Did Doug Ford just burn a new conservative group?
The premier has “no idea who these yahoos are”
A group of Conservative insiders believe Doug Ford is moving the party too far to the centre. Project Ontario, which has its launch event tonight at the Gardiner Museum, claims that the premier’s strategy of governing by public opinion is a betrayal of right-wing policies. And they think Ford should be using his current capital (i.e., his record approval ratings) to forward causes such as private health care, more parental involvement in education and smaller government, according to a report by the Toronto Star.
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Doug Ford seems less than on board with the project and has said he has “no idea who these yahoos are.” But that seems highly unlikely given that the launch event’s attendees include high-profile federal Conservatives like Jamil Jivani, the former Ford aide and current MP. Jivani trashed Ford in an interview following this year’s federal election, essentially blaming the premier for Pierre Poilievre’s flameout.
The only thing that cuts deeper than trashing your adversary? Not knowing that they exist. “They sound like a bunch of radical rights,” Ford continued, a diss straight out of the Mean Girls burn book.
It’s true that the premier has been getting pretty cozy with the opposition in recent months. He and Chrystia Freeland all but exchanged Taylor Swift friendship bracelets during Ford’s Captain Canada routine pushing back against Donald Trump’s tariffs. Then Ford hosted Mark Carney for a sleepover at his Muskoka cottage, where the pair stayed up until 12:30 a.m. in front of a roaring fireplace “solving the world’s problems,” according to Ford. (There’s no word on whether s’mores were consumed.)
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Ford’s newly centrist tendencies have insiders wondering whether he has his sights set on Ottawa (don’t tell his slumber party buddy). Speaking of job-gunning, could this be a sign that Jivani is coming after Ford’s? Not according to Project Ontario’s spokesperson, who says that, unlike the recent New Leaf Liberals (launched explicitly to oust Bonnie Crombie), this group doesn’t intend to topple Ford’s government.
But, then again, what else would a cunning political insurgent say?
Courtney Shea is a freelance journalist in Toronto. She started her career as an intern at Toronto Life and continues to contribute frequently to the publication, including her 2022 National Magazine Award–winning feature, “The Death Cheaters,” her regular Q&As and her recent investigation into whether Taylor Swift hung out at a Toronto dive bar (she did not). Courtney was a producer and writer on the 2022 documentary The Talented Mr. Rosenberg, based on her 2014 Toronto Life magazine feature “The Yorkville Swindler.”
An earlier version of this article stated that the Project Ontario launch event would be hosted by the Gardiner Museum. In fact, it is a private event renting space in the museum, which is not affiliated with Project Ontario.
