February 1st, 2025 | RYAN TYLER

Doug Ford Is An Idiot

Ontario's doofus king is barking up the wrong tree.

There is no other way to put it. Doug Ford is an idiot. The way he has managed Ontario speaks for itself. The province has ballooning debt, a failing economy, and a higher population of homeless people than at any other period in history. His latest attempts to act like a tough guy against Trump's tariffs prove how wildly unintelligent Ontario's premier actually is. Unlike people who understand Canadian economics, Doug Ford is acting like a chimpanzee at the opera.

First, Canada's economy was built to be dependent on trade with the United States, for both imports and exports. This isn't Doug Ford's fault, but he needs to learn it before he makes rash decisions designed to bolster his own political career. He needs to sit down with Danielle Smith, instead of slandering and criticizing her from across the country.

The smartest and most reasonable leader Canada has right now is a woman.

Going to war with Donald Trump is not smart. Canada has a productivity crisis, a housing crisis, and various social and economic crises unfolding that will make this losing scenario even more catastrophic for all of us. Of course, Doug Ford knows the risks, which is why he called a snap election to secure another majority.

He knows there are going to be casualties, but he is going to fight the fight anyway. Rather than simply capitulate to the Americans and their demands, which would be much simpler to fulfill, he is choosing to fight a war he can't win. The most dangerous kicker in all of this is that he thinks he can win.

This is where Doug Ford's stupidity comes into play.

He knows that this fight is going to devastate Ontario's economy, but he thinks he can win the long game and somehow make Ontario stronger, or escape the Trump era as a hero. He called a snap election to secure his power until 2029, long after these devastating economic effects have made his party unpopular. It's a part of the same rule that compels new governments to pass all their unpopular policies within the first year. By then, he hopes, all the casualties will be forgiven and Ontario's economy will be on the upswing. Doug Ford thinks he can somehow come out of this a hero, but he is hedging his bets.

By calling an early election, he secures four more years in power and buys time to either resign as a failure with a good pension, or as a hero.

The real plan is to wait out the Trump presidency, in hopes things will return to normal. Ford can play tough, stand up to Trump, then rejoice and take credit if the next president lifts tariffs and takes America back to the old way of doing things. Unfortunately, there is no guarantee that things will ever go back to “normal”, even after Trump leaves office.

Doug Ford wants to capitalize on—and take credit for—the euphoria he thinks will spill into Ontario and Canada if Americans elect a president that is anti-Trump. He wants to say, “See? We stood up to him and it paid off.”

His other plan is to hope that Trump's economic agenda fails and things go back to normal long before 2029.

The truth is, none of this is a real plan. Ford's plan to fight Trump is another ruse that Ontario voters will fall for. This is not a fight that Ontario and Doug Ford can win. Furthermore, if Trump's agenda doesn't fail, any future president will keep his policies in place, regardless of what party they belong to. Think of America's relations with China before the first Trump presidency. It was Trump who changed America's discourse and policies toward China—many of which stayed in place under Biden. If his new economic reforms work, they will stay in place for the foreseeable future.

Alternatively, there is the possibility that Doug Ford has no intention of fighting Trump at all—which could be why he really called an early election.

Ontario, like much of Canada, suffers from Trump Derangement Syndrome. Ford's intention could be to simply win extra time in power after exploiting this collective hatred and fear. After he wins the election, he could choose to capitulate and join people like Danielle Smith in working with Trump and respecting his demands.

Secondly, Doug Ford could be under the assumption that Trump's threats are just that—threats. If so, he would be a lot smarter than I'm currently giving him credit for.

Overall, Doug Ford is doing what the late John Horgan did in BC. He is running an election at a time when people are scared, worried, and uncertain about what the future has in store. He wants to secure another mandate before the economy goes into free-fall. He's offering to be Ontario's strongman against Trump, but he might not have any real intention of delivering. If he does try to deliver, it will wreck Ontario's economy and do more damage than good. In either case, Doug Ford gets to be premier until 2029—he thinks.