Doug Ford is the leader of the Progressive Conservative Party and no introductions are needed. In hundreds of press briefings since March 2020, Mr. Ford includes the response to the pandemic in Ontario, for better and for worse.
He won a massive majority in 2018 thanks to a combination of events: the surprise resignation of Patrick Brown as leader of the Progressive Conservative Party, Mr Ford’s unlikely rise to leadership against favorite Christine Elliott and the inevitable fall of the Liberals Party, broken 15 years in power.
The Ford family was a political dynasty. Before becoming premier, Doug Ford served on the city council under his brother Rob, the controversial mayor of Toronto. Ford Sr. is a member of Mike Harris ’Conservative government and nephew Michael, also a city councilor, is a York-South-Weston candidate in the 2022 provincial election.
In 2018, the Ford Nation moved, not without a crash, from the Toronto city council to the Legislative Assembly. Doug Ford brought his earnest character, his controversial advisers and his desire to reduce public spending.
In the opinion of many observers, the first two years of his government were chaotic and punctuated by controversy, such as budget cuts to health, education and French-language services, the removal of carbon exchange and the allegations of nepotism targeting his chief of staff.
Doug Ford was booed in public (New window). Then the pandemic changed everything. His government loosened purse strings and announced large investments in health care, public transport, the automotive sector and construction of highways. Mr. calmed down. Ford and left more space for his ministerial experiences.
To stay in their majority, the Progressive Conservatives will have to hold on to their gains in the Toronto crown, 905. This includes Liberal pivotal riding before the 2018 election. Democrats in the Windsor area and northern Ontario.
Source: Radio-Canada
