Doug Ford’s hopes of continuing his brother’s legacy as the next mayor of Toronto were dashed Monday night.
He had vowed to carry the torch for cancer-stricken Rob Ford, and campaigned with the message that the Fords had saved taxpayers hundreds of millions of dollars.
But that wasn’t enough to convince voters; they elected John Tory as the next mayor of Toronto.
Rob Ford, however, will return to city hall as a councillor, after voters in his old west-end ward welcomed him back with open arms. Although his cancer diagnosis had forced him out of the mayoral race, Rob Ford refused to back out of municipal politics altogether.
"My brother did an absolutely phenomenal job," the mayor said after the results came in.
“If you know anything about the Ford family, we never, ever, ever give up,” he said. “And I guarantee: in four more years, you're going to see another example of the Ford family never ever giving up."
“I’ll continue to fight. I’m just warming up.”
In his concession speech, Doug Ford said he worked hard with his brother, “side by side,” to give Toronto taxpayers a voice.
“I know this is not the result all of us wanted tonight...but we ran a phenomenal campaign and we gave it our all," he told supporters, adding that he will continue to do his part to build Toronto as a businessman.
Many members of Ford Nation, as the Fords’ supporters are collectively known, were emotional Monday night as election results flashed across TV screens.
“It’s the worst news that could ever happen,” one woman tearfully said of Doug Ford’s defeat.
“Doug and Rob were the best to keep the taxes low and have respect for us taxpayers,” she told CP24.
Doug Ford had thrown his hat in the ring at the last possible minute, after his brother was diagnosed with a rare form of cancer in his abdomen. However, many analysts said he lacked Rob Ford’s “everyman” appeal.
Doug Ford came in second behind John Tory, a well-connected businessman and radio talk show host who has run in the mayoral race and lost before. Tory also led the Ontario Progressive Conservative Party to a defeat in 2007. (You can read more about Tory’s victory here.)
Olivia Chow, a former New Democrat MP and wife of the late Jack Layton, was leading in the polls early in the election campaign, but faded to third place on election day.
Before Rob Ford pulled out of the mayoral race, the big question was whether the scandal-plagued mayor would get enough support to lead Toronto for another four years.
During his last year in office, Rob Ford made Toronto the focus of international attention after he admitted to smoking crack cocaine in a “drunken stupor.”
There was the infamous crack tape, other offensive behaviour and a police investigation that didn’t result in any charges against the mayor. But even as Rob Ford’s antics became regular fodder for late-night TV comedians, Ford Nation stood by him.
Still, the man who was elected on a promise to “stop the gravy train” of spending at City Hall, found himself politically isolated, voting against the vast majority of the city’s 44 councillors by the end of his term. His brother was often the lone councillor on his side.
Rob Ford will remain in the mayor’s chair until Dec. 1, when John Tory will be sworn in.
In his victory speech Monday night, Tory said he is “humbled and honoured” to be Toronto’s new mayor. He said he will be a “balanced and accountable leader” and promised to end the division that has “paralyzed” city hall over the last four years.
Tory thanked the Ford brothers and wished Rob Ford well, saying he looks forward to working with him on council and seeing him in “good health.”
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