Willowdale MPP Stan Cho is facing renewed scrutiny over thousands of dollars in expenses billed to his riding association for meals, flights, and hotel stays, including limousine rentals. The revelations emerge less than a week after Cho repaid over $16,000 in hotel costs to the Ontario Legislature.

Cho's Riding Association Spending Detailed

Disclosures from Cho's constituency office reveal extensive spending between 2023 and 2026. These expenses include high-end restaurant meals, airline tickets, and stays at luxury hotels such as the Fairmont Chateau Laurier.

The revelations also include the cost of renting a vehicle from a limousine company. Cho, a former senior minister in Premier Doug Ford's cabinet, resigned from his portfolio on Friday, acknowledging a "mistake" in claiming hotel expenses billed to taxpayers.

Questions Raised About Expense Justification

Ontario Liberal MPP Adil Shamji criticized the nature of the spending, suggesting it appears to support a "lavish lifestyle." Shamji stated that the expenses "seem to be used to support a lavish lifestyle by Stan Cho," and "paints the picture of someone who really enjoys a particularly lavish lifestyle and is essentially using different credit cards to be able to expense these things."

All of Cho's expenses were reportedly certified by the riding's Chief Financial Officer between 2023 and 2025 and submitted to Elections Ontario. Global News sought comment from Cho's constituency office, the Ontario Progressive Conservative Party, and the premier's office regarding the necessity of these expenditures but did not receive a response.

Extensive Food, Beverage, and Travel Expenses

Over a three-year period, Cho submitted nearly $100,000 in food and beverage expenses to his riding association, reimbursed through donor contributions and taxpayer-funded subsidies. Many of these claimed "meetings hosted" occurred outside his Willowdale riding, in various upscale Toronto establishments and locations across the Greater Toronto Area.

Dozens of receipts indicate expenses at restaurants such as Sotto Sotto, Barberian’s Steak House, The Score, the Fishman Lobster Clubhouse, and the ONE Restaurant at the Hazelton Hotel. Notably, over $16,500 was expensed at Sher-E-Punjab on Danforth Avenue for "food and beverages," claiming hosted meetings.

  • $10,500 spent at Nome Izakaya, described as "Toronto’s premier Japanese tapas bar."
  • Over $9,000 spent at the members-only Albany Club for food, beverages, catering, and room rentals.
  • $1,621 spent at various Toronto steak houses.

While some expenditures like LBCO and Beer Store purchases might relate to employee events, many meals were in the $200 to $300 range, suggesting a limited number of attendees.

Travel and Entertainment Spending

Cho's riding expenses also detail multiple flights and hotel stays outside his constituency, with limited explanation on how they benefited Willowdale residents. Between 2023 and 2025, Cho billed the constituency over $6,100 for airfare on Porter Airlines and Air Canada.

Hotel expenses totalling $12,700 over three years indicate travel to destinations including Ottawa, Banff, Calgary, and Montreal. Stays were at upscale hotels like the Fairmont Chateau Laurier and the Fairmont Pallister.

Other travel expenses included $318.66 for the Clock Tower Inn in Strathroy, Ont., a three-hour drive from his riding. In 2025, Cho billed the riding $1,500 for a vehicle rental from "Top Limo."

Expense records also show approximately $13,388 spent at various Toronto sporting venues over four years, primarily at the Rogers Centre. These expenses included claiming hosted meetings with food and beverage costs during Toronto Blue Jays games.

  • In 2022, $1,138 was expensed for food at the Rogers Centre during a Blue Jays game, some incurred during the provincial election campaign.
  • In 2024, a claimed meeting at the Rogers Centre during a Blue Jays game cost $6,970.67.
  • During the 2025 snap election campaign, $3,000 was charged for a "suite rental" and associated food and beverages at the Rogers Centre.

Further expenses of over $1,600 were billed to the riding association for food and beverages at Scotiabank Arena and with Maple Leafs Sports and Entertainment.