PREMIER ON TOUR
Essex County on schedule
After months of sticking close to home, Ontario Premier Doug Ford is hitting the road, starting his summer tour in Waterloo on Tuesday, a tour that will include stops in Leamington and Kingsville later this week.
Ford has been speaking to the public and the media almost daily during press conferences held in a room at Queen’s Park since COVID-19 turned into a crisis in March.
He has ventured out a little bit with a visit to a manufacturing facility in Woodbridge, just north of Toronto, Friday and visited Cobourg the day before to make a hospital funding announcement.
The premier’s stops in Cambridge and Kitchener on Tuesday will mark the start of his official tour.
Ford will visit Eclipse Automation, one of the companies that retooled during COVID-19 to make N95 and surgical masks for frontline workers.
He will also visit Challenger Motor Freight, a trucking company that has kept products moving and on store shelves during the pandemic.
Summer tours are common for premiers; Ford said it remains important to get out on the road even during a pandemic.
“I think it’s important to connect with the people and see how they are dealing with COVID. I also want to see the businesses that were able to retool to make PPE and to step up for the cause,” Ford said in a phone interview Monday.
COVID-19 not only put his tour on pause, it gave rise to what will likely be a highlight for Ford: He’ll get his hair cut for the first time since the lockdown happened when he visits Leamington on Thursday.
“I can’t wait. I’ve got a crop on my head like I haven’t had since high school,” Ford said.
In total, the premier plans to hit 38 ridings and cover 5,000 kilometres over 18 different days.
Other spots on the tour will include Guelph, Chatham, Kingsville, Peel Region, Durham, Niagara, Scarborough, Ottawa and Hamilton.