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Douglas Robert Ford Jr. (born November 20, 1964) is a Canadian politician and businessman who has served as the 26th and current
premier of Ontario The premier of Ontario () is the head of government of Ontario. Under the Westminster system, the premier governs with the confidence of a majority the elected Legislative Assembly; as such, the premier typically sits as a member of Provincia ...
and leader of the Progressive Conservative Party since 2018. He represents the
Toronto Toronto ( , locally pronounced or ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most populous city in Canada. It is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a p ...
riding of Etobicoke North in the
Legislative Assembly of Ontario The Legislative Assembly of Ontario (OLA; ) is the legislative chamber of the Canadian province of Ontario. Its elected members are known as Members of Provincial Parliament (MPPs). Bills passed by the Legislative Assembly are given royal as ...
. With his brother Randy, Ford co-owns Deco Labels and Tags, a printing business operating in Canada and the United States founded by their father,
Doug Ford Sr. Douglas Bruce Ford Sr. (February 27, 1933 – September 22, 2006) was a Canadian businessman and politician for the province of Ontario. He was a Progressive Conservative member of the Legislative Assembly of Ontario from 1995 to 1999 who rep ...
, who served as a
Member of Provincial Parliament Member of Provincial Parliament is the title given to provincial legislators in two legislatures: * Member of Provincial Parliament (Canada) * Member of Provincial Parliament (Western Cape) In the Western Cape province of South Africa, Member of Pro ...
(MPP) from 1995 to 1999. Ford was a
Toronto city council Toronto City Council is the governing body of the municipal government of Toronto, Ontario. Meeting at Toronto City Hall, it comprises 25 city councillors and the mayor of Toronto. The Toronto City Council 2022–2026, current term began on Nove ...
lor for Ward 2 Etobicoke North from 2010 to 2014 at the same time that his brother,
Rob Ford Robert Bruce Ford (May 28, 1969 – March 22, 2016) was a Canadian politician and businessman who served as the 64th mayor of Toronto from 2010 to 2014. Before and after his term as mayor, Ford was a city councillor representing Ward 2 Etobi ...
, was
mayor of Toronto The mayor of Toronto is the head of Toronto City Council and chief executive officer of the Municipal government of Toronto, municipal government. The mayor is elected alongside city council every four years on the fourth Monday of October; t ...
. Ford ran for the
2014 Toronto mayoral election The 2014 Toronto mayoral election took place on October 27, 2014. Incumbent Mayor of Toronto, Mayor Rob Ford initially ran for re-election, but dropped out after being diagnosed with a tumour - instead running for city council in Ward 2. Regis ...
, where he placed second behind
John Tory John Howard Tory (born May 28, 1954) is a Canadian lawyer, broadcaster, businessman, and former politician who served as the 65th mayor of Toronto from 2014 to 2023. He served as leader of the Official Opposition in Ontario from 2005 to 2007 ...
. In 2018, Ford entered provincial politics and won the Progressive Conservative leadership election. He led the PCs to three consecutive
majority A majority is more than half of a total; however, the term is commonly used with other meanings, as explained in the "#Related terms, Related terms" section below. It is a subset of a Set (mathematics), set consisting of more than half of the se ...
victories in the
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,
2022 The year began with another wave in the COVID-19 pandemic, with SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variant, Omicron spreading rapidly and becoming the dominant variant of the SARS-CoV-2 virus worldwide. Tracking a decrease in cases and deaths, 2022 saw ...
, and
2025 So far, the year has seen the continuation of major armed conflicts, including the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the Sudanese civil war (2023–present), Sudanese civil war, and the Gaza war. Internal crises in Bangladesh post-resignation v ...
general elections. As premier, Ford decreased the size of the Toronto city council, responded to the
COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...
, granted extra powers to designated Ontario mayors through the ''
Strong Mayors, Building Homes Act The ''Strong Mayors, Building Homes Act, 2022'' () is a statute in Ontario that grants extra powers to the Mayor of Toronto and the mayors of other designated municipalities within their mayor–council governments. Powers granted Previously, a ...
'', passed the ''Your Health Act'' (Bill 60) to expand the use of private healthcare services, and grappled with controversies from the
Greenbelt scandal The Greenbelt scandal is a political controversy in the Canadian province of Ontario about the Greenbelt surrounding the province's Golden Horseshoe region. Background Shortly before the 2018 Ontario general election, a leaked video of Progress ...
. Although Ford's rhetoric and policies were characterised as
conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy and ideology that seeks to promote and preserve traditional institutions, customs, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civiliza ...
in his early years as premier, since 2020 political commentators have noted a shift to the
political centre Centrism is the range of political ideologies that exist between left-wing politics and right-wing politics on the left–right political spectrum. It is associated with moderate politics, including people who strongly support moderate policie ...
and a more co-operative attitude towards the federal Liberal government.


Early life, family, and education

Born in
Etobicoke Etobicoke (, ) is an administrative district and former city within Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Comprising the city's west end, Etobicoke is bordered on the south by Lake Ontario, on the east by the Humber River (Ontario), Humber River, on the ...
, Ontario, Ford was the second of four children of Doug Bruce Ford Sr. and Ruth Diane Ford ( Campbell).Doolittle, 2014 His paternal grandparents were
English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Culture, language and peoples * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England * ''English'', an Amish ter ...
immigrants. He graduated grade twelve from Scarlett Heights Collegiate Institute. He then attended
Humber College The Humber College Institute of Technology and Advanced Learning, rebranded as Humber Polytechnic since 2024, is a public Institute of Technology and Advanced Learning, college in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Founded in 1967, Humber has three mai ...
for two months before dropping out with no diploma.


Business career and early political involvement

In the 1990s, Ford became involved in the running of Deco Labels and Tags, a business co-founded by his father in 1962. The company makes pressure-sensitive labels for plastic-wrapped grocery products. Doug Jr. became president of the company in 2002 and was responsible for the company's expansion into
Chicago Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...
. Nearing his death, his father divided up the company, leaving 40 percent to Doug Jr., 40 percent to Randy and 20 percent to Rob. In 2008, Doug Jr. launched the purchase of Wise Tag and Label in
New Jersey New Jersey is a U.S. state, state located in both the Mid-Atlantic States, Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern United States, Northeastern regions of the United States. Located at the geographic hub of the urban area, heavily urbanized Northeas ...
and fired Wise Tag's manager. Former Deco employees suggest that the Chicago branch was well-managed under Doug Jr., and that he was well-liked but that the company declined under Randy's leadership after Doug Jr. entered politics in 2010. , Ford and his mother were directors of the company, managed by his brother Randy. Ford's first involvement in politics came when
Doug Holyday Douglas Charles Holyday (born 1942) is a retired Canadian politician who served as the last mayor of Etobicoke from 1994 to 1998 and the deputy mayor of Toronto from 2010 to 2013. Holyday was first elected to Etobicoke City Council as an alderm ...
approached Deco to print stickers for signs for his 1994 mayoral campaign in Etobicoke. Ford took it upon himself to canvass for Holyday. He then assisted in his father's campaigns as a PC MPP candidate in
1995 1995 was designated as: * United Nations Year for Tolerance * World Year of Peoples' Commemoration of the Victims of the Second World War This was the first year that the Internet was entirely privatized, with the United States government ...
and 1999. He also ran his brother Rob's council campaigns in 2000, 2003, and 2006, and Rob's winning mayoral campaign in 2010.


Municipal politics


Toronto City Councillor

On October 25, 2010, Ford was elected as councillor to Toronto City Council in Ward 2. He succeeded his brother, Rob, who ran successfully for mayor of Toronto. Upon election, Doug Ford announced that he would donate his $100,000 annual salary to community organizations. As a city councillor, Ford voted to privatise garbage pickup west of Yonge Street, declare the
Toronto Transit Commission The Toronto Transit Commission (TTC) is the primary public transport agency in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, operating the majority of the city's transit bus, bus and rail services. It is the oldest and largest of the urban transit service providers ...
an essential service, reduce the office budget of city councillors and eliminate the vehicle registration tax.


Boards and agencies

While on city council, Ford served on the board of Build Toronto, an arm's-length city body responsible for developing and selling city land. He was also a director of the
Canadian National Exhibition The Canadian National Exhibition (CNE), also known as The Exhibition or The Ex, is an annual fair that takes place at Exhibition Place in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, on the third Friday of August leading up to and including Labour Day (Canada), ...
, and served on the Budget Committee, the Civic Appointments Committee and the Government Management Committee at Council. Ford was a member of the board of Toronto Transit Infrastructure Limited, a corporation set up to finance a
Sheppard Avenue Sheppard Avenue is an east–west principal arterial road in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The street has two distinct branches near its eastern end, with the original route being a collector road leading to Pickering, Ontario, Pickering via a turno ...
subway extension, which Council later cancelled. In 2011, Ford promoted an alternative plan for the
Port Lands The Port Lands (also known as Portlands) of Toronto, Ontario, Canada are an industrial and recreational neighbourhood located about 5 kilometres south-east of downtown, located on the former Don River delta and most of Ashbridge's Bay. Appro ...
district of Toronto, including a
monorail A monorail is a Rail transport, railway in which the track consists of a single rail or beam. Colloquially, the term "monorail" is often used to describe any form of elevated rail or people mover. More accurately, the term refers to the style ...
, a boat-in hotel, the world's largest
Ferris wheel A Ferris wheel (also called a big wheel, giant wheel or an observation wheel) is an amusement ride consisting of a rotating upright wheel with multiple passenger-carrying components (commonly referred to as passenger cars, cabins, tubs, gondola ...
and a mega-mall. The plan was ridiculed in the media and council voted it down—including by members of the mayoral executive committee.


