The dye has been cast. Ontario’s Doug Ford has pulled the plug, and we will have an election in Ontario on February 27th, barely four weeks from now.
There are those who think this early election that Ford is calling is only for selfish reasons and that he is putting folks in Ontario through an unnecessary election.
Liberal-leaning Toronto Star journalist Martin Regg Cohn doubled down on that in Thursday’s Toronto Star, saying, in part, “Ford cast himself as a viable protector against a volatile U.S. President. He did it – he called an early election no one wants, at a time no one imagined.”
Regg Cohn goes on to say, “as the Progressive Conservative leader blames Donald Trump for an unnecessary election his believability will be doubted on issues closer to home… Ford claims with a straight face that he needs a bigger mandate to spend ‘tens of billions’ bailing out Ontario’s economy, and protecting its workforce, yet he conveniently ignores the public pledges from his opposition rivals to provide a united front in the Legislature.” [When it comes to facing Donald Trump].
I can almost see my Liberal and New Democratic friends nodding their heads in agreement at this point, with all of this, but I respectfully disagree.
First, dealing with what some media pundits and Ford’s opponents regularly refer to as a snap election, it is not. Yes, it is an early election, but everyone who reads the news knew it was coming ever since Donald Trump, with his threats against Canada, was elected President of the United States and especially after he upped his game on those threats after he assumed office. The leaks for an early election were all over the place.
Second, the hard fact is that the ballot issue on February 27th, will be the effect of tariffs and economic warfare on Canada coming from the Trump Administration. There is simply nothing more important than that.
The question for the people in Ontario, the province that potentially will be most seriously affected by Donald Trump’s shenanigans, is who will be best able to deal with that.
Third, the concept that Premier Doug Ford should count on Opposition leaders to back up his response to the Trump Administration is suspect at its best and laughable at its worst. It simply would never happen. Ford would have to get agreement from them on everything he proposed, and with all of the partisan beliefs, that simply would not be in the cards.
Premier Doug Ford does not need a mandate from the Opposition leaders. What he needs is a clear mandate from the people of Ontario to do what needs to be done to protect Ontario’s interests.
When Doug Ford was elected with a majority government for the second time in 2021, the reality of Donald Trump, again becoming President of the United States, was much less evident, and his threats against Canada were non-existent. The mandate that the Progressive Conservatives received at that time did not envision the scope or the immanence of what the Trump Administration is threatening now against Canada and Ontario.
In calling the February 27th election, Doug Ford said, “I am asking the people of Ontario for a strong, stable, four-year mandate to do whatever it takes to outlast and outlive the Trump Administration – to protect Ontario – to protect auto workers.”
Whichever political leader wins the election in February, they will desperately need that mandate from voters to do “whatever it takes” to protect Ontario’s interests and play a leading role in defending Canada against a despotic American president. The time for leadership with a mandate is now, not 18 months from now.
Everyone will have their opinion about who that leader in Ontario should be, including myself. But it is the electorate who will make that final decision, and as the old saying goes, the voters are never wrong.
Doug Ford has not been a perfect Premier. In fact, I don’t know of anyone who has been, with the possible exception of Frank Miller and Ernie Eves, neither of whom were in office long enough to make any real mistakes!
In Ford’s case, the legacy media has done a good job jumping on everything, real or perceived, they believe he has done wrong. There are no secrets there. Yet, he is still going into this election with a double-digit lead. One needs to ask why.
Could it be, in part, because he has stepped into a leaderless void in Canada when we have a lame-duck government in Ottawa, particularly as Chair of the Council of the Federation, which includes every provincial and territorial premier in Canada, as well as speaking out forcibly against the Trump threats as Premier of Ontario? Or could it be that his oh-shucks’ demeanor and his lack of pomposity cause many people in Ontario to just like the guy and are happy to keep him in office?
One thing I have learned over many years is that elections are fickle things. You can never be absolutely sure how they will turn out until the ballots are counted. On top of that, I am sure Doug Ford’s opponents remember what happened when former Premier David Peterson, also high in the polls, called an early election. It can indeed be risky.
