Yes, Doug Ford, Quebec bought private jets — but not for the premier’s travels

Last week, Ontario’s premier pointed to a fleet of Quebec government-owned planes as justification for having his own private aircraft.

But Quebec’s premier has no such private plane — so, what’s going on? 

Premier Doug Ford justified the purchase of the plane, a used Bombardier Challenger 650, by touting his extensive travel within Ontario and even to the U.S.

But his office also repeatedly stated that Quebec had purchased three jets for $107 million — more per plane than Ford’s $28.9 million aircraft.

On Monday, after his government backtracked on the plane purchase and said the jet would be sold, Ford said he was the most scrutinized person in the country. He questioned why there hadn’t been similar scrutiny applied to the Quebec private jet purchase.

So, we asked the Quebec government about the jets Ford was referring to — and whether the Quebec government owns a private plane for the premier’s travel needs. 

A spokesperson for Quebec’s Transport Ministry told us the premier does fly private — but on chartered flights.

There is no government plane for the premier’s exclusive travel, according to a spokesperson for the premier’s office. They said the jets Ford was referring to are used for medical transport.

Ford calls media coverage of private jet ‘a double standard’

The medical jets are highly specialized aircraft designed to transport patients living in remote communities to medical facilities.

A 2025 call for tenders detailed the specifications the Quebec government had for one of its new private jets: it says the plane must be modified to include a medical ramp and other specialized medical equipment. 

In 2024, a Quebec coroner found that the province had an insufficient number of medical aircraft. 

The government has announced its intentions to improve its fleet of medical aircraft and establish a helicopter service at a price tag of $140 million.

A 2024 call for tenders noted that Quebec was seeing an increase in the number of patients requiring transport by air. The province’s air fleet at the time was aging and unable to meet demand. 

“The increase in demand, combined with the aging of the aircraft fleet, has led to a rise in maintenance work and aircraft downtime,” the call for tenders said. 

“To address this situation, the [ministry] must acquire a used Challenger 650 jet that is compatible with its current fleet, with the goal of having it operational in the short term.”

CBC reached out to Ford’s office for comment Monday and is waiting to hear back.