Doug Ford to jump right into campaign mode
Ontario’s newly elected Opposition leader is vowing to spend much of the next three months on the road campaigning for a spring election, saying his party is focused on forming government so it can find efficiencies and shape up the province’s finances.
Doug Ford, who narrowly won the Progressive Conservative leadership late Saturday, laid out his plans to topple the governing Liberals during an unannounced first visit to the province’s legislature on Monday, where he met with his new staff.
“I have to be out there nonstop,” Ford said. “As my Dad always said, in business, you aren’t getting sales in the office. You’ve got to get sales outside. We’re going to be out on the road. You won’t see me in here too often.”
Ford said he will leave much of the work in the legislature to the party’s now former interim leader, Vic Fedeli, who was installed in the post after the sudden January resignation of Patrick Brown amid sexual misconduct allegations.
“I just look forward to getting in here and moving forward,” Ford said. “Our focus is going to be on straightening out the finances of this province.”
Ford won the Tory leadership following a chaotic convention that saw results delayed over seven hours because of the narrow margin between him and runner-up former Tory legislator Christine Elliott, who initially questioned the vote and took nearly a full day to concede.