All the same, risky or not, I believe that Doug Ford was correct in calling a provincial election now. Given the current challenges between Canada and the United States, a majority mandate in Ontario is needed as soon as possible to allow the government to take extraordinary measures if and when needed. Only the people can decide who is the best person to lead that government under current circumstances.
I certainly have my opinion about who that individual should be, and I continue to believe that the growing conflict between Canada and the United States is our greatest challenge and that this election in Ontario is very likely the most important poll of the people in many decades.
I am well aware that others will have different opinions, and that is a good thing. After all, on this side of the border, we are still a democracy.
Hugh Mackenzie

Hugh Mackenzie has held elected office as a trustee on the Muskoka Board of Education, a Huntsville councillor, a District councillor, and mayor of Huntsville. He has also served as chairman of the District of Muskoka and as chief of staff to former premier of Ontario, Frank Miller.
Hugh has also served on a number of provincial, federal and local boards, including chair of the Ontario Health Disciplines Board, vice-chair of the Ontario Family Health Network, vice-chair of the Ontario Election Finance Commission, and board member of Roy Thomson Hall, the National Theatre School of Canada, and the Anglican Church of Canada. Locally, he has served as president of the Huntsville Rotary Club, chair of Huntsville District Memorial Hospital, chair of the Huntsville Hospital Foundation, president of Huntsville Festival of the Arts, and board member of Community Living Huntsville.
In business, Hugh Mackenzie has a background in radio and newspaper publishing. He was also a founding partner and CEO of Enterprise Canada, a national public affairs and strategic communications firm established in 1986.
Currently, Hugh is president of C3 Digital Media Inc., the parent company of Doppler Online, and he enjoys writing commentary for Huntsville Doppler.
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Conservatives currently hold over 60% of the seats — not sure what you are talking about… “Third, the concept that Premier Doug Ford should count on Opposition leaders to back up his response to the Trump Administration is suspect at its best and laughable at its worst.”
He did not need them when he sent Ontarians $200.00!!
And why not increase payments to those on the Ontario Disability Support Program (ODSP) or Ontario Autism Program? They need our help.
Our politicians need to learn to work across the aisle vs. just talking about it! Kids get suspended for bullying others and fighting at school — we need to “suspend” some of our elected officials.
Well put Hugh. There is a reason Doug Ford is the leader of all the Pemiers in Canada. He is still very much Ontario focused while leading the charge for Canada. Despite the two denegrators who really want his job as Premier trying to say he is negligent in his duties , he is doing an extremely good job in both positions.
Trump has created a solid fight for us to keep democracy. This is all 🇨🇦 Canada . Not just Muskoka arguing over this and that. This involves the world.
Negative comments will be made about every candidate. There is a lot going on behind the scenes in most countries.
Please recognize what is happening and what has already occurred. We are fighting now for our freedoms our rights.
Will USA have a non corrupt election in four years…sorry not likely .
Will Canada be on its feet then?Will we have our country independent with relations and trading with our friends? Will manufacturing etc. return to Canada? Will we be free trading with our own provinces?
This is a wake up call. Please recognize it. It will be a tough tough fight. Win Canada win. Thank you.
Am I the only one that remembers Dougie saying he’d vote for Donald Trump back in November?
I guess he’s taped that Starlink contract back together as well?
Ford has publicly expressed his admiration and loyalty to Trump. True, Ford got into the ring with him so to speak, when Trump announced forthcoming tariffs and brazenly suggested that Canada should be the 51st state. Dougie donned his ‘Canada Is Not For Sale’ cap. He appears to be fighting for Ontario – our Canada. But, I still don’t trust him.
He’s made cuts to education. Healthcare is a mess. He’s trying to buy our vote. He’s….
Then there’s the Greenbelt situation.
I. don’t. trust. him.
Anna-Lise Kear: I guess my choice is based upon what’s on the menu. I don’t see a Bill Davis out there today. He screwed up badly twice, and once kinda’. That was pretty good in my book, after all those years. No one close since then. But we got what we got.
