Eight months after Rob Ford’s death from cancer, his brother has released a book detailing his life, early political career and his scandal-plagued term as mayor of Toronto.
“Ford Nation: Two Brothers, One vision,” is one of several books that looks at the life and legacy of one of Canada’s most recognizable – and polarizing -- figures. This time, it’s told from the point of view of Rob Ford’s family.
In an interview on CTV’s Your Morning on Tuesday, Doug Ford said he and his brother began writing the book before his death from cancer last March. He was 46.
Rob Ford, who dropped out of the mayoral race in 2014 and successfully ran for his old seat on Toronto city council following his cancer diagnosis, started to work on the book in the winter of 2016. However, his health declined and he wasn’t able to continue.
Doug Ford said his brother, who is listed as co-author, insisted he complete the book.
“He emphasized that he wanted to get the story out there, and really, I wish there’d be a million pages, because the story is pretty long but we had to condense it into a smaller version of it,” Doug Ford told CTV’s Your Morning of the book that includes excerpts from his brother’s various news conferences and interviews, as well as accounts from their mother, Diane, Rob’s widow Renata and their nephew Michael, who is also a Toronto politician.
The book reflects on the brothers’ upbringing, including lessons from their businessman-turned-politician father, Doug Sr. The book also touches on Rob Ford’s struggle with addiction, how he was portrayed in the media and his final bid for re-election.
Doug Ford said Rob Ford’s time in office was an unprecedented success, despite the many scandals that included an admission that he had smoked crack-cocaine “in a drunken stupor.”
The confession, in the fall of 2013, sent Toronto City Hall into a tailspin and made headlines around the world.
Doug Ford contends his brother put Toronto on proper financial footing and always stayed true to his passion for helping people out.
“He’s the mayor of all the people,” Doug Ford said. “What politician gives out his home phone number to the entire country, returns every call, in a lot of cases, shows up to your door? It’s unheard of.”
In the book, Doug Ford also says Rob’s biggest demon was alcohol, something it took his brother a long time to admit.
Doug Ford said it took him a long time to realize what was happening to his brother, despite mounting evidence reported in the media.
“Unless you’ve faced this addiction problem in your family, unless you hit almost rock-bottom, that’s when you go get help,” Doug Ford said.
Following several more scandals involving Rob Ford’s erratic behaviour, the then-mayor checked into a rehab facility north of Toronto.
Through it all, Doug Ford said he trusted his brother as mayor.
“I trust Rob with a few shots of scotch under his belt (more) than I trust any of the 44 (councillors) that were down at city hall and to watch every single penny.”
He added that, when it came to taxpayers’ money, his brother was the “most honest politician I’ve ever seen in my life.”
As for comparisons to Donald Trump, another wealthy businessman-turned-politician, Doug Ford says that’s where the similarities end between his brother and the president-elect.
Doug Ford said the movement that swept Trump into power made be similar to the one that put Rob Ford into the mayor’s office, but “Rob is not Donald Trump. It’s night and day, two different people, totally, 100 per cent different.”
