Doug Ford

Biography

Douglas Robert Ford Jr. MPP (born November 20, 1964) is a Canadian politician and businessman who has served as the 26th and current premier of Ontario and leader of the Progressive Conservative Party since 2018. He represents the Toronto riding of Etobicoke North in the Legislative Assembly of Ontario. With his brother Randy, Ford co-owns Deco Labels and Tags, a printing business operating in Canada and the United States founded by their father, Doug Ford Sr., who served as a Member of Provincial Parliament (MPP) from 1995 to 1999. Ford was a Toronto city councillor for Ward 2 Etobicoke North from 2010 to 2014 at the same time that his brother, Rob Ford, was mayor of Toronto. Ford ran for the 2014 Toronto mayoral election, where he placed second behind John Tory. In 2018, Ford entered provincial politics and won the Progressive Conservative leadership election. He led the PCs to three consecutive majority victories in the 2018, 2022, and 2025 general elections. As premier, Ford decreased the size of the Toronto city council, established the Low-income Individuals and Families Tax credit (LIFT), responded to the COVID-19 pandemic, granted extra powers to designated Ontario mayors through the Strong Mayors, Building Homes Act, passed the Your Health Act (Bill 60) to expand the use of private healthcare services, and grappled with controversies from the Greenbelt scandal. Although Ford's rhetoric and policies were characterised as conservative in his early years as premier, since 2020 political commentators have noted a shift to the political centre and a more co-operative attitude towards the federal Liberal government.