Other events while councillor

Ford caused controversy after revealing that his brother Rob would be served a
subpoena A subpoena (; also subpœna, supenna or subpena) or witness summons is a writ issued by a government agency, most often a court, to compel testimony by a witness or production of evidence under a penalty for failure. There are two common types of ...
if Rob's friend and driver Alexander Lisi went to court over charges of extortion. Ford commented that the subpoena was in "payback" for Toronto Police Chief
Bill Blair William "Bill" Sterling Blair (born April 9, 1954) is a Canadian politician and former police officer who served as the Minister of National Defence (Canada), Minister of National Defence from 2023 to 2025. A member of the Liberal Party of Can ...
's not getting a contract renewal with the
Toronto Police Service The Toronto Police Service (TPS) is a municipal police force in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, and the primary agency responsible for providing law enforcement and policing services in Toronto. Established in 1834, it was the first local police se ...
, saying "This is why we need a change at the top", in regards to Blair's contract. Blair filed a defamation lawsuit, demanding a written apology in exchange for dropping the suit. Ford apologized and retracted the comments. An investigative report by ''
The Globe and Mail ''The Globe and Mail'' is a Newspapers in Canada, Canadian newspaper printed in five cities in Western Canada, western and central Canada. With a weekly readership of more than 6 million in 2024, it is Canada's most widely read newspaper on week ...
'' published in May 2013 alleged that Ford had sold
hashish Hashish (; ), usually abbreviated as hash, is a Compression (physics), compressed form of resin (trichomes) derived from the cannabis flowers. European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction, Lisbon, As a Psychoactive drug, psychoactive ...
at
James Gardens James Gardens is a public botanical garden in the Etobicoke district of Toronto, Ontario, Canada along the Humber River. It was a former private estate sold to the City of Toronto and is now managed by the Toronto Parks Department. Overview Jame ...
for several years in the 1980s, based on interviews with
anonymous sources Anonymous may refer to: * Anonymity, the state of an individual's identity, or personally identifiable information, being publicly unknown ** Anonymous work, a work of art or literature that has an unnamed or unknown creator or author * Anony ...
. Ford, who had never been charged with drug possession or trafficking, denied the allegations and accused the newspaper of unfairly targeting his brother, then-mayor
Rob Ford Robert Bruce Ford (May 28, 1969 – March 22, 2016) was a Canadian politician and businessman who served as the 64th mayor of Toronto from 2010 to 2014. Before and after his term as mayor, Ford was a city councillor representing Ward 2 Etobi ...
. The newspaper defended its report and its use of anonymous sources at an
Ontario Press Council The Ontario Press Council was a voluntary media adjudication body which investigates complaints about newspapers in Ontario, Canada. On September 1, 2015, it was amalgamated into the newly formed National Newsmedia Council. History The council w ...
hearing, which dismissed complaints against the newspaper and found that its coverage was "fair and ethical". Ford said at the time that he planned to sue the newspaper for libel. When asked in a 2018 interview why he had not sued, he replied that he had decided a lawsuit would be a "waste of time". Ford opposed a house for developmentally disabled youth in his ward, saying the home had "ruined the community".


2014 mayoral election

In June 2013, Ford announced that he would not run for re-election as councillor in the next Toronto election, scheduled for 2014: "I won't be running next time, at least down here I won't be running, I'll be running away from this place in 16 months", expressing his frustration with municipal politics. It was speculated at the time that Ford may be a Progressive Conservative candidate for a future Ontario election, or interested in the leadership of the PCs. On February 20, 2014, after meeting with PC leader
Tim Hudak Timothy Patrick Hudak (born November 1, 1967) is a former Canadian politician who led the Progressive Conservative Party of Ontario, Ontario Progressive Conservative (PC) Party from 2009 to 2014. Hudak was a Member of Provincial Parliament (Can ...
, Ford announced that he would not be a candidate in the next provincial election, which was called for June 12, 2014, so that he could focus on his brother's re-election campaign. Ford explained, "The timing right now just doesn't work." After his brother Rob entered drug rehab in May 2014, Ford commented that he would not rule out running for mayor. Rob returned from rehab and continued his campaign for mayor, but withdrew after he was diagnosed with an abdominal tumour and hospitalized. Doug Ford then entered the mayoral campaign in the last hour before the nomination deadline on September 12, 2014. Comments Ford made during the campaign received criticism for alleged
bigotry Prejudice can be an affective feeling towards a person based on their perceived social group membership. The word is often used to refer to a preconceived (usually unfavourable) evaluation or classification of another person based on that pers ...
, such as
misogyny Misogyny () is hatred of, contempt for, or prejudice against Woman, women or girls. It is a form of sexism that can keep women at a lower social status than Man, men, thus maintaining the social roles of patriarchy. Misogyny has been wide ...
and
antisemitism Antisemitism or Jew-hatred is hostility to, prejudice towards, or discrimination against Jews. A person who harbours it is called an antisemite. Whether antisemitism is considered a form of racism depends on the school of thought. Antisemi ...
, and critics accused him of
conflict of interest A conflict of interest (COI) is a situation in which a person or organization is involved in multiple wikt:interest#Noun, interests, financial or otherwise, and serving one interest could involve working against another. Typically, this relates t ...
and of drug dealing in the past. Though voters viewed the brothers as having the same ideological stance and gave them similar levels of support, Rob's drug scandal received little attention with regard to Doug's campaign. Ford's campaign got the attention of ''
Last Week Tonight A last is a mechanical form shaped like a human foot. It is used by shoemakers and cordwainers in the manufacture and repair of shoes. Lasts come in many styles and sizes, depending on the exact job they are designed for. Common variations ...
''s
John Oliver John William Oliver (born 23 April 1977) is a British and American comedian who hosts ''Last Week Tonight with John Oliver'' on HBO. He started his career as a stand-up comedian in the United Kingdom and came to wider attention for his work ...
, who closed an episode begging Torontonians to vote for Doug Ford for the world's amusement. Doug Ford maintained the support that Rob had in the polls and made no significant ground against frontrunner John Tory, but maintained his lead over
Olivia Chow Olivia Chow (born March 24, 1957) is a Canadian politician who has been the 66th and current mayor of Toronto since July 12, 2023. Previously, Chow served as the New Democratic Party (NDP) member of Parliament (MP) for Trinity—Spadina fro ...
. Ford lost the election to Tory, having 34 percent of the support compared to Tory's 40 percent. Ford's campaign was fined $11,950 for placing 478 illegal lawn signs during the campaign, including placing signs on the
Don Valley Parkway The Don Valley Parkway (DVP) is a municipal expressway in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, which connects the Gardiner Expressway in downtown Toronto with Highway 401. North of Highway 401, it continues as Highway 404. The parkway ru ...
, the
Gardiner Expressway The Frederick G. Gardiner Expressway, commonly known as the Gardiner Expressway or simply the Gardiner, is a partially at grade and elevated municipal expressway in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Running close to the shore of Lake Ontario, it exten ...
, and on civic buildings and parks. Following his unsuccessful mayoral candidacy, there was speculation that Ford would become a candidate for the
leadership Leadership, is defined as the ability of an individual, group, or organization to "", influence, or guide other individuals, teams, or organizations. "Leadership" is a contested term. Specialist literature debates various viewpoints on the co ...
of the Progressive Conservative Party of Ontario. Ford told reporters: "It's on the table, I would really consider it", and added: "Our campaign is ready to go. Our people are itching to get involved. We are miles ahead of the other candidates." On November 27, 2014, Ford announced that he would not be a candidate for the position and endorsed the candidacy of family friend
Christine Elliott Christine Janice Elliott (born April 13, 1955) is a retired Canadian politician in Ontario who served as the 11th deputy premier of Ontario and the Ontario minister of health from 2018 to 2022. Elliott was elected to represent the riding of ...
.


Integrity commissioner ruling controversy

In December 2016, the City of Toronto's integrity commissioner concluded that Ford broke the city's code of conduct when he was a councillor finding that Ford improperly used his influence in municipal matters pertaining to two companies that were clients of his family's company. Integrity Commissioner Valerie Jepson ruled that: "Councillor Ford took no steps to establish clear lines of separation between his responsibilities as a member of Council and his duties as a principal of Deco." Since Ford was no longer a councillor by the time the ruling was issued, the commissioner did not recommend any sanctions for Ford.


2018 mayoral election

On September 9, 2017, Ford announced at his family's annual barbecue that he would run for mayor of Toronto in the 2018 election, saying "this one's for you, Robbie", referring to his younger brother Rob who had died the previous year. Ford said that his opponent, John Tory, was "all talk and broken promises". On February 1, 2018, Ford announced that he no longer planned to run for mayor that year because he intended to focus entirely on his campaign for Ontario PC leader.


