Doug Ford kicks off mayoral campaign with door-to-door blitz

Toronto mayoral candidate Doug Ford launched his campaign by canvassing door-to-door in Etobicoke on Saturday, Sept. 20, 2014. (Farah Nasser / CP24)

After spending time with his ailing brother, Doug Ford’s first full day of campaigning got underway Saturday with door-to-door canvassing in Etobicoke -- the heart of Ford Nation.

“I just spoke to Rob. He wants to thank each and every one of you, the people of Toronto, for the overwhelming support,” Doug Ford told a small crowd at a campaign stop on Saturday. “It means so much to our family.”

Since registering as a mayoral candidate to take his brother’s place, Ford has spent the week by Toronto Mayor Rob Ford’s bedside at Mount Sinai Hospital.

Rob Ford – who dropped out of the mayoral race on Sept. 12 after the discovery of an abdominal tumour – is undergoing chemotherapy to fight malignant liposarcoma, a rare form of cancer, with which he was diagnosed earlier this week.

Rob Ford is still running for city council in his previous Ward 2 seat.

Doug Ford has said he plans on keeping a similar platform to the one his brother was campaigning on, because he helped Rob come up with the platform issues. That platform is a “vision of continuing prosperity,” he said.

Meanwhile, his opponents, mayoral candidates John Tory and Olivia Chow, were also out on the hustings Saturday.

Chow spoke at an Ontario Public Service Employees Union event at 9 a.m., while Tory held a media scrum in Scarborough at a 11:30 a.m., meeting with federal Liberal MPs John McKay and Arnold Chan to accept their endorsements.

With Doug Ford added into the mix, the race for Toronto mayor has entered a new phase.

Ford’s first mayoral debate will occur on Tuesday by the Weston-Mount Dennis Residents Association.

When asked whether he is ready for his first mayoral debate, Ford replied: “I’ve been debating for four years down at City Hall with a lot tougher people.”

Chow said she’s not daunted by debating with Ford.

“I don’t think so, but I don’t know,” Chow said.

Tory doesn’t expect to be intimidated in debating Ford either.

“Because it’s Doug Ford, and not Rob Ford, and we’ll have to see what happens on the debate floor,” Tory said.

With files by CTV News Toronto and The Canadian Press