Does conservative superstar Doug Ford have national ambitions?
On the eve of his 100-day honeymoon anniversary, Doug Ford cheated on Ontarians.
Our premier left home to share the love. For the love of Ford Nation, he went national — abandoning us for a whirlwind tour of Alberta and Saskatchewan late last week. Who better to play prairie populist than the premier “For the People” — all the Canadian people, not just us Ontarians.
Even before whooping it up out West, Ford wended his way East to bask in the adulation of his fellow Tories from far and wide. At a late-summer convention of federal Conservatives in Halifax, the premier from Etobicoke made his national debut.
Halifax was his first flirtation. Calgary and Regina were his latest love-ins, but surely not his last.
Our Ford is on a roll. From his municipal roots to his provincial reincarnation, does Ford Nation have national growth potential?
Ontario’s premier is not merely the most dynastic, but the most dynamic politician in Canada today. That he has connected with voters viscerally along the way is undeniable; that he can sideline the one politician who stands in his way is unpredictable.
No, it is not the incumbent prime minister, Justin Trudeau, who must be overcome. It is the current Conservative leader, Andrew Scheer, who blocks Doug Ford’s path to 24 Sussex Dr.
We shall see. A year from now, Trudeau’s enduring celebrity status may have trumped the little-known Scheer in the 2019 federal election if the Conservative leader fails to rally his base to the cause.
That would make Scheer a lame duck. Even now, Scheer may already be a sitting duck.
Picture this enduring image: As Ontario’s premier worked the hall in Halifax last summer, Conservative groupies asked a bystander to snap souvenir photos, handing their iPhones to an invisible man.
That man was Andrew Scheer, who could be seen faithfully photographing Ford with his selfie fans, overshadowed by his star power. Now fast-forward to a postelection federal defeat, where Conservatives conclude that the only surefire way to defeat Trudeau’s star power is with Ford’s fiery fan base.
It is hard to recall another Ontario premier being cheered so lustily and welcomed so warmly as a fellow traveller in the heart of Canada’s oil country. The last two provincial leaders to nurse national ambitions — Dalton McGuinty (briefly) and Bill Davis (perennially), would have been laughed out of town had they tried to pull off Ford’s flirtation with Calgarians.
But when our premier drew a line in their oilsands last week, vowing to annihilate the federal carbon tax, more than 1,500 energized Tories embraced him as if he were one of their own. Amid the Stetsons and occasional “Make America Great Again” baseball caps (most Trump-Ford loyalists were intercepted and persuaded by organizers to reconsider their head gear), Ford felt right at home.
In a historical twist — and hint of future turns — he was welcomed to his new Alberta home away from home by none other than former federal cabinet minister Jason Kenney, leader of the United Conservatives and now the province’s premier-inwaiting. Notwithstanding the bad blood between them — Kenney once called on Rob Ford to step aside because he “brought dishonour to public office and the office of mayor” — he had only glowing words for big brother Doug.
If Scheer should fail to follow Ford’s proven path to victory next year, will Ontario’s premier take over from him as federal Conservative leader?
“As I have always said, a new day has dawned in Ontario — and a new day will dawn in Canada,” Ford promised party delegates.
It was his first but assuredly not his last national speech. Just watch him.