You can’t say “No” to everything and everybody. When I look around it’s a pretty short list I am choosing from. Some of the other premiers may have a chance. Four of them for sure not. Guess I’m more into picking ‘a homer’. His track record is dubious, but it seems he might stand and fight. And I can see nothing but 4 years of struggle with the blight south of the border. And then maybe more?
We never know when we will be brave and stand and fight. The chance arises, we may run like a gazelle. Even though we were so verbally brave. PM Trudeau still seems to be with us, ‘though the ankle biter seems to be sequestered far back in the kennel. And quiet. No catchy little slogan to grumble up.
I would still rather see our Ontario election down the road where it was supposed to be. To see if the man has the moxie in the face of ‘real and present danger’. Got the feeling that this is a ‘just in case’ effort. Should this tariff game go badly and some holes appear in that blue fabric, their thinking would be they got a few more years anyway.
And to be thinking we’ll save money by having this unnecessary election early!! Some people can construe a lot of stuff as sunshine.
Glad we are having a provincial election now. Despite Mr Ford’s attempts to don the Captain Canada superhero tuque “Canada is not for Sale”, recent conservative government policies only show that he is not to be trusted with leading Ontario. – Is “Ontario for Sale”?? The list of “mistakes” is long, so you may want to skip the next bit.
-The hurry up highway 413 and Bradford bypass which once again cuts into the Greenbelt, ignores endangered species and agricultural space to the great benefit of developers.( didn’t he already apologize for not keeping his promise not to touch the Greenbelt?)
-The impractical and nasty trespass laws for the growing population of unhoused persons – the result of failure to address need for affordable housing options and needed health and addiction treatment and support services- now everywhere not just in the GTHA. –
-Charging costly perdiems to patients in hospital waiting for nursing home or homecare.
– The destruction of Ontario Place for a Spa that is not likely useful to average Ontario citizens.
– The privatization of highways started with the 407 which works if you can pay the toll.
– Growing private medical clinics for those who can afford the entry fee.-
Is “Ontario for Sale” ??
Meanwhile there is continuing neglect of rural and northern communities schools, health care and infrastructure.While the house of cards is collapsing, like the neglected Ontario Science Centre roof, he dreams up a tunnel to solve traffic problems in the GTHA.
In Muskoka, the divisive hospital redevelopment effort is a result of the province’s insufficient commitment of funding to meet the future acute care and community health care needs as now evident everywhere in Ontario, throwing it back to “local shares” to make up the difference. For which we are to be deeply grateful.
His priorities are clear, and it’s not Ontario. Who will ” protect Ontario” from more Doug Ford.
I have to agree with you here Hugh. I like the idea of aligning Fords term with the US fascists, we are in the fight of our lives and as chaotic as it’s been so far, it’s only the beginning. As for folks who think it’s an unnecessary expense, the money would have needed to be spent next year anyway…actually saves money in a sense if you consider inflation and what it would cost a year from now.
Forgot to mention that on the news the Teachers Association have ads on TV saying that Doug Ford has cut the education money down by $1,500 for EACH little bitty child !! I wonder what he spent that money on (maybe the $200 to each person to attract their votes?)
Mr. Markle and others…
“Protecting what from whom?” by Graeme Bayliss in Toronto Star Monday, February 3, 2025. Doug Ford’s campaign, with the slogan, “Protect Ontario” (one presumes this is from DT).
Bayliss writes, “It was a conservative who established Ontario Place. It was a conservative who established Ontario Science Centre. It was a conservative who established our system of community colleges and our public broadcaster. [Bill Davis, premier from 1971 to 1985] … Doug Ford, who sold off the first thing, let rot the second thing, hobbled the third thing, and mostly ignored the fourth thing.”
Mr. Markle and others, lets help Doug Ford win a minority government by voting Green in Parry Sound Muskoka!
Dead On Hugh as usual ..Brought out the demonization folks aplenty.
P.S…If You don’,t appreciate getting Your tax dollars back , give the money to Hospice or the Foodbank . Pretty sure zthey won’t be critics ..
Do not complain about having an election..
You may complain about the timing. You may complain about the person who call it. You may disagree with the reason for calling one.
Never however disagree with having the election.
If you do not like elecations move to a Jurishdiction that does not have them. You would probably like Saudi Arabia or China.
