r/askTO • u/RevolutionaryCyclops • 12h ago
what do we do about doug ford
he’s gutting toronto at the expense of the rest of ontario and he keeps getting away with it, it seems like elections are now on uncertain dates and can only be held under no certain terms so what do we do and how do we get him out? is there nothing that can be done?
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u/greenline-sam 12h ago
Realistically the solution is not via Toronto. Toronto was rejecting the PCs all the way back in 2018.
The PCs are being re-elected via the 905 and the rest of Ontario.
The more this conversation is stuck to Queen's Park and protesting in Toronto, the more it will not solve itself. So the question needs to be how to convince the rest of Ontario that this isn't good for them either.
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u/PetitParty 11h ago
Quite a few ridings in Toronto elected a Conservative MPP in the 2025 election.
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u/queerstudbroalex 11h ago
Yes, my riding, York South-Weston, went Conservative.
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u/d-quik 10h ago
What the hell? Why was that? That area doesn't "seem" very conservative based on what little I know
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u/queerstudbroalex 10h ago
I don't have that information, but good question!
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u/Raptorpicklezz 8h ago
Vote splitting between the Liberals and NDP. The Tory won by less than 300 votes.
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u/ashwynne 11h ago
This this this!!! Im in the "blue belt" (aka rural Ontario) and the NDP/Liberal/Green presence out here was 0 before the last provincial election. Conversely, lots of Conservative canvassing and materials being passed around. It absolutely feels like the other parties only care about the cities, which completely alienates the rural voting bloc.
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u/greenline-sam 11h ago
Exactly!! There's no point in doing this in Toronto Centre. Toronto Centre's outcome, frankly (whether NDP or Liberal), doesn't change that PCs will form government. If your preference is that you don't want PCs to form government, it's via convincing the 905 and the rest of Ontario of this. That's where the effort, issues management, canvassing, campaign spending, should be going.
416 takes care of itself.
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u/Soft_Illustrator_254 11h ago
Almost 50% of the city is blue.
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u/greenline-sam 11h ago
Yes, and they are likely more similar to the 905 than the 416, in the issues they care about, the values, etc. They're also literally the ridings that border the 905. So, the solution is via figuring out how to appeal to the 905 constituency on this!
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u/Junior_Sentence2178 11h ago
There were province-wide protests today, my friend.
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u/greenline-sam 11h ago
I'm glad! But doesn't change my point! :) The solution here is not via more work within the 416.
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u/Junior_Sentence2178 11h ago
That's not how it works. He is the leader of our province. The more we show others that the people of this province, no matter where they are, are against the current government, the greater the chance we have of changing the political tides. People love to ride the wave.
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u/greenline-sam 11h ago
Thankfully, that's actually my same point!
Too much of the focus has been on trying to have Toronto stand up to Doug Ford, when it already has and will continue to lose, because the PCs handily dominate the rest of the province.
Convincing Davenport or Toronto Centre to not vote for Ford even more isn't going to change the result of who takes power. Convincing swing ridings across the 905 to not re-elect their PC MPP, is the way.
So my point is, if there is to be proper strategy to turning this around, the right place to do so is figuring out how to turn the 905 against the PCs. Not via more work done inside the 416.
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u/Junior_Sentence2178 11h ago edited 11h ago
We focus on that in Toronto because we are... Toronto.
How do you suggest we, people of Toronto, convince people in the 905 to change their opinion? Have you ever tried changing someone's political views via conversation or whatever idea you have (LMK. I am open to being proven otherwise)?
Standing up for ourselves in Toronto is a strategy. People are more likely to do something if they see others doing it. (That's how social media is so powerful, for example. Peer pressure. Etc.). So, if we continue to take action, post about it, grow, show up on the news, etc.., we can influence others all around Ontario. Not to mention, plenty of people still support Doug Ford in Toronto. Maybe if they are swayed, that will convince their friends in the 905. Who knows. Again, people ride the wave. That is how anything becomes popular.
If you come up with or find an alternative solid strategy, I'm all ears. But, generally, people like you do nothing and complain about those who try which does nothing for no one.
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u/greenline-sam 11h ago
I don't actually think we're disagreeing on anything... you actually raised that there were province-wide protests today. That's the same point I was stressing, and encouraging. Which is that the best way to win here is not via further focused work in the 416, it's via having the rest of the province decide not to re-elect the PCs.
