Michael Douglas Ford MPP (born Michael Douglas Aldo Ford Stirpe on March 25, 1994) is a Canadian politician who has been the Ontario minister of citizenship and multiculturalism since June 24, 2022. A member of the Progressive Conservative (PC) Party, he has represented York South—Weston in the Legislative Assembly of Ontario since 2022. Ford previously served on Toronto City Council from 2016 to 2022. First elected as a school trustee in 2014, he later won a 2016 by-election for the council seat which was vacated upon the death of Councillor Rob Ford, before he was elected as a member of Provincial Parliament (MPP) in 2022. He is the nephew of Doug Ford, the premier of Ontario and Rob Ford, the former mayor of Toronto. In mid-September 2024, he took an indefinite leave of absence from the Legislature.
Michael Ford | |
|---|---|
 Ford in 2024 | |
| Ontario Minister of Citizenship and Multiculturalism | |
| Assumed office June 24, 2022 | |
| Preceded by | Parm Gill |
| Member of the Ontario Provincial Parliament for York South—Weston | |
| Assumed office June 2, 2022 | |
| Preceded by | Faisal Hassan |
| Toronto City Councillor for Ward 1 Etobicoke North | |
| In office December 1, 2018 – June 15, 2022 | |
| Preceded by | Ward created |
| Succeeded by | Rose Milczyn |
| Toronto City Councillor for Ward 2 Etobicoke North | |
| In office July 25, 2016 – December 1, 2018 | |
| Preceded by | Rob Ford |
| Succeeded by | Ward dissolved |
| Toronto District School Board Trustee for Ward 1 Etobicoke North | |
| In office December 1, 2014 – May 6, 2016 | |
| Preceded by | John Hastings |
| Succeeded by | Avtar Minhas |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Michael Douglas Aldo Ford Stirpe March 25, 1994 Toronto, Ontario, Canada |
| Political party | Progressive Conservative (provincial) |
| Other political affiliations | Independent (municipal) |
| Relatives | Rob Ford (uncle) Doug Ford (uncle) Doug Ford Sr. (grandfather) Krista Haynes (cousin) |
| Residence | Toronto |
| Website | https://michaelfordmpp.ca/ |
Early and personal life
editFord was born on March 25, 1994[1] to Ennio Stirpe and Kathy Ford in Toronto, Ontario. He attended Richview Collegiate Institute in Etobicoke, graduating in 2012.[2] He is the nephew of Doug Ford, the 26th premier of Ontario, and Rob Ford, the 64th mayor of Toronto. He is the grandson of Doug Ford Sr., who was an MPP.
In 2014, Ford changed his surname from Stirpe to Ford, and removed Aldo from his given name.[3] His father was convicted of manslaughter in 2009 and convicted of attempted murder in 2012. He is currently incarcerated and serving an 18-year prison term for attempted murder.[4]
Political career
edit2014 municipal election
editIn the 2014 municipal election, Ford was initially a candidate for Toronto City Council in Ward 2 Etobicoke North, but dropped out when his uncle, Rob Ford, withdrew from the mayoral race after being diagnosed with an abdominal tumour.[6] Rob Ford then registered to run for the council seat, while Michael transferred his candidacy to the school board race.
During an interview with The Globe and Mail, Michael Ford acknowledged that his last name helped him get elected, but stated that he is his own man, and unlike his uncles. His colleagues on the school board were very concerned when Ford was elected due to his uncles' public lives in politics, but one of his colleagues, Marit Stiles, told the Globe that Ford was a hard worker, eager to learn, and wasn't afraid to ask questions.[3] He also quickly earned a reputation for being more politically moderate and conciliatory than his uncles — including expressing admiration of Justin Trudeau, whom both of his uncles were known for criticizing, and attending Toronto's Pride Week parade.[7]
Toronto City Council
editCouncillor Rob Ford died on March 22, 2016, at which time the council seat in Ward 2 was declared vacant.[8] After city council declared on May 6 that a by-election would be held to fill the seat, Michael Ford announced he would resign his trustee position to run for council.[9]
He won the by-election, winning 69.53 per cent of the vote over 11 other challengers.[10][11] At 22, he is the youngest person in recent history to be elected to council.[11]
Ford ran for re-election in the 2018 municipal election in the newly expanded Ward 1 Etobicoke North. He defeated fellow incumbent councillor Vincent Crisanti.