Provincial politics


2018 Progressive Conservative leadership campaign

Following the sudden resignation of Patrick Brown on January 25, 2018, the Progressive Conservative Party of Ontario announced a new leader would need to be chosen before the
2018 Ontario general election The 2018 Ontario general election was held on June 7, 2018, to elect the 124 members of the 42nd Parliament of Ontario. The Progressive Conservative Party of Ontario, led by Doug Ford Jr., Doug Ford, won 76 of the 124 seats in the legislature an ...
in June. Ford was the first candidate to announce, on January 29, that he would seek the leadership of the party. On January 31, 2018, Ford announced he would seek the PC nomination in Etobicoke North and run for the seat in the 2018 election. He was one of the four official candidates running for the PC leadership along with
Christine Elliott Christine Janice Elliott (born April 13, 1955) is a retired Canadian politician in Ontario who served as the 11th deputy premier of Ontario and the Ontario minister of health from 2018 to 2022. Elliott was elected to represent the riding of ...
,
Caroline Mulroney Caroline Anne Mulroney Lapham, (born June 11, 1974) is a Canadian businesswoman, jurist, lawyer, and politician who currently serves as the President of the Treasury Board of Ontario and Minister of Francophone Affairs. Born in Montreal, Ca ...
, and
Tanya Granic Allen The 2018 Progressive Conservative Party of Ontario leadership election was held on March 10, 2018, due to the resignation of party leader Patrick Brown on January 25, 2018, following allegations of sexual misconduct. Winner Doug Ford narrowly ...
. Ford promised to represent the interests of Northern Ontario in Queen's Park. He called his opponents "insiders" and "political elites", who did not represent the interests of the residents of Northern Ontario like he could. Ford pledged several northern-focused policy initiatives including moving forward with resource development in the
Northern Ontario Ring of Fire The Ring of Fire is a vast, mineral-rich region located in the remote James Bay, James Bay Lowlands of Northern Ontario, Canada. Spanning approximately , the area is rich in chromite, nickel, copper, Platinum group, platinum group elements, gold, ...
and reinstating the
Ontario Northland Railway The Ontario Northland Railway is a Canadian railway operated by the Ontario Northland Transportation Commission, a Crown agency (Ontario), provincial Crown agency of the government of Ontario. Originally built to develop the Lake Timiskaming ...
's ''
Northlander The ''Northlander'' was a passenger train operated by the provincially-owned Ontario Northland Railway in southern and northeastern Ontario, Canada. In 2012, rail service was discontinued and replaced with express bus service. Rail service will ...
'' train service. Ford called the Ontario health care system "broken" while relating the hospital experience of his brother Rob. He explained that Rob fell while being guided to a chair, and as the hospital was understaffed, Doug had to rush down eleven floors to find security guards to help. He stated that the province should support transportation to allow Northern Ontarians to travel quickly and easily to the south to receive medical care and should increase provincial support for Ontario's small and medium-sized hospitals. Polling results ahead of the leadership ballot were mixed. A February
Ipsos Ipsos Group S.A. (; derived from the Latin expression, ) is a multinational market research and consulting firm with headquarters in Paris, France. The company was founded in 1975 by Didier Truchot, Chairman of the company, and has been publ ...
/
Global News Global News is the news and Current affairs (news format), current affairs division of the Canadian Global Television Network. The network is owned by Corus Entertainment, which oversees all of the network's national news programming as well as ...
poll found that Ford had the most support of all the PC leadership candidates in Toronto and would beat the Liberals in the city by nine points, but a Mainstreet poll showed him doing only marginally better than the other PC candidates except Patrick Brown, and a Forum Research poll suggested he would have less support than the other candidates. On March 10, Ford won the PC leadership on the third ballot. The results were too close to call and there was a dispute over whether some votes were allocated to the correct electoral districts, so the announcement was not made at the originally scheduled convention. A news conference was held later that night after a recount was completed. Elliott conceded the next day and endorsed Ford as leader. On March 27, 2018, Ford was named the party's candidate in Etobicoke North.


2018 general election

In March 2018, the Liberals tabled a pre-election budget in the provincial legislature which promised billions of dollars in new spending for free childcare and expanded coverage for dental care but replaced the government's previous
balanced budget A balanced budget (particularly that of a government) is a budget in which revenues are equal to expenditures. Thus, neither a budget deficit nor a budget surplus exists (the accounts "balance"). More generally, it is a budget that has no budge ...
with a $6.7 billion deficit projected to last until 2024–2025. Ford called the budget a "spending spree". He said he would condense the Conservative platform adopted under former leader Patrick Brown, reducing "about ten percent of t, into a five-point plan focusing on health, education, creating jobs, getting rid of the province's
cap and trade Carbon emission trading (also called carbon market, emission trading scheme (ETS) or cap and trade) is a type of emissions trading scheme designed for carbon dioxide (CO2) and other greenhouse gases (GHGs). A form of carbon price, carbon pricing ...
program for carbon emissions, and reducing electricity rates. Ford was critical of the
sex education Sex education, also known as sexual education, sexuality education or sex ed, is the instruction of issues relating to human sexuality, including human sexual anatomy, Human sexual activity, sexual activity, sexual reproduction, safe sex, birth ...
components of the Ontario health curriculum which was updated in 2015, and stated that he believed it needed to be reviewed. He suggested that minors should be required to consult their parents before obtaining an
abortion Abortion is the early termination of a pregnancy by removal or expulsion of an embryo or fetus. Abortions that occur without intervention are known as miscarriages or "spontaneous abortions", and occur in roughly 30–40% of all pregnan ...
, and indicated he would allow the introduction of a
private member's bill A private member's bill is a bill (proposed law) introduced into a legislature by a legislator who is not acting on behalf of the executive branch. The designation "private member's bill" is used in most Westminster system jurisdictions, in wh ...
requiring parental consent. In terms of economic policy, Ford said he would revive manufacturing in Ontario by easing regulations, cutting taxes, and ensuring competitive electricity rates. Ford criticized the Liberal government for not proceeding quickly enough to develop the
Northern Ontario Ring of Fire The Ring of Fire is a vast, mineral-rich region located in the remote James Bay, James Bay Lowlands of Northern Ontario, Canada. Spanning approximately , the area is rich in chromite, nickel, copper, Platinum group, platinum group elements, gold, ...
, saying that he'd get on a bulldozer himself if necessary. Ford announced at an April 3 rally in
Hamilton, Ontario Hamilton is a port city in the Canadian Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Ontario. Hamilton has a 2021 Canadian census, population of 569,353 (2021), and its Census Metropolitan Area, census metropolitan area, which encompasses ...
, that if elected his government would allow
Hamilton City Council Hamilton City Council is the governing body of the City of Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. Since 21 November 1960, Council has met at Hamilton City Hall at 71 Main Street West. The current council consists of the mayor In many countries, a may ...
to reallocate the $1.3 billion allocated for the city's proposed rapid transit system to roads or other infrastructure. Hamilton mayor
Fred Eisenberger Fred Eisenberger (born September 3, 1952) is a Canadian politician and former real estate agent who was the 57th mayor of Hamilton from 2014 to 2022. Eisenberger previously served as chair of the Hamilton Port Authority prior to his first ele ...
responded saying that city council had already decided the issue and that cancelling the LRT would mean $100 million would "be thrown away". Ford and the PC Party received the endorsement of former Toronto mayor
Mel Lastman Melvin Douglas Lastman (March 9, 1933 – December 11, 2021) was a Canadian businessman and politician who served as the third mayor of North York from 1973 to 1997 and the 62nd mayor of Toronto from 1998 to 2003. He was the first person to s ...
and former Mississauga mayor
Hazel McCallion Hazel Mary Muriel McCallion (; February 14, 1921 – January 29, 2023) was a Canadian politician who served as the fifth mayor of Mississauga. First elected in November 1978, McCallion was mayor for 36 years until her retirement in 2014, makin ...
. In the media, Ford was compared to U.S. President
Donald Trump Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who is the 47th president of the United States. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, he served as the 45 ...
. ''
The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...
'' described Ford as a "businessman turned anti-establishment politician", a "son of a wealthy entrepreneur" who "rails against elites" and "often shuns expertise", while noting a sharp difference with Trump by pointing out that during his 2014 Toronto mayoral campaign "Ford drummed up strong support among some of the city's most diverse neighbourhoods, suggesting his populist touch resonates with immigrants and racialized minorities who have traditionally self-identified as disenfranchised". Ford rejected the comparisons while praising some of Trump's policies. Late in the campaign, the race became a battle between the PCs and the
Ontario NDP The Ontario New Democratic Party (NDP; , NPD) is a social democracy, social democratic List of political parties in Ontario, political party in Ontario, Canada. The party sits on the Centre-left politics, centre-left of the political spectrum. I ...
. Ford led the PC Party to a majority government in the general election held on June 7, 2018, taking 76 of 124 seats in the
Legislative Assembly of Ontario The Legislative Assembly of Ontario (OLA; ) is the legislative chamber of the Canadian province of Ontario. Its elected members are known as Members of Provincial Parliament (MPPs). Bills passed by the Legislative Assembly are given royal as ...
, including his own riding of Etobicoke North. Ford had been PC leader for less than 100 days when his party won the election.


Premier of Ontario

Ford was sworn in as premier on June 29, 2018, incorporating a ceremony outdoors on the lawn of Queen's Park. Ford is the first newly elected MPP to take office as premier since
Mitch Hepburn Mitchell Frederick Hepburn (August 12, 1896 – January 5, 1953) was the 11th premier of Ontario, from 1934 to 1942. He was the youngest premier in Ontario history, becoming premier at age 37. He was the only Ontario Liberal Party leader in the ...
did so in 1934.


Provincial finances

Ford's government cancelled the basic income pilot project. He opposes the laying off of government workers. He supports the use of attrition to eliminate government jobs that he believes are not needed. Ford believes in hiring independent auditors to audit government spending. Jay Goldberg of the Canadian Taxpayers Federation labelled Ford's spending excessive and noted Ontario's large debt increases under his government.


Liquor pricing

Ford campaigned on " buck-a-beer" and reduced the minimum price of beer from $1.25 to $1. The program saw low adoption by breweries and resellers. As a result of lowering the price floor, a regulation that capped annual increases in pricing that was tied to the
Consumer Price Index A consumer price index (CPI) is a statistical estimate of the level of prices of goods and services bought for consumption purposes by households. It is calculated as the weighted average price of a market basket of Goods, consumer goods and ...
(CPI) was also eliminated and is projected to result in increased prices overall.


Low-Income Individuals and Families Tax credit (LIFT)

On November 15, 2018, Finance Minister
Vic Fedeli Victor Anthony Fedeli (born August 8, 1956) is a Canadian politician who has been the Ontario minister of economic development, job creation and trade since 2019 and chair of Cabinet since 2018. He is the member of Provincial Parliament (MP ...
tabled the 2018 Ontario Economic Outlook Primary source which included a tax cut representing as much as $850 a year for individuals and $1,700 for couples. LIFT would mean that a single person working full-time in a minimum wage job would pay no provincial personal income tax. Minimum wage workers would still pay federal income tax, which represents 75 percent of the tax rate. LIFT is a variation on Ford's promise to cut taxes on those making less than $30,000 a year. The amount of the tax credit applies only to minimum wage earners with full-time jobs. An individual who works part-time at $20 an hour, but only earns $20,000 a year, would not be eligible. Economist Sheila Block said that a $15 minimum wage would represent about $1,100 more a year for low income earners than Ford's tax credit. In September 2018, Ford's government froze the minimum wage at $14 per hour and cancelled a planned increase.