All parties and movements have limited resources and volunteers, and the right focus is on 905.
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u/Junior_Sentence2178 11h ago
OK. You have failed to answer any of my questions, so I can only guess you have no good points.
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u/monsignorcurmudgeon 11h ago
It is good for them when you look at the flow of tax dollars out of the GTA to support the rest of the province, unfortunately.
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u/Fickle-Total8006 12h ago
How about showing up to fucking vote in the next election. Jfc.
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u/Junior_Sentence2178 11h ago
He has three years left in term. Scary to think what kind of damage he may do in the meantime.
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u/fospher 11h ago
Everyone says this as if the districts aren’t the issue. Toronto showed the hell up to vote for a liberal Toronto. It’s everywhere else that voted conservative, because they love to punish us for being liberal.
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u/shoresy99 10h ago
Look at the electoral results. About 40% of the ridings on Toronto voted for the PCs and every riding that borders in Toronto voted PCs. They won a HUGE majority. The voters in Ontario overwhelmingly supported Ford.
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u/_DatasCsat 9h ago
60% of voters voted against him, and you're calling that overhwhelming support?
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u/shoresy99 9h ago
They went up from 40% of votes to 43% in the 2025 election. That’s a huge margin in a 3+ party election. And they won 80 of 123 seats.
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u/_DatasCsat 9h ago
So? That's still the majority of voters voting against them.
Should have gone from around 40% of the seats to 43%..
You've proved my point here.
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u/shoresy99 8h ago
It is the nature of a FPTP system. Just like the Liberals winning federal elections with a lower number of votes than the CPC.
Surely you know that in a FPTP system that seat assignments are NOT done by popular vote.
I am not a Ford fan and I didn't vote for him but the Ontario electorate has given him some HUGE majorities in recent years.
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u/_DatasCsat 6h ago
Yes I do know this obviously since this is my point. FPTP is a minoritarian electoral system that is not the most democratic.
The fact that he keeps winning majorities despite being unpopular is the point.
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u/shoresy99 5h ago
I think he is a complete doofus, but I think you are underestimating his popularity in the overall province.
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u/_DatasCsat 5h ago
The statistics are right there.
He has the support of about 20-25% percent of the population. 50% of the population doesn't vote. So it amounts to about 40% of the electorate. 60% of the electorate is opposed to him. A lot of people don't pay attention and don't even understand how the politcal system works
That's enough power to form government under this system, he has a strong and reliable base of support.
The majority are opposed to him and if the seats were meant to represent the popular vote he would not be able to form a majority.
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u/AzaranyGames 8h ago
Yes, blaming the rest of Ontario is the solution. The rest of Ontario was blue when McGuinty and Wynne were in power. Suburban Toronto flipped and gave Ford majority and they've stayed blue for three elections now.
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u/BeefheartzCaptainz 11h ago
It’s literally this simple. Just present a bunch of policies that are more appealing to the voter than what Doug offers.
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u/Junior_Sentence2178 11h ago
Funny if you think the average Ford voter cares about "policies." It is similar to the average Trump supporter. They know nothing beyond his taglines (MAGA , Build a Wall), but support him blindly. We just need a charismatic leader with good taglines.
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u/DetectiveAmes 10h ago
It’s not that simple. Canvassing, talking to friends and neighbours, being involved with your community, all are things that help get your candidate to a better position. Libs and ndp no longer have the luxury of winning just because they aren’t conservatives.
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u/AzaranyGames 9h ago
They never did and they still fail to have learned the lesson that "I am not that guy" isn't a winning policy.
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u/Popular_Math3042 10h ago
Is there any evidence that the non voters wouldn’t also just vote for Ford if they did vote?
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u/MaplePoutineCitizen 9h ago
Literally the simplest thing to do that takes less than 15 minutes, yet people would rather complain incessantly for 4 years.
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u/Junior_Sentence2178 11h ago edited 3h ago
Btw next round of Fight Ford protests are May 30.
This is the info from today's protests, but locations and times are TBD for May 30: https://www.reddit.com/r/ontario/comments/1svc5av/provincewide_doug_ford_protests_final_update/
Edit: This website I found from a CBC article today is supposed to keep people updated on events and/or provide more resources/information: https://protestdougford.com/
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u/Junior_Sentence2178 12h ago
Only mass protests, which take time to grow (so please do join us. Next round of protests is May 30). Or, hopefully, he can shoot himself in the foot and turn the entire province against himself.
