Former Ontario cabinet minister who resigned over expenses scandal defends promotion

TORONTO — A former member of Ontario Premier Doug Ford’s cabinet who resigned his post over an expenses scandal defended his recent promotion and said he billed taxpayers for Toronto hotel stays for family reasons.

Stan Cho resigned as tourism, culture and gaming minister in July after expensing $16,000 in Toronto hotel stays despite living in the city.

He said he made “an error in judgment.”

“A sleep-training baby at home, a bad hip, and a wife I spoke to who said, ‘Look, if you’re gonna be home that late and leave that early, this is a decision that’s best for the family,'” Cho said Tuesday as politicians returned to Queen’s Park after a 147-day break.

“But that was out of touch. I mean, there are a lot of families who go through these things without the convenience of having a hotel close to work. I’m gonna work hard to regain their trust,” he said.

Cho, who represents the north Toronto riding of Willowdale, said he has repaid the debt to taxpayers out of his own pocket.

Ford recently promoted Cho to parliamentary assistant to Education Minister Paul Calandra, which comes with a $22,000 pay bump.

Publicly available expense records show that some of Ford’s cabinet ministers and other caucus members who live in and near Toronto had been using a so-called special circumstances rule on Toronto hotel expenses since about 2023.

Opposition parties have called for Cho to resign his seat in the legislature.

“This minister made a decision at some point when he was in a hotel to give them either his own credit card or the taxpayer’s credit card and he chose the latter,” said NDP Leader Marit Stiles.

“And I think it is outrageous that the premier has decided to actually promote this guy and he’s taken no responsibility ultimately for his actions.”

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 27, 2026.

Liam Casey, The Canadian Press