Rob Ford As a Microcosm of Canadian Politics

Yes, we just used "Rob Ford" and "micro" in the same sentence.

The National Post’s David Berry says Toronto Mayor Rob Ford needs to learn the difference between campaigning and governing, because judging by his “threat to sick his legion of supporters/pit bulls on Dalton McGuinty’s Liberal government if it won’t pony up some $150-million for infrastructure and services,” he seems to have confused the two. Going begging to the province for an injection of cash seems to go against everything Ford stands for ideologically but plays well to his followers in Toronto, indicating he’s more interested “expanding and flattering his potential and actual base far more than hewing to any particular ideology or policy stance.” Barry says chasing after your base is understandable during a campaign, but once you actually get in power, it can be “disastrous.” Witness the federal Conservatives, whose recent decisions about the census, crime legislation, and the Potash takeover seem to have much more to do with pandering to parts of the electorate than actually running the country, in Barry’s estimation.

Ford’s gambit against McGuinty is only the latest example of Canadian “politics by threat,” according to this Ottawa Citizen editorial. We’ve seen this kind of attempt to bully a higher level of government before, notably former Newfoundland and Labrador premier Danny Williams’s Anyone But Conservative campaign and, more recently, Quebec City Mayor Regis Labeaume calling the Tories’ refusal to build him an NHL arena “suicidal.” It’s a pattern that shows a poor grasp of intergovernmental relations, the Citizen says. “The nature of federal-provincial and provincial-municipal relations is that money trickles down to lower levels. But securing necessary funds should be done through negotiations, not ransom demands.” And this bullying is all the more silly because it’s done in the name of “the taxpayer,” as if the money mayors and premiers are trying to commandeer doesn’t come from provincial or federal taxpayers.

Perhaps the single silliest thing about Ford’s threat is how utterly empty it is. Not that Ford wouldn’t oust the premier if he could, but if opinion polls are accurate voters are in no need of extra encouragement to send the McGuinty packing.