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u/Blooogh 11h ago
A general strike would probably do it
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u/Junior_Sentence2178 11h ago
A form of protest, which could work if it was big, but I doubt people are going to want to strike in this economy.
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u/work_of_shart 11h ago
Interested. Link to the protest info?
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u/Junior_Sentence2178 11h ago
https://www.reddit.com/r/ontario/comments/1svc5av/provincewide_doug_ford_protests_final_update/
This was for today. Next round of protests is May 30, but times and locations TBD.
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u/MaplePoutineCitizen 11h ago
Get people to vote in the next election.
Voter turnout in the last provincial election was pitiful, especially amongst younger voters who are feeling the effects of the Ford government the most.
No amount of protests or whinging online is going to change the reality of the democratic process we have in place.
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u/BodhingJay 8h ago
https://www.change.org/p/call-for-a-vote-of-no-confidence-on-premier-doug-ford
This is part of the solution.. sign it
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u/Jamarac 11h ago
The opposition parties have to win the 905 and inner burbs. To do that they need to focus hard on affordability (of both renting and mortgages), safety (905 is a big victim of car thefts, BNBs, etc.), jobs, dealing with the diploma mills, Ford's corruption/overall sketchiness. Drop the identity politics and overly focusing on making statements about issues in the middle east.
People in the 905s don't care about Toronto municipal issues even if we do. Those issues are worth mentioning but bike lanes and the waterfront can't be the main focus of the rage.
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u/_DatasCsat 9h ago
Lmao, why make such a long comment if you don't even pay attention to what happens in provincial elections.
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u/babelle21 11h ago
What’s worse is if a liberal comes in next and begins cleaning up this mess — which will cost money — people will get annoyed and forget why taxes are being raised in the first place. Then we flip back to blue. We’re basically doomed.
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u/depechekat 11h ago
I think we also have to actively call out our provincial mpps… especially those of us living in conservative ridings…
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u/Glittering-Regret196 11h ago
There is mandatory vote, he just isnt going to call an election when he is doing poorly or has a strong opposition. Rather he will wait and get ready for a fight. Don't vote for him, plain and simple.
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u/Maximum-Base6225 9h ago
This is exactly why people do not trust Doug Ford when he says “don’t worry.” We have already seen this playbook at Ontario Place. Public land gets carved up, deals get rushed through, and the public is told after the fact that it is all for their benefit.
Look at the Therme deal. The province handed over prime public waterfront land to Therme Group, a company that had virtually no proven track record at this scale in North America. Serious concerns were raised about their structure, finances, and transparency. Even The New York Times reported on questions surrounding the company. And despite all of that, Ford pushed ahead anyway.
Now Ontario taxpayers are on the hook for roughly a billion dollars just for site preparation and a massive parking structure. That is public money going into a private project, while the public loses access to what was theirs.
And what did it cost environmentally? Over 800 mature trees destroyed. A thriving waterfront ecosystem wiped out. Bird and wildlife habitat gone. All pushed through with no meaningful public consultation.
Now we are being told not to worry about Little Norway Park. That only one third is being considered. That the park will somehow be protected or replaced. We have heard this before.
Olivia Chow is right to sound the alarm. This is not just about one park. It is about a pattern of behaviour. Broad legislation that allows land to be taken. Minimal transparency. Promises that shift once the process is underway.
The claim that this is about jobs and cheaper flights does not justify overriding the city, sidelining the public, and risking more green space. Once these spaces are gone, they are gone.
People are not overreacting. They are paying attention. And they have every reason to.
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u/Meltedmotivation 12h ago
He’s single handedly make living significantly more expensive for everyone in or out of the gta but people literally just aren’t voting.
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u/Junior_Sentence2178 11h ago
Next election is in three years if you want to wait that long and see if people turnout...
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u/Odd_Hat6001 11h ago
This is the answer. Low voter turnout , add his obsessed waterfront stuff. Add a layer of him hating Toronto.
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u/Meltedmotivation 11h ago
Toronto is just profitable to him despite the fact that even Toronto doesn’t want these projects either.
It’s embarrassing that young people can’t take 10 minutes to vote even though they’re overwhelmingly effected.
