Ford government started 19 forensic audits in 5 years, including at Ministry of Labour

The Ford government launched more than a dozen forensic audits over the last five years, Global News has confirmed, including several probes at the ministry responsible for the controversial skills development fund.

Forensic audits are detailed investigations into the financial records of service providers that receive funding from the Ontario government.

Run by the Treasury Board, they are typically triggered by red flags or anomalies and are used to verify financial accuracy or detect potential fraud.

In 2025, a forensic investigation into a company contracted by the Ministry of Colleges and Universities uncovered apparent “irregularities,” prompting the Ford government to refer the case to the OPP.

Now, a list obtained by Global News using freedom of information laws shows 19 forensic audits have been launched over the past five years across a range of ministries, suggesting wide-ranging concern with how taxpayer funds are being handled once they leave Queen’s Park.

The government did not respond to questions, including what triggered the audits and whether the findings had led to suspension of funding for companies or referrals to other authorities.

Ontario NDP Leader Marit Stiles said the government should be learning the lessons from previous mistakes and putting in place guardrails for when companies and ministries face forensic audits.

“I think it’s good that government is doing due diligence; that’s very important,” she said. “My question would be, have these (audits) been flagged and is other money continuing to flow to those companies or to those organizations?”

The details of the audits are scant. Officials shared a list of ministries, the number of audits, and the years they were conducted and the premier’s office did not respond to any questions.

Topping the list is the Ministry of Labour, Immigration, Training and Skills Development, which has seen more forensic audits than any other department.

The record shows there were four audits involving the ministry’s vendors in 2024 and one in 2025.

That ministry is responsible for the skills development fund, a controversial training program, which a report from Ontario’s auditor general said was “not fair, transparent or accountable.”

The auditor general also found that the majority of applications selected were ranked low or medium by the Ministry of Labour and that more than 60 of the lower-scoring applicants were approved after hiring a lobbyist.

Last year, it was revealed that Keel Digital Solutions — one of the recipients of skills development funding — was under a forensic audit relating to a contract with another ministry.

Through 2024 and 2025, the company received millions in taxpayer money, even after “irregularities” were flagged. According to a statement of claim the government later filed against Keel, the forensic audit began in 2024.

“We’ve seen in the past, unfortunately, though, that when the government was conducting forensic audits, for example, into a couple of the skills development fund recipients, they did not flag those files,” Stiles added.

“And so other money was continuing to flow to those companies that were under forensic audit.”

Premier Doug Ford previously suggested the province always presumes innocence during audits.

“We cut off the funding as soon as we get the results,” Ford told reporters at Queen’s Park in the fall. “You don’t presume someone guilty right away. What you do is find out if there’s a problem with the money, then we’re the ones who go ahead and call in the OPP.”

Keel said that it has “complied with all laws and contract obligations” and expects to receive a “government apology at the end of this.” It is currently countersuing the provincial government, saying the audit process was “deeply flawed” and secretive.

After months of pressure from opposition parties, the integrity commissioner announced an investigation into the skills development fund last year and Labour Minister David Piccini.

The forensic audit list obtained by Global News shows there were also two investigations at the Ministry of Colleges, Universities, Research Excellence and Security, one in 2022 and another in 2024.

The only audit flagged so far in 2026 involved the Ministry of Health.

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