Cap and trade

On June 15, 2018, then premier-designate, Ford announced in a statement that one of the first actions of his newly formed cabinet would be to eliminate the province's
cap and trade Carbon emission trading (also called carbon market, emission trading scheme (ETS) or cap and trade) is a type of emissions trading scheme designed for carbon dioxide (CO2) and other greenhouse gases (GHGs). A form of carbon price, carbon pricing ...
program under the 2016 ''Climate Change Mitigation and Low-Carbon Economy Act'', a polluter pay bill that "generated funds for
climate change mitigation Climate change mitigation (or decarbonisation) is action to limit the greenhouse gases in the atmosphere that cause climate change. Climate change mitigation actions include energy conservation, conserving energy and Fossil fuel phase-out, repl ...
and
adaptation In biology, adaptation has three related meanings. Firstly, it is the dynamic evolutionary process of natural selection that fits organisms to their environment, enhancing their evolutionary fitness. Secondly, it is a state reached by the p ...
," put in place by the Liberal government. As premier, through the ''Cap and Trade Cancellation Act, 2018'' which was tabled on July 25, 2018, Ford repealed cap and trade as part of his promise to lower gasoline prices by 10 cents per litre. A court later ruled that as Ontario's ''Environmental Bill of Rights'' required the government hold public consultations before removing the program, the government's unilateral decision broke the law. As federal law requires provinces to have in place their own pollution pricing system, as a result of Ontario withdrawing from the
Western Climate Initiative Western Climate Initiative, Inc. (WCI) is a 501(c)(3) non-profit corporation which administers the shared emissions trading market between the American state of California and the Canadian province of Quebec as well as separately administering t ...
, a carbon tax was automatically imposed on the province.


Carbon tax

Ford had warned that the imposition of the federal carbon tax would result in an increase in the price of gas in Ontario. According to fuel price analyst Patrick DeHaan, the average retail price of gas increased from 114.3 cents per litre before the carbon tax to "117.9 cents on April 1, the first day of the new tax" and 125.3 cents per litre in mid-July. There has been a 9.2 per cent drop in gasoline prices across Canada over the last year, according to the July 17, 2019
Statistics Canada Statistics Canada (StatCan; ), formed in 1971, is the agency of the Government of Canada commissioned with producing statistics to help better understand Canada, its population, resources, economy, society, and culture. It is headquartered in ...
report which resulted in inflation falling nationally in June 2019 to 2.0 per cent. DeHaan said that in July 2018 the average price of gas in Ontario had been 130.1 cents per litre. He added that the retail price of gas reflects the drop in the price of oil from US$72 per barrel to US$60 a barrel in 2019 and is not related to the carbon tax. As a result, rebates for electric vehicles funded through the program were cancelled, and a program known as the Green Ontario Fund, which was financed by the proceeds of cap-and-trade auctions and aimed to help homeowners reduce their carbon footprint and reduce hydro bills, was eliminated. In July, Canadian Prime Minister
Justin Trudeau Justin Pierre James Trudeau (born December 25, 1971) is a Canadian politician who served as the 23rd prime minister of Canada from 2015 to 2025. He led the Liberal Party from 2013 until his resignation in 2025 and was the member of Parliament ...
said that provinces that do not adopt a
carbon pricing Carbon pricing (or pricing) is a method for governments to Climate change mitigation, mitigate climate change, in which a monetary cost is applied to greenhouse gas emissions. This is done to encourage polluters to reduce fossil fuel combustion, ...
mechanism by September 1, 2018, would be subject to a federal carbon tax of $20/tonne starting in January 2019. Ontario's "fiscal watchdog" and other analysts said that the province will have to refund an estimated $3 billion in carbon credits over four years purchased under the cap and trade program. By mid-November 2018, ''The Globe and Mail'' reported that the Ontario government had "lost $2.7-billion in revenue" which included the $1.5-billion loss of revenue from the elimination of the cap-and-trade program. Ford has worked with the premiers of
Saskatchewan Saskatchewan is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province in Western Canada. It is bordered on the west by Alberta, on the north by the Northwest Territories, on the east by Manitoba, to the northeast by Nunavut, and to the south by the ...
,
Manitoba Manitoba is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada at the Centre of Canada, longitudinal centre of the country. It is Canada's Population of Canada by province and territory, fifth-most populous province, with a population ...
and
New Brunswick New Brunswick is a Provinces and Territories of Canada, province of Canada, bordering Quebec to the north, Nova Scotia to the east, the Gulf of Saint Lawrence to the northeast, the Bay of Fundy to the southeast, and the U.S. state of Maine to ...
to fight the federal government's carbon tax legislation, and has also supported campaigns to repeal the carbon tax led by federal Conservative Party leader
Andrew Scheer Andrew James Scheer (born May 20, 1979) is a Canadian politician who is the Leader of the Official Opposition (Canada), leader of the Opposition since 2025 and previously from 2017 to 2020 as Leader of the Conservative Party (Canada), leader of ...
and Alberta
United Conservative Party The United Conservative Party of Alberta (UCP) is a conservative political party in the province of Alberta, Canada. It was established in July 2017 as a merger between the Progressive Conservative Association of Alberta and the Wildrose Party ...
leader
Jason Kenney Jason Thomas Kenney (born May 30, 1968) is a former Canadian politician who served as the 18th premier of Alberta from 2019 until 2022, and the leader of the United Conservative Party (UCP) from 2017 until 2022. He also served as the member o ...
. Ford believes the federal '' Greenhouse Gas Pollution Pricing Act'', which imposes a
carbon tax A carbon tax is a tax levied on the carbon emissions from producing goods and services. Carbon taxes are intended to make visible the hidden Social cost of carbon, social costs of carbon emissions. They are designed to reduce greenhouse gas emis ...
on provinces that do not have their own pollution pricing regime is unconstitutional. He committed $30 million to challenge the federal legislation, $4 million of which was spent on anti-carbon pricing advertisements including printing anti-carbon pricing stickers and imposing fines for gas station owners failing to display the stickers. The province mandating the display of the stickers was later ruled to be itself unconstitutional, in violation of section 2(b) of the ''
Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms The ''Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms'' (), often simply referred to as the ''Charter'' in Canada, is a bill of rights entrenched in the Constitution of Canada, forming the first part of the '' Constitution Act, 1982''. The ''Char ...
'', which guarantees business owners'
freedom of expression Freedom of speech is a principle that supports the freedom of an individual or a community to articulate their opinions and ideas without fear of retaliation, censorship, or legal sanction. The rights, right to freedom of expression has been r ...
. On March 25, 2021, the
Supreme Court of Canada The Supreme Court of Canada (SCC; , ) is the highest court in the judicial system of Canada. It comprises nine justices, whose decisions are the ultimate application of Canadian law, and grants permission to between 40 and 75 litigants eac ...
ruled that the constitution allows for the federal government to introduce pollution pricing on behalf of provinces who do not have their own regime.


Debt

While Doug Ford promised a balanced budget in 2018, the Ontario debt has increased by $86 billion since Ford took office as of December 2024. This is an increase much greater than his predecessor's, whose budget Ford criticized. At the same time, Ontario's high income taxes have been called 'uncompetitive' by critics, with some also highlighting unnecessary spending by the government.


Healthcare

In 2018, Ford expressed support for publicly funded healthcare and a belief that funding should be increased to create 30,000 additional long-term care beds. In 2020, Ford's government spent $3.5 billion less on health care than budgeted. In 2018, Ford said he believes that the provincial government should fully subsidize dental costs for low-income seniors, something he enacted in 2019 as the ''Ontario Seniors Dental Care Program''. The federal government also later enacted the ''Canadian Dental Care Plan'', which partially subsidized dental care for qualifying individuals with a household income under 90k. Applications were open to seniors, kids and teens, and adults with qualifying disabilities as of December 2024.


Ontario Health

The Ford government introduced the Ontario Health agency in 2019, with the goal of centralizing services. The province expects to save $350 million a year by 2021–22. The introduction of the agency has been criticized however, as a similar approach was introduced in
Alberta Alberta is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province in Canada. It is a part of Western Canada and is one of the three Canadian Prairies, prairie provinces. Alberta is bordered by British Columbia to its west, Saskatchewan to its east, t ...
, which has the highest per capita healthcare spending in the country, with the NDP noting that "In
British Columbia British Columbia is the westernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Situated in the Pacific Northwest between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains, the province has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that ...
and in Alberta, health centralization wasted billions of dollars", and it wasted "time, money and energy on reshaping the health bureaucracy" rather than providing "specific solutions to well-identified problems."


Bill 60

Ford has been accused of attempting to privatise healthcare in the province of Ontario. In August 2022, Ford suggested additional private deliveries of healthcare in order to supplement existing public healthcare in response to a hospital staff shortage throughout Ontario. In May 2023, Ford's government passed Bill 60, also known as the ''Your Health Act'', to allow private clinics to perform more surgeries (including cataract surgeries, minimally invasive gynecological surgeries and eventually knee and hip replacements) and procedures (including MRI and CT scans) covered by the
Ontario Health Insurance Plan The Ontario Health Insurance Plan ( French: ''Assurance-Santé de l'Ontario''), commonly known by the acronym OHIP (pronounced ), is the government- run health insurance plan for the Canadian province of Ontario. OHIP is funded by a payroll ded ...
(OHIP).
Health Minister A health minister is the member of a country's government typically responsible for protecting and promoting public health and providing welfare spending and other social security services. Some governments have separate ministers for mental heal ...
Sylvia Jones Sylvia Jones (born ) is a Canadian politician who has served as the deputy premier of Ontario and minister of health since June 24, 2022. Jones sits as the member of Provincial Parliament (MPP) for Dufferin—Caledon, representing the Prog ...
argued the legislation was necessary to reduce the province's large surgical backlog (according to the province, more than 200,000 Ontarians have been waiting for surgeries). Ford's government said new clinics must apply for a licence to operate and include thorough staffing plans "to protect the stability of doctors, nurses and other health-care workers at public hospitals" as part of their applications. To ensure that quality and safety standards are met at every clinic, the government declared that it will name "expert organizations" to collaborate with Ontario Health and the Ministry of Health. If necessary, the ministry or the director of this third party may order an examination of a facility. The Ontario government was also found to be paying for-profit clinics more for publicly funded surgeries than they do for hospitals. Ford and his health minister have said that this is a cost-efficient method of expanding healthcare, but the chief of surgery at an Ontario hospital called the overpayment 'egregious'.