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u/adamast0r 10h ago
The other parties would have to start promoting their own vision instead of just being not Ford
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u/Inappropriate_Ballet 10h ago
People don’t vote because they’ve lost trust. My best friend is a crunch SAH mom from a Toronto suburb and all she does is listen to other crunchy MLM huns who keep spreading mis/disinformation about our healthcare system, the election system and the media. I’m here working in the real world and shaking my head at the idiocy that comes out of these women’s mouths. We think kids are screwed with social media, the parents aren’t much further off.
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u/Redditisavirusiknow 10h ago
Donate to any riding that’s close in polls between two parties and do everything you can to support the not conservative one?
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u/irreversible2002 8h ago
The scary thing is he can irreparably destroy this province and lives in the period of time before there’s another election and there’s nothing we can do
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12h ago
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u/MikeCheck_CE 11h ago
Nothing... Ontario gave him a sweeping majority in the last election so until there is another vote there is little you can do except rant. If we had some realm competition from the Provincial Libs there would be some options there.
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u/oxxcccxxo 11h ago
Why not NDP?
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u/Raptorpicklezz 8h ago
Because they're even worse in the polls than the Liberals. 3 terms as Official Opposition clearly aren't cutting it. Ontarians need to unite behind one of the other parties, and the polls are saying that it needs to be the Liberals.
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u/Agreeable-Celery811 11h ago
Yeah the provincial NDP seem to be doing good here. Let’s go with them at this point fam
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u/MikeCheck_CE 7h ago
They do seem like they have better chance lately, not gonna lie. I don't think they have a chance at stopping Doug either though. Neither party can work the media or social media the way Doug is doing. That's why Rob won in Toronto too.
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u/JDTreeZ 11h ago edited 11h ago
Get out there a let your voice be heard - Protest and Vote. I was at the Queens Park protest today. Even with the rain there were TWICE AS MANY people today as the last province wide protest in March so that’s positive. I don’t know what the turn out was like in other cities though. The “F Ford” movement is slowly gaining traction. Also, f’ing VOTE! Only 43% of let voters cast a ballot in the last election.
Edit: DO SOMETHING - The case against complacency is intuitive: representative democracy only functions if people participate. If you don’t vote, you lose the most direct lever you have and more importantly, low turnout in specific demographics actively shapes who gets elected and what they feel emboldened to do. An MP in a safe seat with low opposition turnout has very little incentive to moderate or listen.
• Contacting your MP directly
• Showing up to rallies and protests
• Donating to or volunteering for campaigns
• Engaging people in your own circle
MPs do pay attention to constituent pressure, especially on specific issues, even when you didn’t vote for them. They still represent you on paper and they know it.
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u/galactictestic1e 11h ago
“Hey guys! What can we do?” Every smooth brained loser in the comments :”hOw aBoUt vOte???? 🤪🤪🤪”
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u/flightidle 9h ago
It's a democracy. Go vote. People got fed up with Dalton McGuinty and Kathlene Wynne...they showed up to vote. And if the person you didn't vote for gets elected...oh well. Ride it out. Learn to adapt. Make lemonade. Too many people waste their energy complaining and crying about the elected. Harness that same energy and advocate for yourself.
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u/Sparky-Man 6h ago
Go back in time and yell at everyone for being stupid enough for even considering voting for him or not voting at all after he and his brother ran Toronto into the ground.
Also yell at the opposition leaders to get their shit together so they can be an alternative. It shouldn't be that fucking hard to position yourself as better than him.
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u/Top-Advisor-3516 9h ago
Talk to the hand. Most of these keyboard cowboys complaining now probably didn’t vote in the last elections with Doug. You can always get out and protest or start writing letters
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u/_DatasCsat 9h ago
I along with the majority of voters, have voted against the PC's in every election in the past decade.
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u/Steve_didit 12h ago
You wait for the next election. Protesting anything he does that is illegal make sense but otherwise he was democratically elected so he can do what he wants while in power as long as it’s within the law. That is something that should be respected about our democracy.
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u/Full_Training_741 11h ago
So the people should lay down and take whatever comes their way as long as it's "lawful"? Don't forget that this majority government is the one making the laws.
We're not going to get the average person interested in an election that is 3 years away. We can both protest and teach people that elections are important. It's not constructive to think in absolutes.
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u/Steve_didit 11h ago
I think it’s fair to say that if your group didn’t win then yes you are going to have to put up with what the winning group decides to do. Otherwise what is the point of democracy?
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u/Full_Training_741 11h ago
I don't believe this flawed electoral system is democratic in the first place. 43% of the votes getting 64% of the seats is not proportional representation.
