Ontario’s under-fire minister of tourism, culture and gaming says he will repay more than $16,000 in expenses he claimed from the taxpayer over three years for hotel stays in Toronto, despite living in the city.
The pledge to repay the full amount comes hours after Stan Cho’s office indicated , as the minister faces major backlash.
Between 2023 and 2026, Cho charged the Ontario legislative assembly $16,203 for “Toronto accommodation,” 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 repayment for multiple hotel rooms during that time period.
In a single year, Cho’s Toronto hotel room expenses left taxpayers with an $11,000 tab.
Asked about the expenses, his office initially said he would repay some of the costs.
“While these expenses meet the criteria for special circumstances as set out by the Legislative Guide for Member’s expenses, I will be personally reimbursing the legislature for any expense that does not meet the spirit of the policy,” Cho’s first statement promised around 7 p.m. on Monday.
The next morning, after Global News’ story was published and the reaction to the expenses poured in, Cho’s office sent a new statement. The latest one promised to reimburse all costs.
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“I will be personally reimbursing the legislature for the entire amount of the expenses incurred,” the minister wrote in a second statement, sent at around 11 a.m.
Ontario NDP Leader Marit Stiles said the expenses were egregious.
“Ministers are being held to a different standard under Doug Ford’s government,” Stiles told Global News. “I think it’s like a party with the taxpayer dime.”
The details about Cho’s hotel expenses, including which hotels were booked, dates or length of stay and reasons for the accommodation requirement, were not included in the public filings.
Global News asked the minister’s office for detailed information on the hotel accommodation, but didn’t receive specifics.
Expense details
Between 2018, when Cho first won the Toronto-area riding of Willowdale, and 2022, the minister didn’t require the benefit and didn’t submit any expenses for overnight hotel stays in the city.
That trend began to change in 2023 before dramatically increasing over the past year:
- 2023-24: $1,431 in Toronto accommodation
- 2024-25: $3,081 in Toronto accommodation
- 2025-26: $11,691 in Toronto accommodation
Public records show Cho’s hotel stays took place in the Spring and Fall of 2024 and 2025, possibly revolving around the legislative calendar.
During the month of May 2024, Cho billed taxpayers $1,700 to stay in Toronto hotels and cited the reason as “special circumstance accommodation in Toronto.”
The next month, Cho submitted another $1,290 in special circumstance expenses, which were also reimbursed.
One year later, in May 2025, Cho once again charged the Legislative Assembly $3,764 to stay in Toronto hotels. In November 2025, he racked up $1,571 in hotel charges and, again, asked for a special circumstance exemption.
The most expensive month came in December 2025, when Cho spent $6,367 on hotels in Toronto and sent the bill to Ontario taxpayers.
Expense rules at Queen’s Park allow MPPs who live within 50 kilometres of Queen’s Park to charge taxpayers for hotel stays for “special or unusual circumstances,” according to the legislature expense guidelines, and only “on an overnight basis.”
Critics, though, are asking why Cho needed to stay in a hotel at all.
While his riding is roughly a 30-minute drive away from the Ontario legislature, publicly accessible property records show Cho’s primary residence is exactly 5.9 kilometres — or seven subway stops — away from Queen’s Park.
As a cabinet minister, Cho also has access to a government-assigned vehicle, which is generally driven by a member of staff.
“It’s outrageous,” Stiles said. “You can get from Willowdale to Queen’s Park without even changing the subway train, so I don’t see any reason why a minister would have to have a hotel downtown as many times as Minister Cho has had.”
