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Ontario Premier Kathleen Wynne says it’s important to let people know the Ontario Retirement Pension Plan, set to begin taking effect on Jan. 1, 2017, is coming.Sean Kilpatrick/The Canadian Press

Premier Kathleen Wynne is defending nearly $600,000 the government spent in advertising the Ontario Retirement Pension Plan during the federal election campaign.

The Canadian Taxpayers' Federation asked for the figure through a Freedom of Information request and was told that $592,834 was spent between Aug. 2 and Oct. 14, five days before the federal election.

The response also shows that the government spent more than $1.6 million in total on all ORPP advertising.

Christine Van Geyn, the director of the federation in Ontario, says Wynne campaigned with the federal Liberals on the issue of pensions during the federal election, and "used $600,000 of taxpayer money to support this campaign."

Wynne says the timing of the ads was not intentional, as she had no idea the federal election would be called so early.

She says it's important to let people know the ORPP, set to begin taking effect on Jan. 1, 2017, is coming.

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