Emergency Room Closures

In 2023, Ontario saw 1,199 ER closures, mostly impacting rural areas. This problem further increased in 2024, to nearly 15,000 hours of ER or urgent care closures. The main reasons cited were staff shortages, specifically of nurses, which combined accounted for 96% of closures. The Ford government pledged $44 million in July 2023 to combat the closures and $500 million in November 2024 for educating more nurses and specialized training for current ones.


Education

Immediately after taking office in 2018, Ford proposed to cut 3,475 Ontario teaching jobs over four years to save $292 million a year, Ford also cancelled the Green Ontario Fund residential rebate program which included a $100 million fund for public school repair, and an initiative to add indigenous peoples content to school curriculum, and eliminated free tuition for low-income students (while reducing tuition fees by 10 per cent), On July 11, 2018, Ford announced that Ontario's health curriculum including
sexual education Sex education, also known as sexual education, sexuality education or sex ed, is the instruction of issues relating to human sexuality, including human sexual anatomy, sexual activity, sexual reproduction, safe sex, birth control, sexual healt ...
components, updated by the previous government in 2015, would be reverted to the 1998 curriculum before the next school year. He pledged to create a new sex-education curriculum after consulting with parents and teachers. Ford stated the sex-education curriculum needed to be changed because it was not age-appropriate and not based on enough consultation. However, his 2019 curriculum was largely similar to the 2015 version, save for allowing parents to opt-out. Ford believes that financial literacy education should be expanded and included in school curricula, and believes Ontario's math curriculum should drop
discovery learning Discovery learning is a technique of inquiry-based learning and is considered a constructivist based approach to education. It is also referred to as problem-based learning, experiential learning and 21st century learning. It is supported by the ...
and put a greater emphasis on
arithmetic Arithmetic is an elementary branch of mathematics that deals with numerical operations like addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division. In a wider sense, it also includes exponentiation, extraction of roots, and taking logarithms. ...
and memorization of the
multiplication table In mathematics, a multiplication table (sometimes, less formally, a times table) is a mathematical table used to define a multiplication binary operation, operation for an algebraic system. The decimal multiplication table was traditionally tau ...
. Ford used back-to-work legislation to end the 2018 strike at
York University York University (), also known as YorkU or simply YU), is a public university, public research university in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is Canada's third-largest university, and it has approximately 53,500 students, 7,000 faculty and staff, ...
prior to the start of the 2018–2019 school year. The strike had gone on for over four months, making it the longest post-secondary strike in Canadian history. Ford ordered all public universities and colleges in Ontario to develop free-speech policies that meet his government's expectations and stated that universities and colleges that do not comply will face funding reductions. By June 2019, the Ford government had removed or decreased funding for "school programs like after-school jobs for youth in low-income neighbourhoods", "tutors in classrooms", "daily physical activity for elementary students", "financial assistance for college and university students", "free tuition for low-income students", and "three satellite university campuses". He also "increased class sizes" and "cancelled three summer curriculum-writing sessions—one mandated by the
Truth and Reconciliation Commission A truth commission, also known as a truth and reconciliation commission or truth and justice commission, is an official body tasked with discovering and revealing past wrongdoing by a government (or, depending on the circumstances, non-state ac ...
and two others.


2022 CUPE strike

Ford's government introduced Bill 28, known as the ''Keeping Students in Class Act'', which was passed by the Legislative Assembly of Ontario on November 3, 2022, amid ongoing labour negotiations with the
Canadian Union of Public Employees The Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE; ) is a Canadian trade union serving the public sector – although it has in recent years organized workplaces in the non-profit and para-public sector as well. CUPE is the largest union in Canada, ...
(CUPE). CUPE had given notice of job action October 30 after negotiations broke down with the
Ministry of Education An education ministry is a national or subnational government agency politically responsible for education. Various other names are commonly used to identify such agencies, such as Ministry of Education, Department of Education, and Ministry of Pub ...
, and would have been in a legal strike position on November 4. Bill 28 imposes a contract on CUPE, and makes it illegal to strike, setting fines of $4000 for workers. The bill invokes the
notwithstanding clause Section 33 of the ''Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms'' is part of the Constitution of Canada. It is commonly known as the notwithstanding clause (, , or, as prescribed by the Quebec Board of the French Language, ). Sometimes referred to ...
, shielding it from being struck down by the courts by allowing the bill to operate despite the right to collective bargaining granted by the ''
Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms The ''Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms'' (), often simply referred to as the ''Charter'' in Canada, is a bill of rights entrenched in the Constitution of Canada, forming the first part of the '' Constitution Act, 1982''. The ''Char ...
''. The legislation was widely condemned, including by opposition parties, the
Canadian Civil Liberties Association The Canadian Civil Liberties Association (CCLA; ) is a nonprofit organization in Canada devoted to the defence of civil liberties and constitutional rights.Dominique ClementCase Study: Canadian Civil Liberties Association Page accessed Feb 13, 20 ...
, Prime Minister
Justin Trudeau Justin Pierre James Trudeau (born December 25, 1971) is a Canadian politician who served as the 23rd prime minister of Canada from 2015 to 2025. He led the Liberal Party from 2013 until his resignation in 2025 and was the member of Parliament ...
,
Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada The minister of justice and attorney general of Canada () is a dual-role portfolio in the Cabinet of Canada, Canadian Cabinet. The officeholder in the role of Minister of Justice () serves as the minister of the Crown responsible for the Depar ...
David Lametti David T. Lametti (born August 10, 1962) is a Canadian politician and lawyer who was the member of Parliament for LaSalle—Émard—Verdun from 2015 to 2024. A member of the Liberal Party, Lametti served as minister of justice and attorney g ...
, the
Ontario Bar Association The Ontario Bar Association (OBA) is a bar association representing more than 16,000 lawyers, judges, notaries, law teachers, and law students from across Ontario. It is also a branch of the Canadian Bar Association. Approximately two-thirds of a ...
, and other unions including those which had previously endorsed the PC Party. Despite the government's bill, CUPE went on strike anyway, resulting in province-wide school closures and protests in support of education workers. The government challenged CUPE at the
Ontario Labour Relations Board The Ontario Labour Relations Board is an adjudicative agency of the Ministry of Labour, Training and Skills Development and was established by the Ontario government in 1948. It defines itself as "an independent, quasi-judicial tribunal mandated ...
. On November 7, 2022, Ford announced that he would rescind Bill 28 and that he would resume negotiations with CUPE. Following the strike, Ford said he did not regret his use of the notwithstanding clause in imposing the contract and said that it helped both sides "come to their senses".


Municipal affairs

Prior to his election as premier, Ford was a Toronto city councillor during the tenure of his brother, Rob Ford, as mayor of Toronto. In 2014, Doug took over this brother's mayoral campaign, running against Olivia Chow and eventual winner John Tory. Provincially, Ford's riding as a member of Provincial Parliament is in the Toronto suburb of Etobicoke. Doug Ford has also been accused of meddling in Toronto's politics, such as through his policies of Toronto-specific bike lane removals and shrinking the city council.


Toronto City Council

Ford believes that the constitution does not prevent provincial governments from changing the size of municipal councils, even after an election campaign has already begun. After his government's legislation to reduce the number of wards represented at
Toronto City Council Toronto City Council is the governing body of the municipal government of Toronto, Ontario. Meeting at Toronto City Hall, it comprises 25 city councillors and the mayor of Toronto. The Toronto City Council 2022–2026, current term began on Nove ...
was ruled unconstitutional, Ford pledged to invoke section 33's notwithstanding clause of the ''Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms'' which would allow him to bypass the ''Charter'' and implement the legislation regardless of the court's ruling. The Ontario Court of Appeal later ruled in Ford's favour and allowed his modification to the council. The matter was further appealed by the
City of Toronto Toronto ( , locally pronounced or ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most populous city in Canada. It is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a p ...
and is now under consideration by the Supreme Court.


Public transit

Ford is a proponent of subways. He believed that the provincial government should assume control over the
Toronto subway The Toronto subway is a rapid transit system serving Toronto and the neighbouring city of Vaughan in Ontario, Canada, operated by the Toronto Transit Commission (TTC). The subway system is a rail network consisting of three heavy-capacity rai ...
. In February 2020, Ford and Toronto Mayor John Tory signed a preliminary agreement which would see the province assume "sole responsibility for the planning, design and construction" for
Ontario Line The Ontario Line is a rapid transit line under construction in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Its northern terminus will be at Eglinton Avenue and Don Mills Road, at Don Valley station, where it will connect with Line 5 Eglinton. Its southern terminu ...
, the three-stop Line 2 subway extension into
Scarborough Scarborough or Scarboro may refer to: People * Scarborough (surname) * Earl of Scarbrough Places Australia * Scarborough, Western Australia, suburb of Perth * Scarborough, New South Wales, suburb of Wollongong * Scarborough, Queensland, sub ...
, the Yonge North subway extension and the
Eglinton Crosstown Line 5 Eglinton, also known as the Eglinton Crosstown LRT or the Crosstown, is a light rail transit line that is under construction in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, that will be part of the Toronto subway system. Owned by Metrolinx and operated by t ...
west extension. In 2020, construction began on the Hurontario LRT line in Mississauga and Brampton, with all of the subway projects beginning procurement or construction by June 2024. Ford has been criticized for failing to open the Eglinton Crosstown, which reached its 14th year of construction in 2024. This prompted calls for a public inquiry by local city councillors.


Municipal spending cuts

In 2019, the government announced that it would adjust the cost-sharing arrangement for Toronto Public Health and Toronto Paramedic Services resulting in retroactive cuts that would total $177 million a year and $1 billion cut in Toronto over 10 years. The cuts were criticized by City officials including Medical Officer of Health Eileen de Villa, Toronto Public Health, Health board chair Joe Cressy, and Mayor John Tory. The City projected that the additional financial pressure resulting from would result in further cuts to municipal services or increased taxes. Amidst backlash, Ford announced that the province would keep the cost-sharing arrangement and re-evaluate it at the end of the fiscal year.


