Ontario Premier Doug Ford pretends to drink from a beer can after announcing the province is speeding up the expansion of alcohol sales. The May 2024 announcement has raised questions about the government’s financial priorities.
THE CANADIAN PRESS/Christopher Katsarov
Amid speculation that Doug Ford may call an early election in Ontario, there are several issues that should amount to a moment of deep political vulnerability for his government.
Ontario Liberal Leader Steven Del Duca on the campaign trail during the June 2022 election in which he failed to stop Doug Ford. The Liberals only won eight seats and Del Duca stepped down, but the party still has a future in the province.
THE CANADIAN PRESS/Aaron Vincent Elkaim
While Ontario’s Liberals failed to recapture what they lost in 2018 in the 2022 election, the bigger picture shows this isn’t particularly noteworthy nor damning for the party.
Ontario Premier Doug Ford attends a photo opportunity on a construction site in Brampton as he kicks off his re-election campaign on May 4, 2022.
THE CANADIAN PRESS/Chris Young
Looking back on Ford’s four years in power reveals four themes in his approach to governance — and what the next four years might have in store if he wins again.
Ontario Premier Doug Ford speaks at a campaign event in Pickering, Ont., on May 5, 2022.
THE CANADIAN PRESS/Frank Gunn
The Ontario Progressive Conservative party’s 2022 platform now bases its appeal in the claim that it can effectively get results and most competently manage the affairs of the province.
Ontario Premier Doug Ford is seen before his government delivered the provincial 2022 budget at the Ontario legislature.
THE CANADIAN PRESS/Chris Young
Ontario goes to the polls in a month, and Doug Ford will likely win again. Why? Because the Liberal and NDP leaders have failed to connect with the people of Ontario the way Ford has.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau speaks as Ontario Premier Doug Ford listens at a groundbreaking event at a gold mine in 2020.
THE CANADIAN PRESS/Nathan Denette
Ontario has historically been the province in Confederation most concerned about buoying Ottawa and limiting its own relative power for the sake of national unity. Doug Ford puts that legacy at risk.
Susan Hoenhous and other teachers of the Elementary Teachers’ Federation of Ontario participate in a full withdrawal of services strike in Toronto on Jan. 20, 2020.
THE CANADIAN PRESS/Nathan Denette
For some teachers, this week’s rotating strikes in Ontario are a chilling reminder of the school fallout of 1995-2002, when Mike Harris was premier.
Ontario Premier Doug Ford returns to his office at the Ontario legislature after announcing the cancellation of retroactive cuts that have hit public health, child care and other municipal services.
THE CANADIAN PRESS/Chris Young
A year ago, Doug Ford’s election was seen as a harbinger of a populist realignment in Ontario and Canadian politics. Now polls suggest Ford has abysmally low personal approval ratings.
The Ford government’s cuts to libraries must be fought and ultimately rescinded.
Susan Yin/Unsplash
The Ford government’s cuts to library services are unwarranted and must be rescinded.
Wiarton Willie, pictured with Premier Doug Ford
on Groundhog Day, cannot yet predict what Ontario may do to full-day kindergarten.
THE CANADIAN PRESS/Doug Ball
Nine years in from its start date, full-day kindergarten is doing its job laying foundational learning for the future of individual children and the province at large.
Ontario Environmental Commissioner Dianne Saxe released her annual environmental report on Nov. 13, 2018.
(THE CANADIAN PRESS/Frank Gunn)
Premier Doug Ford’s proposal to downgrade Ontario’s environmental watchdog is bad news for the environment, public health and safety, and evidence-based decision-making.
Doug Ford on the campaign trail in May 2018, promising to “open” Ontario for business. His Bill 47 does nothing of the sort.
THE CANADIAN PRESS/Tara Walton
Threats by two of Canada’s newest premiers to invoke the notwithstanding clause send a clear message to the federal Liberals: Ontario and Quebec do not play by the rules.
Ontario Premier Doug Ford announces his plan to keep the Pickering Nuclear Generating Station in operation until 2024, in this June 2018 photo.
(THE CANADIAN PRESS/Nathan Denette)
If Ontario’s NDP and Liberals want to undermine Doug Ford’s agenda, they’ll need to learn from other centrist and left-wing politicians who have successfully challenged right-wing populism.
The era of two school systems in Ontario should be riding into the sunset. There are enormous cost savings and community benefits to be had by merging the public and separate school systems. A school bus is seen here in Markham, Ont.
(Shutterstock)
The time to consolidate Ontario’s two school systems is long overdue. It’s no longer viable to dismiss the issue on Constitutional grounds. All that’s needed is political will.
Assistant Professor, Huron University College, Faculty of Arts and Social Science, Department of Management and Organizational Studies, Western University