Long, winding road
Described as ‘hard-edged,’ ‘smart,’ PC leader is not without controversy, has a following among working class
Ford’s win as PC leader continues his family’s political legacy, which was often marked by controversy,
“Best wishes to @fordnation on being elected the new Leader of the @OntarioPCParty. Looking forward to working together on conservative solutions to the challenges facing Ontarians.” ANDREW SCHEER FEDERAL CONSERVATIVE LEADER, ON TWITTER
“No matter who forms government in June, I plan to do what I have always done as mayor of this city — stand up for Toronto and all of its residents.” JOHN TORY TORONTO MAYOR, ON TWITTER
“If Doug Ford is truly out of the Toronto election, there is suddenly a lot of room for a truly progressive candidate without fear of the anti-Ford strategic vote.” KRISTYN WONG-TAM TORONTO COUNCILLOR, ON TWITTER
“If you love this province, then buy a good pair of walking shoes and help defeat @fordnation and his group. Ontario’s version of Trump has entered the building (and) must be ejected as quickly as possible.” JOE MIHEVC TORONTO COUNCILLOR, ON TWITTER
“People want change, but they want change for the better. And you’re certainly not going to get change for the better with Doug Ford.” ANDREA HORWATH ONTARIO NDP LEADER, IN REMARKS TO REPORTERS ON SUNDAY
“I think he will do quite well outside of major urban centres, with the folksy populism that he brings.” CHRISTOPHER COCHRANE U OF T POLITICAL SCIENTIST
Colourful. Chaotic. Controversial.
Three words apt to describe Doug Ford’s political career.
His win as Ontario PC leader Saturday night continues his family’s political legacy, beginning when his father served as an MPP for the EtobicokeHumber riding in the mid-1990s.
Ford, a 53-year-old married father of four daughters, spent most of his career running the family Deco Labels business, but left the firm in 2010 to run for his younger brother Rob Ford’s old seat in Etobicoke North, serving one term.
Rob Ford was elected mayor of Toronto that year.
“(Doug) is 10 times smarter than anyone I’ve ever met,” Rob Ford said in a 2013 radio interview. “And no matter again how the media wants to spin it, Doug is the hardest working, smartest guy. He builds a multimillion-dollar company by himself down in Chicago, creating jobs. And it’s not daddy. He did it on his own.”
Whereas Rob Ford, who died in 2016, had a certain “softness” to him, “Doug does seem to be a bit more distanced, a bit more hard-edged, so it will be interesting to see if he can develop the warm, fuzzy, empathy side that Rob was able to project,” said Myer Siemiatycki, a professor of politics at Ryerson University.
“Whether he can be the agent of unity, and rallying all troops, building bridges is going to be a tough, tough challenge for him and the party.”
After winning his PC leadership bid, Ford emailed supporters asking them to “chip in $1 right now.”
“Today isn’t only about defeating Kathleen Wynne,” said the email. “It’s about rebuilding Ontario to be the economic powerhouse of the country. A single task. To make Ontario the greatest place in the world.”
His only public appearance Sunday was at the St. Patrick’s Day parade in downtown Toronto.
His time as councillor was marked with controversy.
Ford faced criticism after handing out $20 bills to resi- dents at a social housing complex at Christmastime in 2013. Councillors raised concerns he was buying votes, as earlier that same week he’d pledged to personally donate $50,000 to parks around the city.
Ford claimed that there were more library branches than Tim Hortons in his area.
When Canadian literary icon Margaret Atwood criticized Ford’s suggested library cuts in 2011, Ford fired back, telling reporters he didn’t know her. “If she walked by me, I wouldn’t have a clue who she is.”
Ford also came under fire for launching a public weight-loss challenge for both he and his brother. While the Fords’ effort had been applauded by politicians across the political spectrum, some of their critics believed they were trying to divert attention from proposed budget cuts.
Ford took on Globe and Mail reporter Kelly Grant during a radio interview in 2012, saying she had lied in a story alleging Rob Ford had misused city staff and resources to assist with community football teams. Ford publicly urged Grant to get off “her lazy ass,” according to Jsource.
In 2013, the Globe and Mail interviewed dozens of people including 10 who grew up with Ford claiming that he was a “goto dealer of hash” in Etobicoke in the 1980s for about seven years as a teenager.
The article claimed that sports cars often “wound along Edenbridge Dr.,” in Ford’s neighbourhood, past gated homes to the U-shaped parking lot at James Gardens, which was “a hash drive-thru” by nightfall. The story also stated that its research showed Ford has never been charged for illegal drug possession or trafficking.
Ford called the Globe story a complete fabrication. “That’s a lie, an outright lie … I never did this drive-through drug dealing that they’re saying. It’s an absolute lie,” he later told CP24.
During the 2014 election, when Rob Ford was found to have cancer, Doug Ford ran in his place for mayor of Toronto against John Tory. Ford was defeated by Tory by seven percentage points, garnering 33.73 per cent of the votes, with the most support coming from poor neighbourhoods in the outskirts of the city in north Etobicoke and Scarborough.
Ford, like his brother Rob, has political appeal because he is able to articulate people’s anxieties about their economic struggles, Siemiatycki said.
He has been seen as “portraying and branding himself as the voice of those ill-treated, struggling, finding it hard to make ends meet … leaving aside the wealth of the family, it has been a very effective message.”
Ford’s 2014 mayoral campaign was also rife with controversy.
Witnesses said they heard Ford insult Star reporter Jennifer Pagliaro, following a postmayoral debate media scrum.
“I can’t stand that little b---h,” he was overheard saying to his wife and daughter as he walked out of the debate studio.
During the scrum, Pagliaro had asked Ford when he planned to release his list of campaign donors.
He didn’t deny using those words but said the comment was directed at someone other than Pagliaro. He didn’t identify the other person.
Ford, who drove a luxury SUV, vacationed in Europe and owned properties in Florida, painted Tory as a “downtown elite” and “from a whole different world,” who is “out of touch” and accustomed to a “silver platter.”
He had planned to take on Tory again this year in a run for mayor, making a campaignstyle announcement in the fall of 2017 against the King streetcar pilot project, saying he’ll kill it if elected.
A “blind date” with federal NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh as part of a TVO show in November revealed his dislike of bike lanes, traffic congestion and the fact he hadn’t been on a bike for 30 years.
Ford switched to provincial politics after Patrick Brown resigned suddenly amid allegations of sexual improprieties.
He was the first to publicly declare he was seeking the PC leadership, at a news conference held in the basement of his mother’s home in Etobicoke.
At an event near the airport, Ford rallied his “Ford Nation” troops saying he opposed the carbon tax, pledged to keep taxes low and said it’s time for the PC party to “present Ontarians with a compassionate and responsible vision.”
Christopher Cochrane, an author and political science professor at the University of Toronto, said Ford will attract a “working-class constituency” that will resonate outside of Toronto in a general election.
Ford is also able to “appeal to people who aren’t traditional Conservative supporters in Etobicoke and Scarborough and other areas — including large segments of minority populations in Toronto,” Cochrane said.
“I think he will do quite well outside of major urban centres, with the folksy populism that he brings.”