Bill 66

On December 6, 2018, the Ford government tabled its omnibus bill, Bill 66. The bill allows municipalities to request a provincial government override of any regulations that currently deter businesses from locating in the region. Ford's political opponents and groups that promote environmental protection raised concerns that the "opaque", "vague language" in Bill 66 could mean clean water regulations and other bylaws that protect environmentally sensitive land could be bypassed. According to a December 7 ''Globe and Mail'' article, under Bill 66, municipalities would only be required to obtain permission from the Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing (Ontario), minister of municipal affairs, to override sections of the 2006 ''Clean Water Act (Ontario), Clean Water Act'', the 2015 ''Great Lakes Protection Act'', the 2006 ''Lake Simcoe Protection Act'', and the 2005 ''Greenbelt (Golden Horseshoe), Greenbelt Act''.


Strong-mayor powers

In September 2022, Ford's government passed the ''
Strong Mayors, Building Homes Act The ''Strong Mayors, Building Homes Act, 2022'' () is a statute in Ontario that grants extra powers to the Mayor of Toronto and the mayors of other designated municipalities within their mayor–council governments. Powers granted Previously, a ...
'' that grants extra powers to the
mayor of Toronto The mayor of Toronto is the head of Toronto City Council and chief executive officer of the Municipal government of Toronto, municipal government. The mayor is elected alongside city council every four years on the fourth Monday of October; t ...
and the mayor of Ottawa within their mayor–council governments. The Act grants the mayors of
Toronto Toronto ( , locally pronounced or ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most populous city in Canada. It is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a p ...
and Ottawa direct control over the drafting of city budgets; the appointments and dismissals of their city managers and department leaders (except police chiefs, fire chiefs, or auditors general); vetoes over laws that may conflict with provincial priorities (which may be overturned if a supermajority of two-thirds of city councillors voted to do so); and the creation and reorganisation of municipal administrative departments.


Greenbelt controversy

Before Ford was first elected in 2018, a video emerged of him informing developers that he would "open up a big chunk of the Greenbelt (Golden Horseshoe), Greenbelt" if elected. After a public outcry, Ford said he would replace any removed land and that his goal was to increase supply to reduce housing costs. Pre-election, Ford also pledged not to remove rent control, stating, "I have listened to the people, and I won't take rent control away from anyone. Period. When it comes to rent control, we're going to maintain the status quo." After taking office, rent control for all newly built or newly converted rental units was removed to "encourage builders to build purpose-driven rental apartments." After re-election in 2022, and amidst a worsening housing and affordability crisis, Ford became embroiled in controversy over properties released from Greenbelt protection. One developer had purchased property shortly before the decision was made. A total of 7,400 acres of Greenbelt land was removed, while 9,400 acres of land was added "which have lesser conservation value and were already protected from development through other measures." Ford has disagreed with criticism regarding his friendships with developers, saying, "no one can influence the Fords". Specifically, he called questions about the optics of developers attending his daughter's pre-wedding party in August 2022, "ridiculous". Ford sought clearance for the event from the Integrity Commissioner in January 2023. In February 2023, the Ontario Provincial Police anti-rackets branch were still looking into complaints about his government's decision to open up a portion of the Greenbelt for development. The OPP asked the RCMP to take over the file in August 2023, in order to avoid any perceived conflict of interest. On August 9, 2023, the Auditor General released a report on the Greenbelt swap-out which found the government's flawed process had favoured certain developers who stood to earn over $8 billion. The AG also confirmed that alterations to the Greenbelt were not necessary to reach Ontario's housing target and that Housing Minister Steve Clark (Canadian politician), Steve Clark's chief of staff "failed to consider environmental, agricultural and financial risks and impacts". Calls from the opposition for Clark to resign were resisted by Ford and Clark himself, but Clark's chief of staff stepped down. At the end of August, Ontario's Integrity Commissioner found Clark had broken ethics rules, and on September 4, Clark tendered his resignation and was replaced by Paul Calandra. The following day, Ford reiterated he would follow 14 of the Auditor General's 15 recommendations but would proceed with allowing the construction of affordable homes under $500,000 for "newcomers and young people" on the Greenbelt. He also stated more applications to remove land from the Greenbelt would be reviewed. He did not answer a reporter's question about reinstating rent control, nor did he comment on calls from First Nation Chiefs across Ontario to return traditional territories to the Greenbelt. On September 20, another minister from Ford's cabinet, Kaleed Rasheed, resigned over his relationship with a developer involved in the Greenbelt land swap. The next day, Ford announced that after continuous backlash from constituents and two reports regarding the flawed process of opening the Greenbelt he would reverse his decision to open the Greenbelt to development. He apologized to the people of Ontario and promised to encourage building within urban boundaries. On October 10, the RCMP announced it was opening a criminal investigation into the allegations around developer favouritism in the Greenbelt land swap process used by the Province of Ontario. On October 16, Minister Calandra tabled a bill that would restore the Greenbelt lands removed in 2022 and that any future changes to the Greenbelt would have to go through the legislature. In August 2023, the Toronto Star filed for an Freedom of Information request, FOI to Ontario's Integrity Commissioner to make the emails of Ryan Amato, Steve Clark's former Chief of Staff, available to the public. In April 2025, the Integrity Commissioner ruled in favor of the Toronto Star's request. Due to the ruling, Amato has until June 11, 2025 to provide his emails or an affidavit attesting no such emails exist.


Bike infrastructure

In September 2024, it was reported that the Ford government was working on legislation to restrict the construction of new bike lanes that would require the removal of lanes for motor vehicles. While speaking with reporters, he stated his belief that bike lanes increased congestion and emergency vehicle times (though the City of Toronto has disputed that claim), and that they should be built on side streets rather than major arterial roads. In October 15, Ford announced that any such lanes would require provincial approval to be built, and that municipalities would need to demonstrate that the lanes would not have a "negative impact on vehicle traffic". He also announced that he would remove bike lanes from some arterial streets, such as Bloor Street, Yonge Street, and University Avenue (Toronto), University Avenue in Toronto. This bill, named the ''Reducing Gridlock, Saving you Time Act'' also shielded the government from any lawsuits related to cyclist deaths, and passed on November 25, 2024. When Toronto bureaucrats estimated that the removal of the bike lanes would cost approximately $48 million dollars, Ford called their estimate "hogwash" and reiterated his claims that the bike lanes were responsible for traffic congestion. A court challenge was launched on December 11 to stop the removal of the Toronto bike lanes. In July 2025, an Ontario court ruled that removing Toronto bike lanes was unconstitutional; the government will appeal the decision.


Hydro

During his election campaign Ford had promised to lower Ontario's electricity rates by 12 percent. During his campaign, in April 2018, he announced that in order to reduce electricity rates, he would redirect the province's dividends from partial ownership of Hydro One to subsidize market electricity rates, as well as absorbing the cost of conservation programs currently paid for by consumers, at an estimated cost of $800 million per year. Ford attacked Hydro One CEO Mayo Schmidt, calling him "Kathleen Wynne's $6-million dollar man" in reference to his reported annual salary, and called on the utility's board of directors to resign. Ford vowed to fire them all if elected, although PC energy critic Todd Smith (politician), Todd Smith later clarified that the government cannot dismiss Hydro One's CEO directly. He opposed his predecessor's decision to privatise Hydro One, but does not plan to reverse the decision. His government passed legislation to publicly disclose and reduce the salaries of Hydro One's board members and executives. On July 11, 2018, Hydro One CEO Mayo Schmidt resigned along with the entire board. According to ''Bloomberg News'', by December 5, 2018, Washington Utilities and Transportation Commission, the state's regulators, rejected Hydro One's $3.4 Billion takeover of Avista because of "political risks in Ontario ... from provincial leaders who may not have the company's well being in mind". Bloomberg also reported that, if the merger was not approved by the state's regulators, Hydro One would have to pay the CA$138 million break fee. Because Hydro One is partially owned by the Ontario government, Ontario ratepayers would also be paying the "Parent Termination Fee". Ford denies that he is to blame for the U.S. regulators' decision.


Public safety

Ford came under fire in December 2018 by Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) Deputy Commissioner Brad Blair, who claimed Ford requested the OPP “purchase a large camper-type vehicle ... modified to specifications the premier's office would provide” and keep the costs “off the books.” The vehicle was intended for the premier to use for work, and reportedly was asked to include a swivel chair. The accusation followed on the heels of Ford appointing a longtime family friend to be the next OPP commissioner just days after lowering the requirements for the position. In response to increasing calls for one, Ford has stated he opposes a ban on handguns in Ontario. Ford opposes supervised drug injection sites.


Cannabis

Ford supports allowing licensed private retailers to sell cannabis, rather than a government monopoly like the Liquor Control Board of Ontario, LCBO. Ford opposed the Cannabis Act (Canada), legalization of recreational cannabis. On January 22, 2019, ''Huffington Post'' reported that Ford's youngest daughter Kyla, a bodybuilder and fitness trainer, had posted videos promoting health benefits of CBD oil, a cannabis product which typically does not contain the THC, psychoactive compound present in marijuana. Various publications claimed Kyla's promotion wasn't lawful. Ford's daughter took down the posts, but neither Ford nor his daughter commented on them.


