June 7 marked eight years since Doug Ford was first elected Premier of Ontario. In that 2018 election, Ford campaigned under a simple and compelling slogan: “For the People.”

Yet eight years later, Ontarians have every reason to ask a simple question: which people?

By virtually every measure that matters to everyday people, Ontario is worse off today than it was when Ford took office. The promise that once defined this province — that if you worked hard, played by the rules and contributed to your community, you could afford a home, access quality healthcare, give your children a strong education and build a secure future — has steadily slipped out of reach. 

The tragedy is not simply that Ontario is falling behind. It’s that this government has consistently chosen to prioritize the interests of lobbyists, developers and well-connected donors over the interests of ordinary people. 

The most glaring example remains the Greenbelt controversy. In 2023, Ford’s government attempted to remove protected Greenbelt lands in a process that overwhelmingly benefited a small group of politically connected developers. It took public outrage, investigations and devastating reports from the auditor general and integrity commissioner before the government reversed course.

But the Greenbelt controversy wasn’t an isolated incident. It was a symptom of a governing philosophy.

We have seen it again in the government’s unilateral attempt to seize greater........

© National Observer