[3][4] The ORPP was a major plank in the 2014 election platform of the Ontario Liberal Party, and introductory legislation received Royal assent in May 2015.
[9] Premier Kathleen Wynne admitted that the Province had no idea how much it will cost to run it,[2] while Leader of the Opposition Patrick Brown had promised to abolish the Plan and refund all contributions if the Progressive Conservative Party of Ontario won the next provincial election.
While the chief executive officer of OPTrust has stated that "[t]he ORPP is good public policy,"[11] it has also been described as "a cautionary example of what happens when we use blunt tools to address poorly defined problems.
"[12] The contributions expected to be collected from participants are seen to be relatively small compared to other retirement plans,[12] as one-third of the targeted workforce will make less than $15,000 per annum and almost one-half of these will be under the age of 25.
[9] Employers were urged to review the retirement arrangements they have in effect for their employees, as there was a risk that some will not qualify as "comparable workforce pension plans" (CWPP) for the purposes of the ORPP.