Political patronage controversies

In July 2018, Ford hired Rueben Devlin, former PC Party president and a Ford family friend, as a health-care advisor at a salary of $350,000 plus expenses, more than Ford's own salary of $208,974. In December 2018 Bob Paulson (police commissioner), Bob Paulson, who served as a Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) officer for 32-years including as List of Royal Canadian Mounted Police commissioners, RCMP commissioner before retiring in 2017, called for an independent third-party inquiry into Ford's appointment in December 2018 of Toronto Police Superintendent Ron Taverner, who is a long-time friend of Ford, as the new commissioner of the Ontario Provincial Police. By March 2019, Taverner had stepped down following "months of controversy" that "triggered an integrity commissioner investigation". A June 20, 2019, article in the ''Toronto Star'' said that Ford had awarded "plum patronage posts to two political allies". He hired Jag Badwal as Ontario's agent-general to Britain and the United States with an annual salary of $185,000. Ford named Earl Provost as Ontario's agent-general to Chicago. On June 28, 2019, Ford's chief of staff, Dean French, resigned "amid a patronage scandal". According to a ''Globe and Mail'' article, French resigned "after it was revealed that two people with personal ties to [French], 26 year-old Tyler Albrecht and Taylor Shields were appointed to lucrative positions in New York and London. The ''Toronto Sun'' reported in a June 27, 2019, article that 26-year-old Tyler Albrecht, who had a "thin resume", was proposed for a "job that paid $165,000 a year, plus housing and other expenses" as Ontario's "new trade rep in New York City". His qualification was "that he played lacrosse with French's son". TVO's Steve Paikin cited the example of Taylor Shields, who is French's wife's cousin, who was appointed as the trade representative in London, England, with a salary of $185,000 plus expenses. Just hours before French resigned, Ford had cancelled Albrecht's and Shields' appointments. Thomas Staples, who played on St. Michael's College Varsity Lacrosse team with French as coach, worked in the office of Bill Walker (Canadian politician), Bill Walker, who was Chief Government Whip (Ontario), chief government whip. When Walker became Ministry of Government and Consumer Services (Ontario), minister of government and consumer services in November 2018, Staples worked as his executive assistant and legislative affairs advisor. According to ''iPolitics'', Staples had not completed his undergraduate studies, and had neither the qualifications nor work experience in politics. French's niece, Katherine Pal, who had been appointed as Ontario's Public Accounts Council resigned after her family ties to French were revealed. According to Paikin, Pal was well qualified to be Public Accounts Council but she resigned because of the bad optics. On July 4, Peter Fenwick, who served as Ontario's first "strategic transformation adviser" since November 2018, was fired when it was revealed in an interview with ''The Star'' that "Fenwick has been a life insurance customer of French's for at least 20 years". On July 10, Andrew Suboch, a "personal injury and insurance lawyer" who had served as chair of the Justices of the Peace Appointments Advisory Committee (JPAAC), informed the JPAAC that he was resigning immediately after an article in the ''Globe'' revealed that Suboch was another of French's "long-time" friends whose sons played lacrosse together for many years.


Ontario Place and Ontario Science Centre Controversy

In 2021, Ford released his vision for Ontario Place. This park used to be an amusement park before being shut down in 2011, and was due to be revitalized. Ford's revitalization plan included a new spa, adventure park, and expanded stage. However, an auditor general report released in December 2024 called the revitalization 'not fair, transparent or accountable,' noting that "since 2019, the estimated public cost of redeveloping Ontario Place has increased by $1.8 billion to a total of $2.2 billion." The private spa is to be built and operated by Therme Group, Therme, an Austrian spa company. Its construction requires the clear-cutting of Ontario Place's West Island, a process which has bulldozed over 850 trees. The Ontario government is also obligated to build a substantial parking component for the spa at taxpayers' expense (even as Exhibition GO Station, an expanded GO train station and a Ontario Line, new subway line are being built nearby). The cost to provide this parking is at 400 million dollars as of May 2024. Per the auditor general report, other bids would have privately funded this parking, with 3 of the 10 bids also providing a public park as well as the funding the parking lot. The auditor general also raised concerns the bidding process for Ontario Place fell short of “typical procurement law or directives” for the province, with the government giving itself the right to select bids that failed to meet its own criteria. In 2024, Ford's government closed down the Ontario Science Centre due to a report suggesting that the roof tiles of the science centre could collapse without repairs. However, the company that originally built the science centre said that the building does not need to be shut down, and offered to fix it. Now-nobel laureate Geoffrey Hinton pledged 1 million dollars to help rebuild the science centre, but this did not stop the Ford government's plan: the science centre will still be moved to Ontario Place in 2029 at the earliest, and into a space that is 50% smaller than the previous one. The updated budget in 2024 pushed the cost to build the new, smaller science center to 1.4 billion, less than maintaining it at its current location, which is assessed at 1.3 billion. As of Fall 2024, parts of the Science Centre's contents are scattered around malls in the GTA for temporary exhibits. On April 16, 2025, The New York Times published an investigation revealing that Therme Group, the company behind the planned spa and wellness facility at Ontario Place, had misrepresented itself during the bidding process. The report found that Therme falsely claimed to operate multiple spa facilities across Europe, when in fact it had only run a single location in Romania. The investigation also raised concerns about the company's financial health and the fairness of the provincial government's contracting process. Doug Ford has since called for a review into the procurement of the Ontario Place contract by Therme Group. The total cost of the Ontario Place redevelopment is $2.2 billion as of 2024, up from around 400 million predicted in 2019.


COVID-19 pandemic


Initial outbreak

In December 2019, an outbreak of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) was first identified in Wuhan, Hubei, China; it spread worldwide and was recognized as a COVID-19 pandemic, pandemic by the World Health Organization on March 11, 2020. The first confirmed COVID-19 pandemic in Canada, case in Canada was in Ontario—reported on January 27, 2020. On March 17, Ford declared a state of emergency in Ontario, closing bars and restaurants (with the exception of take-out and delivery services), as well as libraries, theatres, cinemas, schools and daycares and all public gatherings of more than 50 people (later reduced to 5 people on March 28). Furthermore, the government announced on March 17 that Ontario had "some evidence of community transmission" of COVID-19. On March 23, Ford announced that all "non-essential" businesses be ordered closed starting 11:59 p.m. On March 24, Ford also stated that schools would remain closed past the original April 6 opening date (on May 19 it was announced that schools would remain closed until the following school year in September). A list of 74 "essential" businesses was published later in the day on March 23. On March 25, Ford and Finance Minister Rod Phillips (politician), Rod Phillips introduced a $17-billion response package that includes an influx of cash for the health sector, direct payments to parents and tax breaks for businesses.


Third wave

On April 9, 2021, Ford received his first dose of the AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine at a local pharmacy in Toronto, and encouraged eligible Ontarians to get vaccinated. Amid growing case numbers in mid-2021, the government moved to introduce a third province-wide stay at home order. As part of the response, Ford announced on April 16, 2021, that outdoor amenities including playgrounds would be closed, and that he would be authorizing police to require pedestrians and drivers to explain why they are not at home and provide their home address and other relevant details. The regulations raised concerns about a re-legalization of Carding (police policy), carding. The government experienced significant backlash with the new enforcement measures, with some commentators – such as the ''National Post'''s Randall Denley, a former PC politician – equating the province to a "police state" Members of the Ontario COVID-19 Science Table described the new restrictions as "absolute madness", and not based on science questioning the need to restrict "safe options from people as you do nothing to impact the places where the disease is spreading". After dozens of police services across the province announced that they would refuse to enforce the new measures, Ford promptly rolled back the new enforcement provisions the next day and reopened playgrounds, while keeping other outdoor amenities closed. Over the weekend following the introduction of new orders, calls for Ford's resignation over his handling of the COVID-19 crisis grew, In April 2021, Ford revealed that he had been in isolation following contact with one of his staffers, who had contracted COVID-19. Ford announced on April 30, 2021, that he had asked the federal government to stop international students from coming into the province in an effort to curb the third wave.


Omicron variant

During the emergence of the Omicron variant of COVID-19 in December 2021 and January 2022, Ford's government announced in December 2021 new restrictions on indoor settings. After growing calls for third or booster doses of COVID-19 vaccines, the government allowed all Ontarians over 18 years of age to receive a third dose on December 20, 2021. On January 3, 2022, Ford announced that Ontario would be moving into modified Step 2 on January 5, closing indoor dining, gyms, movie theatres and schools. These restrictions were lifted on January 31. What followed was the end of all vaccine mandates on March 14, the end of most mask mandates on March 21, and the end of all COVID-19 measures (including the remaining mask requirements) on April 27. On September 7, 2023, the Ombudsman of Ontario's Investigation into the Ministry of Long-Term Care's oversight into long-term care homes through inspection and enforcement during the COVID-19 pandemic was released. The report detailed the collapse of the LTC inspection system and how the Ministry failed to protect residents by ceasing inspections for the first 7–12 weeks of the pandemic, and by only applying low-level enforcement action for serious infractions. It noted that the Fixing Long-Term Care Act, which came into force in April 2022, could help long-term care homes to be better prepared for future pandemics.


Tunnel under highway 401 proposal

In September 2024, premier Ford said his government would explore a tunnel for drivers and public transit under the Ontario Highway 401, Highway 401, with a feasibility study to follow. According to Ford, it would "be one of the world's longest tunnels". In February 2025, he made it one of his re-election pledges. Experts, however, pointed out that the roughly 55 km tunnel would likely cost 50–130 billion CAD and not solve the congestion problems. The media called it "the single-most expensive Ontario election promise in the last 10 years". In May 2025, Doug Ford included the Highway 401 tunnel proposal on his letter to Prime Minister Mark Carney, describing it as one of the "nation-building projects". The proposal was heavily criticized by opposition politicians. Leader of the Official Opposition Marit Stiles called it "outrageous and ridiculous", while Liberal Leader Bonnie Crombie said that the "40-year project" could bankrupt the province.


Cabinet mandate letters

Mandate letters requested by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation through a freedom of information request were not released to the public, despite being ordered to by the Ontario information and privacy commissioner in 2019. The
Supreme Court of Canada The Supreme Court of Canada (SCC; , ) is the highest court in the judicial system of Canada. It comprises nine justices, whose decisions are the ultimate application of Canadian law, and grants permission to between 40 and 75 litigants eac ...
held the mandate letters issued by Doug Ford to his ministers were protected from disclosure under access to information legislation, under the principle of Cabinet collective responsibility, Cabinet confidentiality.


First Nations relations

In March 2021, Ford publicly accused MPP Sol Mamakwa of "jumping the line" to receive his second dose of a COVID-19 vaccine, despite being eligible to receive it. Mamakwa went to his riding to receive the vaccine as an attempt to prevent vaccine hesitancy amongst his constituents. On Thursday, March 11, 2021, Ford apologised for his remark and later said he "got a little personal" when throwing the accusation at Mamakwa. Mamakwa did not say that he accepted Ford's apology but stated that he appreciated the call from Ford. In September 2021, an Ontario judge issued an injunction on mining in Wiisinin Zaahgi'igan (an area sacred to the Ginoogaming First Nation peoples). The judge ruled that the Ontario government did not consult with the Ginoogaming as is their constitutional duty. Ford's 2024 ''Reducing Gridlock, Saving you Time Act'' removed the requirement for future Indigenous consultation for the upcoming highway 413 in a possible contravention of Ontario's Environmental Assessment Act. In addition, the Indigenous consultation period for the bill was only 30 days, decried by the regional chief as 'too short'. Many Indigenous and environmental advocacy groups opposed his government's ''Protecting Ontario by Unleashing Our Economy Act'', or Bill 5, which gives Ford's cabinet the ability to create special economic zones and exempt companies or projects from having to comply with any provincial law, provincial regulation or municipal bylaw. Ford also apologized for saying that First Nations "keep coming hat in hand" for government money in June 2025.


