ADAMS: Ford’s backroom regional coup just invalidated his mandate
Three times, in 2018, 2022, and again in 2025, Ontario voters went to the polls with a clear understanding of what a Progressive Conservative government led by Doug Ford would deliver. The bargain was straightforward: a competitive economy, lower taxes, streamlined government, and respect for the voters' voice.
That was the platform. That was the promise. That was the mandate.
Not once did Doug Ford tell Ontarians he planned to appoint regional chairs. Not once did he campaign on stripping locally elected councils of their ability to choose their own leadership. And certainly not once did he mention that his appointees would wield veto power over bylaws, fire senior staff at will, and control regional budgets without facing a single voter.
The Better Regional Governance Act does exactly that. Eight regional governments—Durham, Halton, Muskoka, Niagara, Peel, Waterloo, York, and Simcoe County—will now have chairs appointed directly by the Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing. These chairs will exercise "strong mayor" powers on steroids: vetoes, staffing purges, and budget control. All without a single vote from the people they are supposed to serve.
This is not conservative governance. This is not a small-government principle. This is a flagrant abuse of power.
And the timing is no accident. Nominations for the 2026 municipal elections open May 1st. The Ford PC's are rushing these changes through just before that deadline, hoping that by the time voters realize what happened, the newly appointed chairs will already be seated. That is cynical. It is manipulative. And it is fundamentally undemocratic.
But the deeper betrayal is economic. Ontario is already struggling to attract investment. Taxes are sky-high compared to under Wynne or McGuinty. Red tape continues to choke small businesses. Our productivity has stagnated. And now, instead of fixing any of that, the Premier is expending political capital on a vanity project to control regional councils.
Ask yourself: how does appointing a regional chair in Peel or Waterloo create a single new job? How does granting veto power over local bylaws lower the price of a new home? The 2025 survey of municipal civil servants already answered that question: strong mayor powers have had little to no impact on housing construction. Housing starts have fallen every year since 2022. This reform solves nothing except the Premier's apparent frustration that local councils sometimes say no.
This brings us to the inescapable conclusion. Premier Ford did not campaign on this in 2018. He did not campaign on it in 2022. And he certainly did not campaign on it in 2025. Had he done so, his government would not have ever been elected. The people of Ontario did not consent to this. Therefore, his 2025mandate for this specific action is invalid.
The Premier must call a provincial election. Not in several months. Not after the municipal vote. Today. Now. If he truly believes that Ontarians want provincial appointees running their regional councils—with veto powers, no less—then let him make that case to the voters. Let him stand on a debate stage and defend taking away their right to elect their regional chair. Let him explain why a province with soaring taxes and lagging competitiveness needs this distraction.
He will not do that, of course. Because he knows what the polls would show. He knows that voters did not sign up for this. And that is precisely why he is trying to ram it through before anyone can stop him.
Conservatives used to believe in local control, fiscal discipline, and the consent of the governed. Those principles are not optional. The Ford PC's has abandoned all three. If he will not reverse course, the least he can do is let the people decide.
Call the election, Premier. Today.
This piece was written by an individual contributor and reflects the editorial position of The Provincial Times and Left Lane Media Group. Read our Content Policy here.