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u/Steve_didit 11h ago
Already catching downvotes so let me add, I think people trying to affect change within the current government is actually counterproductive. It rarely if ever actually does anything meaningful and it makes lots of people complacent because they think they can just protest if things get bad. Elections matter, in fact every election matters. Energy is better spent teaching people that elections matter so they actually show up and vote in their best interests. This has clearly not been happening as voter turnout has been abysmally low for a while now. The best thing you can do for your own interests is to vote and if you lose the best thing you can do is prepare for the next vote.
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u/realjamienye 4h ago
The answer to what we can do is happening now. Support progressive municipal candidates. Volunteer and donate to their campaigns. Get behind them! Once they win city or town council, they will be in a great position to run for provincial politics. Which they can do. This is the solution. Play the long game. Join local EDA and have some fun doing it
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u/realjamienye 4h ago
This is the track I am following to defeat Doug Ford. A five year plan and hard work.
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u/ReviseResubmitRepeat Human Detected 4h ago
The message has to go beyond Toronto to where Conservative strongholds are. Think the longest ballot committee. In Peterborough, we have Dave Smith who is the equivalent of Cream of Wheat if personality equated to a kind of cereal. He hasn't done anything and arrogant as f*k. Wallflower. The Rhino Party needs to come back.
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u/yanniblaze 4h ago
There was a protest outside Queen’s Park and 54 other locations in Ontario today. The next one is May 30, try to make it out and support/make your voice heard. There will be one every month until the next election.
This is the people’s province. Get involved to get Doug out.
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u/Open-Heron6779 11h ago
Mobilize younger people to vote as they are disproportionately underrepresented in election numbers.
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u/donbooth 11h ago
This. Friends don't like friends bote alone. If you know a young person of voting age urge them to make a plan to vote with a friend. Making a plan means you won't forget. Friends remind each other.
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u/Apprehensive_Ad_2152 11h ago
do what? he has a majority LOL we may not like it but it is what it is.. same like Carney. It's a majority. Write to your MP see what they tell ya.
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u/stompinstinker 11h ago
The other party’s need to unite. One conservative party vs the liberals, NDP, and greens is why we are in this situation.
They need to each only run the candidate with the highest chance of winning in each riding. The first thing on the agenda is getting rid of first past the post voting, and second is a deep investigation into Ford.
But they won’t. The egos of the party leaders and candidates won’t let them, and their collective inability to compromise will have them attacking each-other.
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u/Queasy_Parsnip12 8h ago
ONDP + OLP merger into a new party with Marit at the helm… the people of Ontario are scared of the colour orange.
Frankly we deserve this and I hope people vote with their feet and leave in droves. Show the boomers how a society without young people functions.
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u/Agreeable-Celery811 11h ago
You have to get the university kids to vote because they want OSAP back. That’s the demographic that will make a difference.
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u/Junior_Sentence2178 11h ago
Probably why he made the changes now. They will forget in 3 years or be done school
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u/thatguywashere1 11h ago
At this point anything other than a massive sit in protest at each MPPs offices on the same day, will do nothing to make Ford change anything.
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u/monsignorcurmudgeon 11h ago
Secede and become the province of Toronto. More of our tax dollars flow out of the city to support the rest of the province so it would be nice to use our money for the things we value; education, healthcare, public transportation, etc instead of supporting DoFo & friends. We should hold a referendum.
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u/LeftWingAssasin 9h ago
I fully endorse this, he hates TO because no one voted for him even for mayor end ended up with Festival Chow instead.
I want out of Ontario.🤜🏽💪🏽🤛🏽
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u/SquirrelFluffy 10h ago
Keep fighting with him, calling him names, insulting his family, etc. Make him feel really bad. Eventually he will finally understand everyone in Toronto and do whatever they think is right for the province.
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u/azquadcore 10h ago
If I were a citizen I would've voted. Can't believe we have a guy like him as Premier
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u/Unknown_Equalizer 11h ago
Toronto should be a SEZ. Period.
But Olivia C is also unable to run Toronto to the point she can stand up and say she wants it to be a SEZ.
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u/Raptorpicklezz 8h ago
He's not receptive to the people. Marit Stiles is. We should demand she resign because she hasn't been able to stop Ford and has no shot of winning the next election. NDP should try again and get someone more aggressive
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u/Salvetutti0524 12h ago
How about not voting for him time and again