Ontario MPP Stan Cho resigns after Toronto hotel stay scandal

Ontario MPP Stan Cho has resigned from Premier Doug Ford’s cabinet following a flurry of controversy surrounding hotel stays in Toronto.

Cho resigned after it was revealed he expensed $16,000 in Toronto hotel stays despite living in the city.

According to Cho, he stayed in these hotels on nights the legislature sat late. He says he has now repaid all of the money.

The now former minister of tourism, culture and gaming who represents the north Toronto riding of Willowdale acknowledged in a statement that he made a mistake.

“I am taking full responsibility, as I do not want to be a distraction from our plan to grow the economy, keep families safe, and build this province.”

The statement continues, “On late nights I made a choice that was easier for me. I did not stop to ask how it would look to a person in my riding working a double shift.”

Despite stepping down from Ford’s cabinet, the Toronto native plans to continue as the MPP for Willowdale.

Now, Cho is not the only member of Ford’s cabinet caught in this scandal. Publicly available records show that members of his cabinet and other caucus members who live in and near Toronto have been using a “special circumstances” rule to justify these hotel expenses.

Some of the others involved in this spending actually racked up larger bills than Cho. His riding is a lot closer to Queen’s Park than some of the other top spenders.

The MPP for Brampton East, Hardeep Grewal, had more than $27,000 in Toronto hotel expenses since 2023. Mississauga-Streetsville representative Nina Tangri, who serves as the associate minister of small business, billed nearly $19,000 in expenses.

Brampton Centre representative Charmaine Williams, who serves as the associate minister of women’s social and economic opportunity, logged over $15,000 in billings.

According to Official Opposition Leader Marit Stiles, PC MPPs billed taxpayers over $120,000 for their hotel stays.

READ MORE: ‘Unacceptable’: Ford says Toronto-area caucus members will repay Toronto hotel bills

Members from across Ontario’s political spectrum are criticizing the Conservative MPPs and Ford for their actions.

Stiles issued a statement saying Cho was riding high off of the taxpayer dime and is trying to dodge accountability because he was caught.

“Ford’s MPPs were caught with their hands in the taxpayer’s pockets, and it’s time for some real answers.”

John Fraser, Interim Leader of the Ontario Liberal Party issued his own statement saying there’s more to this story than what’s been uncovered so far.

“Doug Ford needs to show us the receipts: who was where, when, and why. The public deserves to know.”

Ontario Greens Leader Mike Schreiner says this scandal is part of a much bigger problem within Ford’s government.

“This Premier has the largest cabinet in history. His office’s salaries are more than $8 million. He tried to buy a personal luxury jet and is chartering private flights while hardworking Ontarians are struggling just to get through the day.”

At an unrelated press conference Friday, Ford called the spending “unacceptable.” The premier did not directly answer questions about the other members of his caucus.

The Ontario government said it intends to eliminate the rule that allowed MPPs and other caucus members who live within 50 kilometers of Queen’s Park to expense those hotel stays in qualifying circumstances, such as snowstorms.

Cho is not the only provincial politician announcing his departure Friday.

Ford’s minister of sport, Neil Lumsden, who has represented Hamilton East-Stoney Creek for just over four years, announced he will be retiring from the cabinet and legislature on Aug. 4.

Lumsden wrote in a statement, “Representing the people of Hamilton East-Stoney Creek has been an honour.”

READ MORE: Hamilton East-Stoney Creek MPP Neil Lumsden set to retire