Provincial politics
editIn April 2022, Ford announced that he would run in the June provincial election in York South—Weston, for the Progressive Conservative Party.[12] He was appointed Minister of Citizenship and Multiculturalism in the Ford Ministry.[13] On September 20, 2024, Ford took a leave of absence to prioritize his, "health and well-being over the next couple of months."[14]
Election results
edit| 2022 Ontario general election: York South—Weston | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | Expenditures | |||
| Progressive Conservative | Michael Ford | 11,138 | 36.60 | +3.65 | $69,685 | |||
| New Democratic | Faisal Hassan | 10,342 | 33.98 | −2.09 | $97,063 | |||
| Liberal | Nadia Guerrera | 7,377 | 24.24 | −3.59 | $82,208 | |||
| Green | Ignacio Mongrell Gonzalez | 770 | 2.53 | −0.01 | $0 | |||
| New Blue | Tom Hipsz | 345 | 1.13 | $0 | ||||
| Ontario Party | Ana Gabriela Ortiz | 251 | 0.82 | $217 | ||||
| Independent | James Michael Fields | 209 | 0.69 | $632 | ||||
| Total valid votes/Expense limit | 30,432 | 99.12 | +0.31 | $112,794 | ||||
| Total rejected, unmarked, and declined ballots | 271 | 0.88 | −0.31 | |||||
| Turnout | 30,703 | 38.11 | −11.06 | |||||
| Eligible voters | 80,336 | |||||||
| Progressive Conservative gain from New Democratic | Swing | +2.87 | ||||||
Source(s)
| ||||||||
| 2018 Toronto municipal election, Ward 1 Etobicoke North | ||
| Candidate | Votes | Vote share |
|---|---|---|
| Michael Ford | 10,648 | 42.26% |
| Vincent Crisanti | 8,654 | 34.34% |
| Naiima Farah | 2,262 | 8.98% |
| Shirish Patel | 1,945 | 7.72% |
| Carol Royer | 642 | 2.55% |
| Michelle Garcia | 439 | 1.74% |
| Peter D'Gama | 253 | 1.00% |
| Christopher Noor | 214 | 0.85% |
| Gurinder Patri | 142 | 0.56% |
| Total | 25,199 | 100% |
| Source: City of Toronto[15] | ||
| 2016 Toronto municipal by-election, Ward 2 Etobicoke North | ||
| Candidate | Votes | Vote share |
|---|---|---|
| Michael Ford | 6,534 | 69.53% |
| Jeff Canning | 1,918 | 20.41% |
| Christopher Strain | 354 | 3.77% |
| Chloe-Marie Brown | 152 | 1.62% |
| Christopher Noor | 134 | 1.43% |
| Kevin Clarke | 84 | 0.89% |
| Other candidates | 221 | 2.35% |
| Total | 9,397 | 100% |
| Source: City of Toronto[16] | ||
See also
editReferences
edit- ^ "Michael Ford". Twitter.com. Retrieved June 4, 2022.
- ^ Brown, Louise (October 30, 2014). "Etobicoke's newest Ford politician his own man - at 20". Toronto Star. Retrieved May 9, 2016.
- ^ a b Gee, Eric Andrew (May 5, 2016). "Michael Ford is everything his uncles Rob and Doug are not". The Globe and Mail. Retrieved May 8, 2016.
- ^ Edwards, Peter (December 27, 2012). "Mayor Rob Ford's former brother-in-law gets 18 years for brutal knife attack that blinded woman". Toronto Star. Retrieved May 8, 2016.
- ^ DeClerq, Katherine (June 9, 2020). "Toronto Coun. Michael Ford, Ontario premier's nephew, tests positive for COVID-19". Ctvnews.ca.
- ^ "Rob Ford pulls out of mayoral race, Doug Ford steps in". CBC News. September 12, 2014. Retrieved May 9, 2016.
- ^ "Ward 2 candidates hoping byelection not just a Michael Ford cakewalk". Metro, July 24, 2016.
- ^ White, Patrick; Gray, Jeff (March 22, 2016). "Former Toronto Mayor Rob Ford dies at 46". The Globe and Mail. Retrieved March 22, 2016.
- ^ Fox, Chris (May 4, 2016). "Michael Ford announces intention to seek election in Ward 2". CP24. Retrieved May 8, 2016.
- ^ "'Ford nation lives': Michael Ford will carry family's political brand in Ward 2". CBC News, July 26, 2016.
- ^ a b Rider, David (July 25, 2016). "Michael Ford wins Ward 2 Etobicoke North byelection". Toronto Star. Retrieved June 14, 2017.
- ^ DeClerq, Katherine (April 3, 2022). "Toronto councillor Michael Ford running as candidate in Ontario PC party". CP24. Toronto: Bell Media. Archived from the original on July 17, 2024. Retrieved September 21, 2024.
- ^ Benzie, Robert; Ferguson, Rob; Rushowy, Kristin (June 25, 2022). "Ford's nephew gets cabinet post". Toronto Star. p. A16. ISSN 0319-0781. Archived from the original on September 21, 2024. Retrieved September 21, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ CBC Staff (September 20, 2024). "MPP Michael Ford taking leave of absence". CBC News. Toronto: Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. Archived from the original on September 20, 2024. Retrieved September 21, 2024.
- ^ "Declaration of Results" (PDF). Toronto City Clerk's Office. Retrieved November 22, 2021.
- ^ "Clerk's Official Declaration of By-election Results" (PDF). Toronto City Council. June 26, 2016. Retrieved July 27, 2021.