Doug Ford, Ontario’s Albatross
As David Polansky comments in The Hub, Doug Ford is the real-life version of Mayor Quimby in The Simpsons. Like Quimby, Ford maintains a folksy, populist style and is subject to controversies involving political patronage. He has done nothing to combat pro-Palestinian and Hamas riots, reminiscent of Quimby’s “Oh, dear God. Can’t this town go one day without a riot?” Ford’s construction and civic management record is abysmal. He dismisses his critics as radical yahoos. “What was striking about this outburst was not just a conservative leader rejecting a moderate conservative platform, but the expression of pique at seeing people actually take a political position at all.”
Meanwhile, the hapless premier is “bafflingly silent on critical issues like crime, safety, record youth unemployment, and out of control immigration in his province.” Its housing starts are the worst in the country. Ontario, Canada’s supposed “growth ...
