure, By Design: Ontario’s deepening hospital funding crisis, CCPA Senior Researcher Andrew Longhurst finds that rising hospital costs of six percent annually and government underfunding are creating a toxic situation that undermines the goal of o...

School Library Funding Uncertainty Leaving Students and Schools in Limbo

HALIFAX, NS--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Concerns are growing over continued uncertainty surrounding whether city council will maintain funding for school librarians in the upcoming school year. Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE) Local 5047 President Shelley McNeil is calling on councillors to publicly clarify their position before staffing and school planning decisions are affected. “School librarians are not extras,” said McNeil. “They are part of the learning infrastructure students rely on ever...
Back to Newsroom