Trump tariffs

In January 2025, Ford began to state that he would need a "clear mandate" from voters to respond to the Second Trump tariffs, tariffs on Canadian imports to the United States threatened by new President of the United States, President
Donald Trump Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who is the 47th president of the United States. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, he served as the 45 ...
, calling the 2025 Ontario general election. Ford was caught on video saying that on the day of the 2024 U.S. presidential election he was "100% happy" that Trump won, until Trump threatened tariffs on Canada. During the election campaign, his party promised to invest $10 billion in cash-flow support for Ontario employers, $3 billion in payroll tax and premium relief, $120 million to support approximately 18,000 bars and restaurants, $40 million for a new Trade-Impacted Communities Program, $300 million to expand the Ontario Made Manufacturing Investment Tax Credit, and $600 million for the Invest Ontario Fund. Ford also advised the new PM, Mark Carney, on strategies to mitigate the trade war, and appeared on multiple American news shows.


Elections


2022

In late April 2022 – days before the election call – the PC government released its budget, promising to implement it if the government was reelected. The budget recorded a deficit of $19.9 billion and promised substantial spending on infrastructure (including for their proposed Ontario Highway 413, Highway 413) and tax breaks for some workers and seniors. On May 3, 2022, Premier Doug Ford met with the Lieutenant Governor of Ontario to Advice (constitutional law), advise Dissolution of parliament#Canada, dissolution of the legislature and for writs of election be drawn up. Ford led the Progressive Conservatives to another majority government in the 2022 Ontario general election, 2022 provincial election. The PCs gained seven more seats than they had won in 2018, with an increased share of the vote. The election set a record for the lowest voter turnout in an Ontario provincial election, as only 44.06% of the people who were eligible voted.


2025

Ford’s party won a third majority with 80 seats in the 44th Ontario general election. Originally scheduled by fixed election laws to be held by June 4, 2026, Ford triggered an early provincial election, called a Snap election#Canada, snap election, for Feb 27 after meeting with Ontario's lieutenant-governor. It is speculated that this was to take advantage of a lead in the polls and fundraising, as well as a desire to hold the election before the 45th Canadian federal election, next federal election. Speculation that Ford would call an early election began in 2024 and was further fuelled by Ford refusing to commit to the June 2026 date when asked by reporters at multiple press conferences in May 2024. The possibility of a trade war was expected to be the main election issue. The Progressive Conservatives led by Ford were reelected with a third consecutive majority government, the first premier to do so since 1959 Ontario general election, 1959, though with a slightly smaller majority compared to 2022. The Liberals finished over ten percentage points ahead of the NDP in the popular vote, but only gained five seats compared to before the election (albeit this was enough to regain official party status for the first time since 2018), with Crombie being defeated in her riding. The NDP therefore remained the official opposition, despite losing a small number of seats and finishing a distant third in the popular vote.


Political endorsements and ideology

Ford actively supported the two Toronto mayoral campaigns of his brother
Rob Ford Robert Bruce Ford (May 28, 1969 – March 22, 2016) was a Canadian politician and businessman who served as the 64th mayor of Toronto from 2010 to 2014. Before and after his term as mayor, Ford was a city councillor representing Ward 2 Etobi ...
and former Toronto Police Services, Toronto police chief Mark Saunders (police officer), Mark Saunders. In federal politics, Ford supports the Conservative Party of Canada and several provincial conservative parties, including the Alberta
United Conservative Party The United Conservative Party of Alberta (UCP) is a conservative political party in the province of Alberta, Canada. It was established in July 2017 as a merger between the Progressive Conservative Association of Alberta and the Wildrose Party ...
. However, federal Conservative leaders
Andrew Scheer Andrew James Scheer (born May 20, 1979) is a Canadian politician who is the Leader of the Official Opposition (Canada), leader of the Opposition since 2025 and previously from 2017 to 2020 as Leader of the Conservative Party (Canada), leader of ...
and later leader Erin O'Toole attempted to distance themselves from him. Ford did not campaign for O'Toole during the 2021 Canadian federal election, 2021 federal election campaign. He had a brief meeting with federal Conservative leader Pierre Poilievre in 2025; Ford criticized Poilievre's failed 2025 Canadian federal election, 2025 federal election campaign and his campaign manager, Jenni Byrne, who formerly served as Ford's principal secretary. In 2018 and 2019, Ford was seen as a staunch critic of the federal government of Liberal Party of Canada, Liberal Prime Minister of Canada, Prime Minister
Justin Trudeau Justin Pierre James Trudeau (born December 25, 1971) is a Canadian politician who served as the 23rd prime minister of Canada from 2015 to 2025. He led the Liberal Party from 2013 until his resignation in 2025 and was the member of Parliament ...
. Ford opposed the Trudeau government's imposed carbon tax and urged voters to vote out the Trudeau-led Liberals in the 2019 Canadian federal election, 2019 federal election. However, since 2020, journalists have noted a change in Ford's attitude towards the Trudeau government. In April 2020, Susan Delacourt of the ''Toronto Star'' wrote Ford "forged an unlikely friendship" with Deputy Prime Minister of Canada, Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland when combatting the COVID-19 pandemic in Canada, COVID-19 pandemic; in August of that year, Ford praised Freeland's appointment as Minister of Finance (Canada), finance minister. Around this time Ford insisted he was not a partisan (politics), partisan politician. In March 2022, John Ibbitson of ''
The Globe and Mail ''The Globe and Mail'' is a Newspapers in Canada, Canadian newspaper printed in five cities in Western Canada, western and central Canada. With a weekly readership of more than 6 million in 2024, it is Canada's most widely read newspaper on week ...
'' wrote that there was a "political bromance" between Ford and Trudeau. In October 2022, Ford said he supported the Trudeau government's invocation of the ''Emergencies Act'' in response to the Canada convoy protest. After a brief feud with prior PC leader Patrick Brown, leading to Ford cancelling the chair of Peel Region, they later made peace by 2020. Although Ford's rhetoric and policies were characterised as conservative in his early years as premier, since 2020, political commentators have noted a shift to the
political centre Centrism is the range of political ideologies that exist between left-wing politics and right-wing politics on the left–right political spectrum. It is associated with moderate politics, including people who strongly support moderate policie ...
and a more cooperative attitude toward the federal Liberal government. In 2023, Doug Ford stated he had a positive relationship with Olivia Chow after previously calling her "an unmitigated disaster". Ford stated in the same interview that during an election "you throw some mud back and forth" and he had a phenomenal relationship with one-time political rivals Andrea Horwath and Steven Del Duca. In 2018, Ford endorsed the economic policies of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party and the presidency of
Donald Trump Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who is the 47th president of the United States. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, he served as the 45 ...
in the United States, saying his support for Trump is "unwavering". After Trump announced tariffs on Canadian aluminum imports in August 2020, Ford expressed his disapproval, calling Trump's policy "totally unacceptable". After the 2024 United States presidential election, Ford congratulated
Donald Trump Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who is the 47th president of the United States. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, he served as the 45 ...
and said it was "time to bet big" on Ontario–US relations. However, after Trump announced 25% tariffs on Canada, Ford renounced his support for Trump. Ford has called Gaza war protests, pro-Palestinian protests in Ontario during the Gaza war "hate rallies". He has a strong relationship with former Deputy PM Chrystia Freeland, calling her his "therapist" during the pandemic. She later attended his third swearing in. Doug Ford frequently gives out his phone number to random people and uses his personal phone for government purposes. In 2024, the Information and Privacy Commissioner of Ontario ruled that Doug Ford had to release logs of his phone calls. In March 2025, he told people not to text him at night, complaining "all I hear is the buzzing."


Personal life


Family

Ford and his wife Karla ( Middlebrook) have four daughters: Krista Haynes, Krista, Kayla, Kara, and Kyla. In 2018, Ford's sister-in-law, through his late brother, Rob, sued Doug and Randy for mismanagement of Rob's estate, saying their actions deprived her and her children of due compensation while overseeing business losses at Deco Labels totalling half of the company's market value. In response, Doug alleged that the claims and the lawsuit's timing in the same week as the 2018 Ontario general election, 2018 Ontario election amounted to extortion. Ford's mother Diane died from cancer in January 2020.


Health

Ford became an "ethical vegetarian" after working in a meatpacking plant as a teenager, and while this is no longer the case, he was still not eating red meat as of 2011. Ford, who is obese, has struggled with his weight at least since 2012, when he publicly attempted a weight loss challenge. Ford is occasionally Social stigma of obesity, fat shamed in the media, having been previously called "unfashionably overweight". Ford is a teetotalism, teetotaler. On January 8, 2025, Ford was unharmed after an OPP vehicle he was travelling in was involved in a collision on Highway 401. The driver of the other involved vehicle is believed to have sustained non-life-threatening injuries.


Philanthropy

In 2014, Ford and his mother donated $90,000 to Humber River Hospital, where Rob Ford was receiving care.


Bibliography

A book by Doug and Rob Ford titled Ford Nation (book), ''Ford Nation: Two Brothers, One Vision – The True Story of the People's Mayor'' appeared in 2016.


Electoral record


Municipal election record


Ontario PC Party leadership election


Provincial election record


References


Works cited

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Further reading

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External links


Official MPP website

FordNation Facebook website

Doug Ford for Mayor – 2014 Toronto Mayoral Collection
– Web archive created by the University of Toronto Libraries {{DEFAULTSORT:Ford, Doug Doug Ford, Leaders of the Progressive Conservative Party of Ontario 1964 births Living people People from Etobicoke Toronto city councillors Businesspeople from Toronto Canadian people of English descent Premiers of Ontario Ford family (Canada) 21st-century members of the Legislative Assembly of Ontario 21st-century heads of government in North America 21st-century Canadian municipal councillors