A new poll commissioned by CUPE Ontario shows many Ontarians believe Labour Minister David Piccini should resign or be removed from Premier Doug Ford’s cabinet over what CUPE is calling corruption tied to the province’s $2.5 billion Skills Development Fund.
According to Abacus Data, 52 per cent of respondents said Piccini should quit or be fired following revelations in the auditor general’s report. According to the poll, even among past Progressive Conservative voters, 43 per cent say the Northumberland-Peterborough South MPP should step down, while only 19 percent believe he should remain in cabinet.
CUPE Ontario President Fred Hahn says the calls for accountability are growing louder.
Hahn says the fund has become “a slush fund to benefit insider friends of the Ford Conservatives,” adding that the findings show growing public frustration over government accountability.
He compared the situation to the federal sponsorship scandal and isn’t holding back on his criticism.
That scandal, according to Hahn led to RCMP investigations and a public inquiry in the early 2000s.
The poll also found 46 per cent of Ontarians believe the Skills Fund controversy points to a wider issue with how the Ford government awards grants and contracts.
The online survey of 2,000 Ontario residents was conducted by Abacus Data between October 24 and 29, 2025, with a margin of error of plus or minus 2.19 percent, 19 times out of 20.
We’ve reached out to the minister’s office for comment, but he has yet to respond to the union’s claims.
(Written by: Joseph Goden)