MAYOR BY PROXY

Doug Ford's nephew muses about TO mayor run

Premier Doug Ford quite often gives the impression he wants to be the mayor of Toronto.

The one-time defeated Toronto mayoralty candidate sticks his nose in Toronto affairs at every opportunity from kiboshing bike lanes and speed cameras to bigfooting plans for the waterfront. Ford ran in the 2014 Toronto mayoral election, placing second to John Tory.

Well, the best of both worlds may be in the offing for Ford given that his nephew Michael Ford is musing about running for mayor of Toronto this fall.

If that should come about, Doug Ford, could manipulate the municipal levers of powers right from his Queen’s Park office as well as the puppet strings attached to his nephew.

The question is whether Toronto is ready for another Ford in the mayor’s office after the late Rob Ford not only embarrassed himself but also the city on the world stage.

Michael, wanting to trade on the Ford name, changed his surname and given name in 2014.

He changed his surname from Stirpe to Ford, and removed Aldo from his given name. And you can’t blame him.

His father, Ennio Stirpe, was convicted of manslaughter in 2009 and convicted of attempted murder in 2012. Stirpe is currently serving an 18-year prison term.

Now don’t get me wrong, I am not dismissing Michael Ford’s chances. If his uncle decides to back him — which he most assuredly will, the young Ford has at least a shot at it.

Born in 1994, Michael was first elected to Toronto City Council in 2016 and served for six years before being elected to Ontario Legislature where he was tapped by his Uncle Doug to be the minister of of citizenship and multiculturalism until 2024 when he left to be a lobbyist.

While he was a cabinet minister Michael temporarily stepped down in September 2024 to focus on his health. He subsequently announced in January 2025 that he would not seek re-election.

People familiar with the Queen’s Park scene say Michael Ford was a nice enough guy, but of little substance and they question if he is the right person to be Toronto’s mayor, which as we all know is not an easy job.

And from what I have been reading, the Ford name doesn’t carry the kind of weight it once did at the municipal level. But even throwing Ford’s name into the mix has got to be giving apparent frontrunner Brad Bradford some angst.

Ford’s musings about a run for mayor came a day after former mayor John Tory announced he would not be throwing his hat into the ring for personal reasons.

In the meantime, Mayor Olivia Chow has not said yet whether she is running again, but it’s a good bet that she will be.