Toronto council votes to name stadium after former mayor Rob Ford

Toronto City Council has voted to name a football stadium in Etobicoke after former mayor Rob Ford.

In a 17 to 6 decision Friday, council voted to name the stadium at Centennial Park as the “Rob Ford Stadium.”

The motion, brought forward by Coun. Paul Ainslie and seconded by Coun. Shelley Carroll, bypassed the city’s regular naming policy in favour of the move, which was also supported by Mayor Olivia Chow.

"All of those who served with Rob Ford on Council knew that he had two passions – representing his constituents not only across the city but in particular in his home community of Etobicoke, and football,” Ainslie said when he brought the motion forward last week.

This was the second time council voted on naming the stadium after the former mayor, who died of a rare cancer in 2016. A 2017 vote to change the stadium’s name to honour him failed, despite support from former mayor John Tory.

Renaming the stadium was not without controversy, with a number of councillors arguing that Ford's behaviour as mayor had embarrassed the city, and that there were others it would be more appropriate to honour.

However, Mayor Chow said she supported the move because she understands the pain of losing a family member too soon.

Chow and Premier Doug Ford have had a remarkable thaw in relations over the past few months, coming together to craft a new deal for Toronto that will save the city billions.

Rob Ford, the premier's late brother and Jack Layton, the mayor’s late husband, were seatmates together when they were both on city council, and the two men enjoyed a respectful friendship, despite hailing from very different political camps.

“Rob loved his community and he loved football, especially inspiring young people through his love of coaching,” Premier Ford said in a statement after the vote Friday. “On behalf of the entire Ford family, thank you Mayor @oliviachow, Councillors Ainslie and Carroll and all the others for honouring Rob’s memory. I’m so grateful.”