For the past three years, a senior cabinet minister in the Ford government has billed provincial taxpayers thousands of dollars for hotel rooms in downtown Toronto despite living just a few kilometers from Queen’s Park — public money he is now promising to pay back in part.
Between 2023 and 2026, Tourism Culture and Games Minister Stan Cho charged the Ontario Legislative Assembly $16,203 for “accommodation in Toronto,” according to publicly available disclosure records.
While that accommodation is only available to Toronto-based MPPs for “special or unusual circumstances,” such as a snowstorm, Cho repeatedly requested reimbursement for multiple hotel rooms during that time period.
In one year, Cho’s Toronto hotel room expenses left the taxpayer with an $11,000 tab.
Those expenses have raised questions and drawn criticism from opposition parties, which point out that Minister Cho lives just six kilometers from Ontario’s parliament and is entitled to a taxpayer-funded vehicle and driver.
“Ministers are being held to a different standard under the Doug Ford government,” NDP Leader Marit Stiles told Global News. “I think it’s like a party on the taxpayer’s dime.”
Details about Cho’s hotel expenses, including hotels booked, dates or length of stay and reasons for requesting accommodations, are not included in public records.
Global News asked the minister’s office for detailed information about the hotel accommodation, but received no details.
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However, a few hours later, Cho’s office responded with a pledge that the minister would personally return an unspecified amount.
“While these expenses meet the criteria for special circumstances set forth in the Legislative Guide for Members’ Expenses, I will personally reimburse the Legislature for any expenses that do not meet the spirit of the policy,” Minister Cho said in a statement.
Global News has asked the minister’s office to clarify the “spirit of the policy” and how much money will be returned.
Between 2018, when Cho first won the race in the Toronto area Willowdale and 2022, the minister did not claim the benefit and did not present any expenses for hotel stays in the city.
This trend began to reverse in 2023 before increasing dramatically over the past year:
- 2023-24: $1,431 in accommodation in Toronto
- 2024-25: $3,081 in accommodation in Toronto
- 2025-26: $11,691 in accommodation in Toronto
Under Ontario spending rules, MPPs who live more than 50 kilometers from Queen’s Park are allowed to bill taxpayers for a residence in or around Toronto, allowing them to be closer to the legislature, where most of a politician’s work is done.
MPPs living within that 50 kilometer limit, however, are only allowed to claim accommodation costs for “special or unusual circumstances”, according to the legislative expenditure guidelines, and only “on a nightly basis”.
Critics, however, are questioning why Cho had to stay in a hotel at all.
While his riding is roughly a 30-minute drive from Ontario’s legislature, publicly accessible property records show Cho’s primary residence is exactly 5.9 km — or seven subway stops — away from Queen’s Park.
As a cabinet minister, Cho also has access to a designated government vehicle, which is usually driven by a staff member.
“It’s wild,” Stiles said. “You can go from Willowdale to Queens Park without even changing subway trains, so I don’t see any reason why a minister would need to have a hotel downtown as often as Minister Cho has.”
Cho’s hotel spending follows Premier Doug Ford’s controversial decision to purchase a $28.9 million private jet for his government-related travel.
Although Ford later sold the plane to Bombardier after a wave of public backlash, critics said the Progressive Conservative Party had strayed from its ‘respect for the taxpayer’ roots.
Global News asked the Prime Minister’s office whether Cho’s hotel expenses are “reasonable and justifiable to taxpayers,” but did not receive a response.
© 2026 Global News, a division of Corus Entertainment Inc.
