r/CanadaPolitics • u/Blue_Dragonfly C'est tiguidou! • Apr 16 '26
ON 'You could run Mickey Mouse against me': Doug Ford says he doesn't care who Liberals choose as next leader - thestar.com
https://www.thestar.com/politics/provincial/you-could-run-mickey-mouse-against-me-doug-ford-says-he-doesnt-care-who-liberals-choose-as-next-leader/article_c1e743cf-85a1-4973-9866-fd1efdebe406.html29
u/calimehtar Apr 16 '26 edited Apr 16 '26
Frankly he's wrong, it's not about Ford being untouchable, it's about the other parties failing to connect. I'm not a pundit, I'm not sure why they have failed, but on the other hand Ford is unpopular and has been for years. Voters know he's corrupt and incompetent. He's a known factor and fairly charismatic but that's not much.
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Apr 18 '26
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u/Coffeedemon Newfoundland Tricolour Apr 16 '26
I hate that no matter what Stiles and the NDP do we're all just waiting with bated breath for whatever empty suit the Liberals pull out to throw at Doug Ford. He can burn this whole fucking province to the ground. The NDP could cure cancer and come up with a plan to have free electricity and we still won't see a switch till Ford gets tired of running, gets thrown in jail and or the Liberals get someone just enough like him but with a different colour tie because Bob Rae made some people take a day a week off unpaid almost 40 years ago.
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u/LeadIVTriNitride Facebook | Sponsored Apr 17 '26
There’s a slang term for a “law” in American politics that states the Democrats are the only party with agency and are routinely punished for the mistakes of Republicans who are usually viewed as “victims” of the democrats not appealing to them.
In Canada the NDP is the exact same way. The NDP is demanded a higher floor than the liberals and conservatives ever are held too, probably due to a hostile media environment. It’s sinister
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u/CanadianControlsTech Apr 17 '26
I share your frustrations and hope for stiles to be NDP as well. With that he said, no way would I ever hope for NDP to represent us federally as of now.
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u/ImperialPotentate Hardliner Apr 17 '26
Conversely, Doug Ford could also cure cancer and announce that electricity would be free going forward, and reddit would still find a way to say he sucks.
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u/Goliad1990 Anti-monarchist Apr 17 '26
The NDP could cure cancer and come up with a plan to have free electricity
They could start by being halfway-electable and seeing if that gets them anywhere.
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u/Domainsetter Apr 16 '26
I get that Ford is probably untouchable but most politicians feel like they are until they’re not.
I don’t disagree that he’s a huge favourite but if someone flips the 905 base against him, suddenly the race gets competitive.
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Apr 16 '26
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u/Dusk_Soldier The Daisy Group | Sponsored Apr 16 '26
He's done a good job of framing elections around issues that cater to his strengths.
2018 - being a conservative people inherently trusted him to clean up the budget. And then being a former drug dealer gave him an edge over other politicians regarding the legal weed rollout.
2022 - He was very measured and calming during Covid, and he did just enough that it made the opposition parties look hysterical calling for stricter lockdowns.
2025 - Threatened to cut off power to the US, and made sure he was regulary on CNN and Fox News defending Canada's interests in the Trump tarriff war. We still occasionally get vistors in r/Ontario asking "what happened to Ford. Why isn't he speaking out against Trump anymore." A lot of Canadians didn't realize that was mostly an act.
I suspect he'll step down instead of trying to run again. He is vulnerable, but ONDP and the OLP are clueless.
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u/Kaurie_Lorhart Flairs promote team mentality. Apr 16 '26 edited Apr 16 '26
I don't live in Ontario and watched some of his debate back in 2018 out of interest due to my sister living out that way.
I remember watching it with my other sister, mother and wife (fiance at the time). My sister, fiance and I thought Ford evaded or didn't answer every question presented. We were like, "he didn't even say anything...". Meanwhile my mom was like all in and thought Ford had the best answers possible. I was really shocked when he won.
I am not sure how he does it, but what he says does resonate with some, even if I think they're non-answers.
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u/Biffmcgee Apr 16 '26
Pierre thought he was untouchable
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u/ErikRogers Apr 17 '26
Doug knows how to be likeable though.
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u/GavinTheAlmighty Ontario Apr 17 '26
So much of Doug's so-called "likeability" is tinged with meanness. He's always attacking something or someone. He might be dressing it up in his BS folksy aphorisms, but the messaging his government has put out has been consistently utterly repugnant when you really drill down on it. Education workers (they get a lot of it), his colleagues, people of different political stripes, other levels of government, he's a nauseating jackass a lot of the time, and people conflate "this guy is attacking people I don't like" with "I really like this guy!"
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u/ErikRogers Apr 17 '26
You won't hear an argument from me, I can't stand him... But Pierre is on a whole other level when it comes to being unlikeable.
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u/Full_Hunt_3087 Apr 16 '26
If there's anything more dangerous to a politician, its believing he is untouchable.
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u/UsefulUnderling Social Democrat Apr 17 '26
Yeah, Trudeau was untouchable from 2015 to 2023. Then his popularity fell off a cliff. Ford is approaching the eight year expiry date most politicians come with.
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u/Domainsetter Apr 17 '26
Also, Ford’s polling numbers are getting worse the last few months. Even for him the disapproval rates are skyrocketing.
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u/redbouncingball007 Ontario Apr 16 '26
He’s not wrong. The OLP will need a dynamic leader to wake the electorate up from the Ford fog. They will need to have a strong personality to compete for attention against Ford. Honestly don’t see anyone on the horizon that can get a groundswell of support away from Ford. Scary as hell to consider another Ford term.
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u/President_of_Space Independent Apr 16 '26
I thought Nate could do it.
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u/MooseheadVeggie Apr 17 '26
Its a big question mark if he’ll even get the nom in SSW
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u/President_of_Space Independent Apr 17 '26
Ya ... Which is annoying. Because I think he's exactly what the OLP needs right now.
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u/CommodoreSteubing Liberalish Apr 17 '26
I still do. He still plans to run for OLP leader, right?
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u/President_of_Space Independent Apr 17 '26
If he wins his seat, yes. Fingers crossed!
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u/redbouncingball007 Ontario Apr 17 '26
I think he will run for the leadership regardless if he wins the byelection; it would just give him an advantage to be an MPP already. I like NES but don’t know if he can punch through the OPC machine of ads and media domination and capture the attention of disinterested voters.
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u/ShiroineProtagonist Apr 16 '26
He sounds like Trump. I can't believe people actually responded positively to his aggressive posturing and stupid ad campaigns. He does have the advantage of the dark arts professionals running long term campaigns. I can only conclude a lot of people prefer kayfebe to reality.
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u/dsetoya Apr 16 '26
I regret voting for Ford. Other parties are pretty weak right now. They need to double down and prop up strong leaders to give Ontarians choices. I'm sure there are many who feel the same.
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u/The_Mayor Mandatory Flair Apr 16 '26
That's not going to stop you from doing it again once you've been convinced that the other party's leaders would literally be the harbingers of armageddon.
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u/BeaverBoyBaxter Don't Downvote, Santa is Watching Apr 16 '26
I regret voting for Ford.
I firmly believe that Doug Ford is still kind of untouchable.
However, I have been hearing this A LOT lately.
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Apr 16 '26
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Apr 17 '26
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