How Doug Ford keeps getting away with it

Desmond Cole: Ontario Premier Doug Ford called an election last month, almost a year and a half before his term expired.

It was an interesting decision, given that things aren’t exactly going well in the province under his leadership.

Newscaster: “The Ford government tries to distance itself from the Greenbelt scandal…”

“…A shortage of doctors in Ontario–it’s going to get worse….”

“…A dire financial picture painted by Ontario’s universities….”

“…Food bank usage has now outpaced capacity and resources….”

Cole: Despite all this, there’s a good chance Ford could be re-elected.

How has he managed to stay popular while creating and overseeing so many problems?”

1: Phoney populist messaging

Cole: Doug Ford’s political superpower is his persona as just another average, hard-working guy.

He accomplishes this with folksy language…literally.

In supposed alliance with the “little guy,” he postures as an enemy of the rich and elite.

This routine conveniently hides the fact that he’s a lifelong member of the very class he pretends to hate.

His family is worth millions, thanks to an inheritance from Doug Sr., a former politician and multi-millionaire.

Despite Ford consistently serving private, wealthy interests, his regular Joe moments convince people he’s on their side.

And in his own way, he’s a brilliant communicator.

During the fear and uncertainty of the pandemic, Ford went through a rebrand.

He shifted from a brash and confrontational father figure to a softer and sympathetic caregiver.

I swear he even changed his facial expressions.

Milchick: “Do you know how to make your eyes kind?”

2: A multi-racial coalition

Cole: Previously, the Liberals held power by dominating in places where people of colour and immigrants live.

Ford turned that around.

In 2018, he won seats in Brampton, Mississauga, and Markham, as well as the Toronto boroughs of North York, Scarborough, and Etobicoke.

In 2022, he held those gains.

He took a party that was seen as very white and rural into a multi-racial voting coalition that could be a contender pretty much everywhere outside the most downtown big city ridings.

Ford and his late brother Rob seem to understand an important racial dynamic of our times: a down-to-earth and self-deprecating white politician is a nice contrast to an aloof and self-serious white politician.

If you’re relatable enough, people might even overlook your explicitly racist messaging.

Ford: “My Jewish doctor, my jewish lawyer, my jewish accountant.” (Crowd boos)

“If you’re going to come to Canada…don’t start terrorizing neighbourhoods.”

Cole: While his racism slips out every now and then, he doesn’t lead with it the way many modern far-right conservative moments do.

Instead, he tells us he’s here for everyone, as long as they work hard and play fair.

But considering the huge racial inequalities in the province, you’d think he’d talk about how Ontarians of different racial groups are actually doing.

He doesn’t.

There’s one exception though: he loves telling us how no one has done more for – “insert group here” – than him.

Ford: “There’s no other politician in this country… other than Rob Ford, that has supported the black community more than I have.”

Cole: It’s part of what academic Cheryl Thompson has called Doug Ford’s white saviour complex.

Even when Ford suggests immigrants are here to live off the province’s wealth…

Ford: “You come here like every new Canada… you work your tail off. If you think you’re coming here to collect the dole and sit around, not going to happen.”

Cole: …he divides people into good immigrants versus bad immigrants.

He gives people the opportunity to identify themselves as the good ones, the honest and worthy ones.

Chris Rock: “He ain’t talking about me!”

Cole: In white-dominated Canada, this brand of benevolent racism, combined with appeals to hard work and sacrifice, seems to be a pretty successful formula.

3: Quiet cuts

Cole: Where some past governments loudly broadcast their cuts, Ford has made many of them by stealth.

Sometimes the government has simply refused to provide the necessary funding to a public program or service.

Newscaster: “The budget watchdog found that over a billion dollars of COVID19 funding meant for healthcare wasn’t spent last year….”

“…Recent reports from the FAO that say that the government has underspent its education budget by 430 million….”

Cole: In other cases, Ford has delayed spending on things the government will eventually have to do, like repairs to infrastructure.

In 2021, the provincial accountability office said 45% of Ontario’s municipal infrastructure—like roads, bridges, and water systems—needed repairs.

Peter Weltman: “It’s not a matter if if you’re going to pay, it’s a matter of when you’re going to pay, and how much you’re going to pay.”

Cole: And if all else fails, you can always try to buy the good will of the public.

Take, for example, those $200 cheques Ford mailed out to every Ontarian—regardless if they’re dead broke or a multi-millionaire—right as he was calling this election.

It’s not going to change your life—the way good health care or education might—but it’s a nice distraction from what the government should be doing.