Why Doug Ford’s political rivals face steep challenges going up in opposition to ‘Captain Canada’

As Harrison Ford, Drew Barrymore and different celebrities hawked vans, cruises, beer and soda to hundreds of thousands of People throughout Sunday evening’s Tremendous Bowl recreation, the Ontario authorities made its personal pitch.

One of many expensive Tremendous Bowl commercials — with a 30-second spot going for $8 million — featured an advert sponsored by the Ontario authorities highlighting the constructive buying and selling relationship the province has with its southern neighbour.

It was a not-so-subtle rebuttal to the tariffs that U.S. President Donald Trump was set to impose on all imported metal and aluminum, together with from Canada, the next night. And it got here from the Progressive Conservative authorities of Doug Ford, who has been given the moniker “Captain Canada” by some journalists and pundits — and turn into an unofficial advocate for all the nation.

“I think to an extent he has,” mentioned Lori Turnbull, a political science professor at Dalhousie College in Halifax. “Ford has moved into what some have described as a kind of leadership vacancy.”

This new position comes at an opportune time, on the midpoint of a snap Ontario election marketing campaign that Ford triggered, and permits him to keep away from speaking about points the place he’s weak, corresponding to well being care and training, Turnbull mentioned.

“The argument can be made that he botched those files. Instead of defending his record as a premier, he’s going to the U.S. and acting like a prime minister,” she mentioned. “That is completely on the coronary heart of his technique for a 3rd time period.

“If it weren’t for the threat of tariffs … I think that the issues of health care and education would be higher on people’s lists  So I think it would probably be a rocky campaign for him if he wasn’t able to go to Washington.”

Ford has launched allure offensive

On Tuesday, Ford was again at it in Washington, D.C., to make his case in opposition to tariffs to U.S. lawmakers. It’s a task he assumed as Prime Minister Justin Trudeau discovered himself considerably distracted by inner get together squabbling that finally led to an announcement of his intention to resign as Liberal Get together chief.

Since December, within the wake of Trump’s announcement of his intention to slap 25 per cent tariffs on all Canadian imported items, Ford has launched what seems to be a allure offensive. He’s made the rounds of U.S. media, together with interviews on CNN, Fox Information and NBC’s Meet The Press, speaking in regards to the essential minerals and items the U.S. imports from Canada and the way tariffs threaten the mutually useful buying and selling relationship.

Ford wore a “Canada Is Not For Sale” ball cap throughout a gathering with Trudeau and different premiers in Ottawa final month. He has additionally preached Canadian unity, saying the provinces want to stay collectively to fight the risk, and scolded Alberta Premier Danielle Smith for refusing to signal a joint assertion the prime minister and all different premiers agreed to about how you can reply to Trump.

Some columnists and observers have branded Ford “Captain Canada.” Following the election name in Ontario, the BBC wrote on its web site: Ontario’s ‘Captain Canada’ calls snap election as Trump tariff risk looms.

However in relation to championing Canada, Ford could be uniquely positioned to take action, Turnbull mentioned.

“Ford is able to come at this in a different way. He has that kind of folksy authenticity,” she mentioned. “He’s able to go into a room with a ‘Canada’s Not For Sale’ hat, and people look at him and say, ‘Look at that, like, he’s so patriotic, he’s standing up for Canada.’”

If Trudeau did that, the general public wouldn’t have the identical response, Turnbull mentioned. “He wouldn’t have the same authenticity.”

Ford has taken on this position partially as a result of he chairs the Council of the Federation, an advocacy group for all the provincial and territorial premiers, Turnbull mentioned.

“I think because he’s the leader of the biggest province — that’s not nothing,” she mentioned.

Tariff subject ‘clear crisis in people’s minds’

The tariff subject may also make it harder for his political opponents, mentioned David Coletto,  founder and CEO of Abacus Knowledge, a polling and market analysis agency primarily based in Ottawa.

“In a crisis, people often rally around their leader. And this is a clear crisis in people’s minds. So that already makes it harder for the opposition parties to get any oxygen in an arena where Trump is sucking it all up,” he mentioned. “And Ford has the natural advantage of being the guy who has the job right now.”

Coletto mentioned that based on his agency’s polling, if the No. 1 poll query turns into who’s finest to tackle Trump, Ford and his get together run nicely forward of the Liberals and the New Democrats, whose leaders have argued that Ford’s journey to Washington is inappropriate throughout an election marketing campaign.

“When we asked people: Of the party leaders, who’s best to stand up to a bully, Doug Ford wins by a huge margin over the other other two main party leaders. So this is where he wants the election to be about,” Coletto mentioned.

“It’s I think why he called the early election. He saw the opportunity. And his visit to Washington [on Tuesday] is just building on his attempt to try to focus attention on that as opposed to anything else.”

Nonetheless, Trudeau stays prime minister, and having multiple political chief as public spokesperson on the tariff subject might show problematic.

“Multiple Canadian voices dilute the message, giving more space for Trump to dominate the story,” Gary Hufbauer, a non-resident senior fellow on the Washington-based Peterson Institute for Worldwide Economics, advised CBC Information in an electronic mail.

“Better for a single strong spokesperson to represent Canada,” he mentioned, including that Trudeau is “by far the most plausible.”

In the meantime, Ford’s position as Captain Canada got here underneath some scrutiny when it was found he was happy that Trump, a Republican, had gained the U.S. presidential election over Democratic candidate Kamala Harris.

“Captain Canada has no clothes,” former Liberal deputy prime minister Sheila Copps wrote in a column for the Hill Occasions.

“Doug Ford lost that standing when it was revealed last week in a leaked hot microphone recording that he was a huge Trump fan who celebrated when Donald Trump was victorious.”

(Ford had mentioned that whereas he was “100 per cent” comfortable Trump gained, “then the guy pulled out the knife and f–king yanked it into us.”)

Coletto, of Abacus Knowledge, mentioned that it might nonetheless be a vulnerability for Ford, relying on how many individuals turn into conscious of it, However Turnbull dismissed the suggestion. “Who did anybody think he was going to support in the presidential election? I didn’t think he supported Harris,” she mentioned.

“I think what he said is exactly what I would have thought had happened. [Ford] supported Trump and then he knifed him with tariffs. So now he doesn’t support him.”