02.24.2017 11:47 AM

Ford Nation is split between the three top CPC contenders

So sayeth DoFo:

There is no clear “Ford Nation” front-runner in the federal Conservative leadership race, with support split between Kevin O’Leary, Kellie Leitch and Maxime Bernier, according to Doug Ford, the former Toronto city councillor and brother to late Toronto mayor Rob Ford.

“Those are the three main contenders, I would say,” Mr. Ford said Thursday, referring to support from the base of 350,000 or so voters in the Toronto area who have supported the Ford family in municipal elections.

But Mr. Ford, who is set to speak on a panel called Down with the Elites at the conservative Manning Centre conference in Ottawa on Friday, said he’s not supporting anyone in the race.

I suspect many Cons are similarly conflicted. Is the country going all Trump, in which case it’s Leitch, who doesn’t believe a word she is saying? Is it just a case of getting noticed again, meaning O’Leary, our very own Just Visiting guy? Or do we build on our Quebec base and the crucial biker gang demographic?

What thinkest thou, O wise readers?

16 Comments

  1. Jason says:

    I guess I’m biased now. I took out a membership to support Mad Max. Leitch is terrifying, and O’Leary probably is just visiting, but I suspect he’s not as bad as folks let on (he’s not “building a wall”, for example)

  2. Cath says:

    The race is shaping up JUST as the MSM wants it to be. They’re making the same mistake the Lib. left media did with Trump and the GOP race there…until they realized their mistake but by then it was too late. They got the race they set up.

    Question is whether what the membership wants matters? With a ranked ballot does it really matter who the front-runner is? Nope.

    • dave constable says:

      I agree.
      I got so irked to see the media coverage of one person not in the race amounting to three times the coverage of all the entered candidates put together.
      Now, the French debate over, that person is in, and is still getting the majority of the coverage.

  3. Ronald O'Dowd says:

    Warren,

    I suspect it’s already in the bag for Bernier. Those that absolutely don’t want either Leitch or O’Leary will likely put Max over the top.

    What we wouldn’t give to find out which candidate Harper favours!

  4. Danny says:

    I’m willing to forgive the girlfriend with the cleavage. (I still laugh at that!)
    I like Bernier’s policies, and for the first time in my life joined up and donated.
    Leitch and O’Leary , ugh.

  5. Christian says:

    At this point I’m thinking Trudeau is going to be in power for a very long time. Provided of course the Orange Lunatic to the south doesn’t blow us all up…..

  6. Pipes says:

    Meanwhile at the White House, Donald bans CNN and the New York Times from briefings…………………

  7. Gyor says:

    Something like a quarter to a third of Ford Nation are actually usually NDP supporters believe it or not, so it’s likely more complicated then Doug Ford presents itself, after all the Tories and NDP tend to have a bit of a tug of war over populists elements who are less concerned with left/right wing divisions, but many of whom hate the Liberal Party as Elitist.

  8. Ted H says:

    So DoFo, or maybe it should be DuhFo, the millionaire printing business owner is speaking at a conference called “Down with the Elites”. That is (pardon the pun) really rich. Just who are the elites that a member of the millionaire’s club would call elite. Two kinds of Conservatives, millionaires and really dumb suckers.

  9. Eastern Rebellion says:

    I have a hard time believing any of these individuals will pose any type of challenge to Justin. The fact that the Conservative “leaders in waiting” all decided to take a pass make me think whomever actually wins will just be a placeholder until sometime n the 2020’s. I think with his name recognition; “O’Leery” will be successful, and then get his lunch handed to him. But I’ve been wrong before!

  10. Gord says:

    My very unscientific poll of all the card-carrying Tories I know shows overwhelming support for Mad Max. Plus he’s apparently well ahead in donations, and we all know money is the mother’s milk of politics, etc. Assuming he gets the second-preference votes of other more moderate / non-crazy candidates like Scheer, Raitt and Chong, I think he’s well positioned to win.

    This may be damning him with faint praise, but frankly the Tories could do much worse.

  11. Kevin says:

    If they’re going to go down that road, then Mr. Leather is probably their best bet. But any of the three (and most of the others, frankly) is just handing the Liberals attack ad possibilities.

    And the political cartoonists await….

  12. Matt says:

    I’d like Max with Lisa Raitt as deputy leader.

    O’Leary isn’t a Conservative or a conservative. He’s an opportunist.

  13. Tiger says:

    Mad Max is the obvious best choice.

    If people want real policy change and substance, together with a little bit of excitement on the mini-scandals (gosh, that gal was pretty), he’s the way to go. 😉

  14. bluegreenblogger says:

    ROFL. Rob Ford Nation, because Doug is not the man his brother was. I do not mean that negatively really, just pointing out that while Rob Ford was a lovable if somewhat bumbling oaf, his brother is not viewed the same way. There is absolutely zero to love about Doug. If you ask me, this is an increasingly irrelevant Doug Ford pointing to his one trick, an ageing, but still kick-ass database of supporters. By talking about percentages, he is reminding folks that his database is maybe a key tool for the leadership contest, and that he is working with it. But his weakness is that they are his brothers supporters, not ‘Ford Nation’. Doug cannot lead them by the nose without his brother. In my opinion, anyway, and I live in Ford country, and talk to his supporters every day. That data is not going to help if he doesn’t have a flag to rally around soon. Ford Nation is already drifting apart. So, if Doug does not get off the pot and run himself, his biggest asset will fade into irrelevance. We will see when the next Municipal election comes.

  15. Carey Miller says:

    Not sure which way this will go. In the last North American elections, a celebrity with little practical experience has won in Canada and the US. If celebrity is the key, beware O’Leary. If not, I don’t know.

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