Rob Ford will shock exactly five people by endorsing Stephen Harper in Brampton tonight—but why?

Rob Ford will shock exactly five people by endorsing Stephen Harper in Brampton tonight—but why?

Best buds

While the Toronto Sun is all but calling this a scoop, it’s not a surprise to anyone that Rob Ford, having been endorsed by Conservative MPs and MPPs, is showing the federal party a bit of love by endorsing Stephen Harper for prime minister. But there are some odd little details here and there.

From the Sun’s reporting:

“The message from the federal Conservatives and Prime Minister Harper is pretty clear: they want to reduce corporate taxes, and we need to make Toronto a tax-friendly environment that helps bring business here,” said Adrienne Batra, Ford’s press secretary.

Earlier this month Ford balked at endorsing a particular campaign publicly, but told reporters he hoped whoever won would be willing to help the city.

But with voters going to the polls on Monday, Batra said the mayor feels it is “clear the Conservative message and platform is something that he supports … the Conservatives are really the only ones talking about lower taxes and job creation, and that’s good for the City of Toronto.”

Low taxes and job creation may be good for Canada (although it’s hard to see why that would particularly benefit the 416), but it’s kind of interesting that neither the mayor nor the PM feel confident about actually bringing that message to Toronto itself—the endorsement will be at a campaign rally in Brampton, where the Conservatives are trying hard to win seats in the 905.

And we’re more than a little confused as to why Ford decided to step off the sidelines at this late date. No doubt someone’s already spinning a theory about weak Conservative polling in the GTA or whatnot, but what does Ford have to gain? If the Conservative numbers keep sliding, it’s possible Harper will be gone one way or another—in which case Ford will have backed the wrong horse. Unless the Conservatives put a cracked, bloody football helmet in his bed while he slept, we’re not quite sure what’s behind this.

Toronto mayor to endorse Harper [Toronto Sun]

(Images: Ford, Shaun Merritt; Harper, World Economic Forum)