The evolution of Doug Ford
In an exclusive interview, Tory leader discusses how governing has changed him
This isn’t the Doug Ford campaign you usually see.
Today there are no boastful backdrops or choreographed photo ops showcasing his legacy as Progressive Conservative leader. No TV cameras transmitting his musings live, nor media hordes to harangue him in real time.
No teleprompter to read from. Just Ford, unscripted — and me. But not unguarded. Bodyguards shadow us at every step, and Ford never truly lets his guard down — though he comes as close to candour, up close, as I’ve heard him during his past four years as premier.
A campaign bus laminated in oversized images of Ford lumbers up to
Laura Sabrina Drive in the heart of the Vaughan-Woodbridge riding. The show — the Doug Ford reelection show — is about to begin.
“Let’s just hit all these homes!” he announces, all business in his navy blue Ontario PC windbreaker, partly zipped up against a sudden breeze, his battered brown shoes showing his campaign mileage to date.
For an hour, I tag along as this savvy street politician canvasses door to door along suburban streets, venturing pointedly — provocatively — onto the home turf of Steven Del Duca, leader of the rival Liberals.
Ford wants to win big here — the Tories are convinced they can, based on an internal party poll showing Del Duca trailing by 10 percentage points in the riding (about which more later), not to mention provincewide polls that tell a similar story.