I personally would like a Canadian Federal Election. However those of you who do not like Elections are probably happy .
Doug Ford should not have left his post at a time like this to work on getting elected and costing money for this “extra” election.
He has wasted $200 for each person including very rich people who need it like a hole in the head.
He cost the Parry Sound Muskoka residents over 16 million from our coffers for his spa in Ontario Place.
We need a new highway? maybe, but I believe we need the farms more because I believe providing our own food (especially now with Trump’s tariffs) is a really important thing and up north we cannot grow peaches, etc. so we need this land for growing our food.
Never mind the greenbelt that he almost sold to his buddies.
I don’t know about the other parties running but they have to be better than Doug Ford.
I appreciate Doug standing up to Donold and applaud him ripping up the Starlink contract.
“How much can we use public pressure during the “caretaking period” pre-election to get him to ACTUALLY commit to a platform, instead of running without one for reelection? 🤔
I won’t get my hopes up, but if the tariff issue continues for the next month, there might be a few huge planks on his platform for investment, energy, housing, and health that could move the PC’s leftward, and change the electoral math!
As much as I hate the BS that Trump’s brought on, man has it united Canadians across the country! Who said we don’t have a national identity!”
I cant think of a single thing Trudeau or Ford has done to make life easier for taxpayers. Left or right i think we can all agree on this. No support for vets no helping the Indigenous with water no 10 day care no help with homeless just money our taxpayers hard earned money leaving the country of government getting big raises every year when tens of thousands cant affort to live here. They both are no good for Canada.
A lot of our taxpayers money used for Fords selfish reasons. He cant do anything about Trump so we dont need a costly unnecessary election. More of the government not thinking about the poor taxpayers.
If you don’t vote don’t complain about who gets voted in!
Still wondering why Mr. Wonderful …Mr. O’Leray..was in Washington D. C.? Please answer.
Yes Hugh, I agree with you that left-leaning journalists have a hate on for Doug Ford, just as right-leaning journalists have a hate on for Justin Trudeau. Democracy has better outcomes when people take the time to be objective and fair in our judgement of public figures at all levels. But that doesn’t get readers cranked up as well as a good allegation of a scandal. So, it doesn’t sell newspapers and advertising.
When we take some time to make a list of their actions, we find that neither Ford nor Trudeau is a genius. But both have given a big chunk of their life to the cruel sport of public service. They have both made some good choices, and some bad choices that they no doubt regret. Haven’t we all? But right now, Ford’s Conservatives and Trudeau’s Liberals are working quite well together, and that’s what we need to deal with Trump’s reckless and abusive threats. A Ford minority could also be a good outcome. That would get the other / smaller parties on side with their ideas as it has at the federal level.
So glad you had the courage Mr. Mackenzie to write about this.
Doug Ford no more needs a majority mandate to deal with the American President and tariffs than we needed “buck-a-beer”. I have little doubt that any of the leaders in the other 3 parties would take the very same stand – and just as strongly, if not more so.
For you readers out there, a new book- to be released by Fernwood Publishing Ltd. February 13, 2025- may be of interest.
“Against the People: How Ford Nation is Dismantling Ontario”, (editors Bryan Evans and Carlo Fanelli), with 17 contributing writers in 17 chapters.
Personally, I am looking forward to reading 3 chapters in particular: Manufacturing a Fiscal Crisis, Schools for Sale, and Healthcare SOS. A very close runner up: Locking in Unsustainable Development.
Full disclosure: I have no connection whatsoever with Fernwood Publishing!
Interesting opening line. I wonder what colour the dye was, and who or what it hit….the fan, maybe?
