Ontario Premier Doug Ford revealed on Wednesday that he had no prior knowledge of the Progressive Conservative Party’s alleged spending to surveil former Liberal leader Bonnie Crombie in Jamaica in 2023. According to reports from The Trillium and POLICORNER, the provincial party reportedly utilized nearly $3,000 from donor and taxpayer funds to conduct surveillance on Crombie during her visit to two luxury resorts in Jamaica shortly after she won the Liberal leadership in December 2023.

While CBC News has not independently verified these claims, the Ontario PC Party acknowledged that their activities included travel to Jamaica for opposition research purposes. Ford, distancing himself from the alleged spying, stated during a news conference that he disapproved of such actions and only became aware of the situation on Wednesday.

Ford emphasized that the expenses were covered by party funds, which are partially sourced from taxpayer money allotted as per-vote subsidies to political parties in Ontario. He likened the trip to routine media coverage of his U.S. visits, attributing it to the nature of political activities.

Former Liberal leader Bonnie Crombie refrained from commenting on the allegations but confirmed her vacation in Jamaica post-leadership race in 2023, staying at one of the resorts mentioned in the PC party’s financial statement. The statement, obtained by CBC News from the NDP, detailed expenses at the Ocean Eden Bay and Royalton Negril Hotel without specifying the purpose or claimant of the spending at the latter.

Opposition leaders, including NDP Leader Marit Stiles and interim Leader of the Ontario Liberals John Fraser, condemned the alleged surveillance as unethical and an abuse of power. Stiles characterized the incident as reminiscent of “creepy Trump-style politics” and demanded accountability within the party, while Fraser raised concerns about the misuse of public funds for targeting political adversaries.