Helping people in their everyday lives.

It's been our driving motivation for over two years - since that June day in 2014 when Ontario Liberals received a mandate to build this province up.

And it's why we announced today that we will deliver relief to electricity ratepayers in Ontario, help create 100,000 more child care spaces within the next five years, make postsecondary tuition free for students from low-income families, keep building infrastructure at a record pace and continue to build a health care system that people can rely on.

Today, Lieutenant Governor, the Honourable Elizabeth Dowdeswell, opened the second session of Ontario's 41stParliament by delivering our government's Speech from the Throne.

A Balanced Plan to Build Ontario Up for Everyone highlights the progress we've made, and the work still left to do, to help make your everyday life better.

Ontario's economic resurgence is now indisputable. Over the past two years, our economy has grown by 6.1 per cent. Last year, growth was double the national average. Nearly 600,000 net new jobs have been created since the last recession. We're creating the knowledge-based, low-carbon growth on which our future depends.

And, as promised, we will deliver a balanced budget, next year, in 2017-18.

But when I travelled all over the province this summer, I heard something we all know intuitively and from our own experiences. That many are not sharing in the benefits of this growth. That too many are struggling to keep up with the rising cost of living. And that the price of electricity has become a burden.

I'm in politics to help people. That's why creating economic growth and good jobs is my top priority and it is why our four-part economic plan invests in people's talent and skills, in modern infrastructure, in a low-carbon economy driven by innovative, high-growth, export-oriented businesses and in giving people greater security in retirement.

The plan is working. With the deficit eliminated next year, the government can do even more to help people in their everyday lives. As described in today's Throne Speech, we will:

Provide electricity cost relief: We will introduce legislation that would rebate an amount equal to the provincial portion of HST on residential, farm, and small business electricity bills as of January 1, 2017. Additional relief will ensure that rural, institutional and industrial ratepayers would also benefit from lower electricity costs.
Child care: We will help working families by creating an additional 100,000 licensed child care spaces within the next five years, starting in 2017.
Infrastructure: We will continue to make the largest infrastructure investment in Ontario's history - about $160 billion over 12 years - to help people in their everyday lives by reducing road congestion, making transit a better option and building modern schools and hospitals.
Education and skills: We are putting new emphasis on math skills, expanding experiential learning and encouraging more young people to turn their good ideas into start-ups. To make sure that all young people have a chance to succeed in a global economy, we're introducing the new Ontario Student Grant. It will make average college and university tuition free for tens of thousands of low- and middle- income students.
Health care: We are building a health care system everyone can rely on by investing in 350,000 more nursing hours to enhance home care, helping seniors with the cost of prescription drugs, reducing wait times for specialists, and connecting more Ontarians to a family doctor or nurse practitioner.

And those are just some of the highlights. Because when I said we would never stop working to make government a force for good in people's lives, I was serious.

For the past two years, our government has been tirelessly tackling those things that really do make a difference in people's lives. Halfway through our mandate, as we implement our plan over the next two years, we will be able to do even more for the people we serve and for the province we love.

Thank you for your continued support,

Kathleen Wynne

Premier of Ontario
MPP, Don Valley West