Premier Ford already has a mandate and a majority. No matter how his supporters spin it,this election is a terrifying waste of taxpayer resources in a time when we will likely need them most. Ford has proven his repeated desire and willingness to sell off tax-paid-for assets in Ontario to private enterprises – Ontario Place, LCBO, bit and pieces of Ontario Health, Service Ontario, Greenbelt. Premier Ford hasn’t even really tried to find the so called “efficiencies”, he claimed his team would focus on six years ago. His misogynistic comments that female opposition leaders would not be able to handle macho man Trump were ill placed. His shenanigans with the ball cap and all, were fun, but we are heading into a “war footing”. Ford has expressed ,publicly, his admiration and deep loyalty for Trump, repeatedly. I seriously doubt he would put up too rigorous an opposition. An election could have waited. Ford could be and should be helping to stick handle this increasing dangerous threat to our country. He chose politics! He chose to waste resources. In a month’s time this mess will be far more severe and he will be sifting through the pieces. Looks like a sneaky way to avoid confrontation, like how he handled the Truckers in Ottawa.
Just like Trudeau Ford is calling for an unnecessary election. Wasting millions of our tax dollars in the process. Protecting Ontario’s jobs is part of his job description. He doesn’t need a new mandate for that. He’s fooled a few including the author.
Ford borrowed 3 BILLION dollars to give everyone $200 to blatantly buy their vote.
Just like Trump Ford is ignoring conventions and protocols.
Search “Opposition parties say Doug Ford is violating the caretaker convention with his trip to Washington. Here’s what that means”
“Every government to this point, federally and provincially, has honoured that convention because they realize one day they will be an opposition party,”
I enjoy reading your posts Hugh and only yesterday read another writer who suggested that the ENTIRE Republican party should be blamed for the obscene policies spewing forth from South of our borders as they are responsible for allowing this vile ego to come to power in the first place. That we not use his name and give him more attention which is what he wants. I am pleased to see grocery shoppers in Huntsville reading labels and a young man in the Dwight LCBO asking where his beer was made…this is a great start.lets keep it up. And Hugh please keep challenging your readers to come up with solutions to the difficulties we are now facing. I hope to see you wearing a “Canada is not for sale ” cap on main Street soon. ,!
I’m not sure why the federal government is being referred as lame-duck. Trudeau came out pretty strong against the tariffs and has the resolve to stand up to the big bully. He has been fighting off the little school yard bullies for a few years now.
And it was an impressive interview with Freeland on CNN. She behaved in a dignified stoic manner.
Why indeed! A snap election from a premier who already has a majority. I can’t imagine that the count will change that much, and after we’ve punted 200 million dollars or so we’ll be much as we are now. And the man will carry on as if it never happened.
We have a prime minister on his way out and the man who will likely replace him seems pretty much mute. So maybe Ford, as Chair of the Council of the Federation will be our leader, for lack of any other body. Whoever the job falls to they will have to deal with Trump. It would be easier I think to learn to live with poison ivy. ‘The donald’ ‘though insists there is nothing to negotiate, so there will be no crisscrossing of borders.
Supposedly a new mandate is needed to do “whatever it takes” to “outlive and outlast the Trump administration”. Doug waxing eloquent. Careful big guy. There is no guarantee that these people are into giving up their administrating. Four years or not. There are considerable segments of the government that are being hijacked now.
Our premier also mentioned the need to “protect Ontario- to protect auto workers”. Seems to me he would have been better to not identify any one especially. Not all of us are auto workers. And the assembly of autos and auto workers may not survive the month, on either side of the borders.
There will likely be vast sums involved in this confrontation. It’s debatable as to whether we can keep the sky from falling. But who better than Premier Ford to take a cue from our PM and blow through a bundle of billions. There’s quite a list of million and billion dollar ‘poofs’ Doug has managed already while under no pressure. Under pressure might be a whole new Doug. I find it oddly funny that booze is something we will be taking aim at. And we just ‘poofed’ millions to make it more accessible. Irony or what?
I would prefer this election a bit down the road. If our premier is to be a leader in this show-down, it might have been better to see if we were getting our moneys worth. For me this election is simply a ‘just in case’ move. Get a mandate now, just in case this all goes galley-west. And the people propose a tar-and-feathering project later on.
It will be a test just to get the lot of square peg premiers to form a defensive circle and have each others backs. They can’t even manage to exist without having interprovincial tariffs and taxes, but are affronted when a bully imposes his on them.
Take the hint guys. And get it together. Prove you’re worth our votes. I don’t want the USA as our eleventh province. Nor do I want to share citizenship with that piece of work.