Since his election as Ontario Premier in 2018, Doug Ford has been available in two versions.
There’s the empathetic, uniting leader who works across political boundaries. He first appeared during the COVID-19 pandemic.
And there’s the original Doug Ford – the angry partisan who sows divisions and does favours for friends.
You may recall version 1.0 from such moves as Mr. Ford’s attempt to name an underqualified old crony, Ron Taverner, as commissioner of the Ontario Provincial Police in 2018. It reeked so badly of conflict of interest that Mr. Taverner ultimately withdrew his name from consideration.
Doug Ford v. 1.0 was also infamous for unilaterally cutting the size of Toronto City Council from 44 members to 25 in 2018, in the middle of a municipal election. There was no justification for it, but Mr. Ford rammed it through for nakedly partisan reasons.
It was thus a pleasant surprise to see the Premier reboot himself as a less demagogic, more empathetic leader when the pandemic struck.
During the crisis, Doug Ford v. 2.0 has shown an openness to working with the federal Liberal government of Justin Trudeau, and an understanding of the difficulties facing Ontarians. He has spent months praising traditional targets. His government’s actual results leave much to be desired, but his work ethic and lack of partisanship have won him the respect of former critics.
And then last week he reverted to prepandemic form, slipping two self-serving measures into omnibus legislation meant to help businesses get through the pandemic.
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See Also:
(1) Government pandemic edicts have real-life consequences
(2) Doctors unpaid despite province’s pledge on expired health cards
(3) Can’t wear a mask? Why demands for medical proof have experts worried
(4) Why lockdowns alone won’t save us from the pandemic
(5) Ford needs context before reacting to 1,000-case record
