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  • Doug Ford has a complicated legacy in Ottawa. Will it hurt him or help him this election?

Doug Ford has a complicated legacy in Ottawa. Will it hurt him or help him this election?

We break down the biggest parts of Ford's legacy as it relates to the city of Ottawa

Ontario Premier Doug Ford has officially declared a provincial election, and that means voters will head to the polls in less than a month. But because of its abruptness, candidates will have a very short time to introduce themselves. 

Ford said he’s calling an election to help fight the 25 per cent tariffs US President Donald Trump plans to impose on Canada. But skeptics say it’s all a ploy to get more power and another mandate, especially while the federal Liberals remain unpopular. That would make sense, as Ford is leading, with some polls having him winning with 46 per cent of the vote — perhaps a few more seats than he has already. 

  • What may be more interesting to watch is if the Liberals can regain official party status after going through a historic defeat in 2018. Polls show the Liberals doing better than the NDP, though speculation is their leader, Bonnie Crombie, might not even win her own riding of Mississauga East. 

When Doug Ford was first elected, he had strong support in Ottawa; in fact, three of his caucus members were from here: Lisa MacLeod in Nepean, Goldie Ghamari in Carleton, and Dr. Merilee Fullerton in Kanata-Carleton. 

But those sunny days soon began to fade away. MacLeod faced a variety of scandals, including yelling at parents of children with autism, verbally attacking former Ottawa Senators owner Eugene Melnyk, and receiving a $44,000 housing subsidy from her local riding association. During most of this, MacLeod held various positions in cabinet, but left in 2022 due to a mental health crisis. 

Fullerton was quick to climb the ranks in Ford’s cabinet and was the Minister of Colleges and Universities, Minister of Long-term Care, and then Minister of Children, Community and Social Services (MacLeod’s old post). Fullerton announced she was resigning effective immediately in March 2023 and later went on to write a book which critiques the government's handling of health matters, including the COVID-19 pandemic. 

In the very Conservative riding of Carleton, Ghamari never did get a cabinet position. She always said she didn’t want one; but they never came calling either. Unlike other PC politicians, Ghamari was a bit of an outcast; she played by her own rules. She gave interviews to the media when party heads instructed their members not to. She was also always vocal with her comments on social media — particularly when it came to the Israel-Hamas war. In 2024 she met with British far-right figure Tommy Robinson. While it wasn’t her first “error in judgement,” as Ford said, it would be her last as a PC caucus member. 

Doug Ford and other elected officials at Larkin Park in Barrhaven following the September 2018 tornadoes. Photo by Charlie Senack.

For his part, Ford knew where Ottawa was when he first ran for Premier in 2018. He made multiple campaign stops here, and was back that fall when multiple tornadoes touched down in the Nepean and Dunrobin areas. He flipped burgers with community members at Larkin Park and held an outdoor press conference to announce support. But after that, it all started to change.

There were a few funding announcements during his first few years in office, including for new schools, construction projects, and some highway developments. During an election stop in the Capital in 2022, Ford was criticized for not touring the damage of a deadly Derecho, which left tens of thousands in the dark. 

  • “I’m not here to do a photo op, like maybe other politicians were,” said Ford at the time. The Premier added he was “on the phone around the clock” requesting aid from other provinces and U.S. states. 

The next real announcement came in March when Ford announced a “New deal” for Ottawa. The $543 million in operating and capital funds included some support for homelessness, revitalizing the downtown core, improving roads, building the new Barnsdale/Highway 416 interchange, and offloading Highway 174 to the province. It was good, but nothing in comparison to what Toronto was receiving. There was also zero funding for transit. 

  • During a press conference at city hall, an Ottawa Citizen reporter asked the Premier why he hadn’t travelled here in a while. He responded defensively by saying, “I’ve been here countless times.” The reporter was then cut off. 

A little over a week later, Ford was back — this time with a box of Mavericks donuts in hand — to give Ottawa a $37.5M cheque for 'substantial progress' on its home-building pledge. Then a few weeks later, he was back for a rather bizarre announcement which included “a new regional office to support better services for the people of Ottawa and the surrounding region.” It was widely criticized for just being another piece of bureaucracy. Nepean’s MacLeod spoke out against its creation and said she thought it was “a bad idea.”

Some additional funding was announced in November at the Economic Club of Canada held at the Fairmont Château Laurier. There, Ford said Queen’s Park would send $48 million over three years to the city for security, including an increased police presence in the ByWard Market, more OC Transpo special constables and “community-based initiatives including outreach and alternative mental health supports.”

Alas, that brings us to now. For most of 2024, Mayor Mark Sutcliffe pleaded with the provincial government for more transit operating funding. He released his "Fairness for Ottawa” campaign and Sutcliffe has said many times that he felt "optimistic" the money would flow, but any progress in the background will be delayed by the provincial election. 

On Jan. 27, the federal government announced it would be giving the city $180 million in funding to help maintain and upgrade OC Transpo’s fleet and infrastructure. The money would be spread out over a decade starting in 2026, reported CTV

At that announcement, Sutcliffe said he felt it was a good sign that additional funds could come from the province. He said Ford committed to stepping up if the feds did as well. 

Politicians focus their time and energy on regions and ridings they believe that they need to win to form a majority government. It’s one reason why the Toronto suburbs get so much attention. It’s fair to say, unfortunately, that the city has fallen in importance as the years have gone on. Unlike the attention lavished on Toronto, Ottawa has recently not warranted that level of attention. With such a short election, and one that seems to be a forgone conclusion (though things can change), it remains to be seen if the region will get much attention from Premier Ford and the PCs.