Ford Nation

Friday June 28, 2018

Editorial Cartoon by Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator – Friday June 28, 2018

Incoming Ontario premier Doug Ford invites public to outdoor ceremony after swearing-in

Doug Ford is set to officially become Ontario’s premier on Friday and he’s inviting the public to come watch.

A ceremony is scheduled to take place on the steps of the legislature after the Progressive Conservative leader and his cabinet are sworn in inside Queen’s Park.

While the indoor portion is closed to the public, the ceremony outside — which will see Ford reaffirm his oath of office and give a speech — is open to everyone.

Ford, who was elected to a majority earlier this month, has yet to say what size his cabinet will be or who will be appointed to each portfolio.

But he has made several other major announcements, including a pledge to scrap the province’s cap-and-trade system immediately once the legislature resumes.

He has also placed the public service under a hiring freeze and ordered that all discretionary spending be put on hold. (source: Global News) 

 

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Saturday April 14, 2018

Editorial Cartoon by Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator – Saturday April 14, 2018

Doug Ford vows to fire CEO and board of Hydro One if elected premier

January 15, 2016

Doug Ford says that if he is elected premier this spring, he will fire the CEO of Hydro One and the company’s board of directors.

The Progressive Conservative leader says he would dump CEO Mayo Schmidt because the head of the partially privatized utility presided over a dramatic increase in rates and earned a $6.2 million salary last year.

Tory energy critic Todd Smith says in order to fire Schmidt the government would have to first fire and replace the Hydro One board, which would then have to fire the CEO.

Smith says it’s also not clear how much it would cost to fire the CEO since his contract is not public.

Smith says the party will have further details on how it plans to address hydro costs at a later date. (Source: Hamilton Spectator) 

Published in the Niagara Falls Review

 

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Thursday February 1, 2018

Editorial Cartoon by Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator – Thursday February 1, 2018

With Doug Ford joining PC leadership race, all bets are off

Your mom’s basement is a rather inauspicious venue to announce your ambition to become premier of Ontario, but anybody who underestimates Doug Ford’s chances to win the Ontario Progressive Conservative Party leadership does so at their peril.

October 30, 2014

Ford declared his candidacy on Monday to lead a party in deep turmoil following the resignation of leader Patrick Brown over allegations of sexual misconduct.

Ford is quickly trying to position himself as the populist choice in the race, the outsider, railing against the elites.

“Folks, make no mistake about it,” he said in his short statement from the basement of his mother’s Etobicoke house. “The elites of this party, the ones who have shut out the grassroots, do not want me in this race. But I’m here to give a voice to the hard-working taxpayers of this province, people who have been ignored for far too long.”

Ford’s message might just resonate with a good chunk of the PC membership. And don’t forget Ford’s message already has proven popular with no small number of people in Toronto.

When he stepped into the shoes of his better-known brother Rob Ford to run for mayor in 2014, he came second but won 20 of the city’s 44 wards. He trounced John Tory in Etobicoke, Scarborough and North York, the key parts of Toronto that the PCs must swing their way to form a majority provincial government. It`s not a stretch to think he could replicate that success in the 905, the crucial battleground of Ontario politics, and of course in traditional Tory strongholds too. (Continued: CBC) 

Here’s Doug Ford viewing the cartoon during an interview with Cynthia Mulligan, political reporter with CityNews Toronto on March 12, 2018, the Monday after the weekend vote which declared him leader of Ontario’s Progressive Conservative Party: 


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Thursday October 30, 2014

Thursday October 30, 2014By Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator – Thursday October 30, 2014

Doug Ford could have a real shot at winning Ontario PC leadership, party insiders say

Some Ontario Progressive Conservatives say Doug Ford could have a real shot at winning the party’s leadership if he decides to enter the race.

After losing the Toronto mayor’s race to former PC leader John Tory, Doug Ford told radio station NewsTalk 1010 that he was considering entering the race to become provincial Conservative leader.

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Ford said the party needs to reach out to union members, people in public housing and other “common people that are fiscally conservative, but you have to have a social conscience.”

Wednesday October 8, 2014Conservative insiders who spoke on condition of anonymity because they support other leadership candidates say Ford could be a serious contender because of the party’s one-member one-vote system.

Tuesday September 16, 2014One party veteran says Ford would absolutely be a credible candidate, especially with his talk about broadening the party’s traditional base and his ability to make a breakthrough in Toronto, where the Conservatives don’t hold any seats.

However, another longtime Conservative says party members would be leery of taking a risk on a man many consider to be a very polarizing figure.

There are currently five declared candidates to replace Tim Hudak as leader of the PCs and Ontario’s Official Opposition, and voting won’t take place until next May. (Source: National Post)