Why Doug Ford's election campaign media strategy works for the Ontario PCs
CBC
The decision by the Ontario PC election campaign team to limit Doug Ford's exposure to questions from journalists simply boils down to risk versus reward.
It's a calculation that politicians make in every encounter with the news media, but at election time the stakes for the parties are higher.
As the incumbents, with a comfortable nine-point lead (according to the CBC News Ontario Poll Tracker), the Progressive Conservatives calculate that the risks posed by Ford facing prolonged questioning from reporters far outweigh the potential rewards.
It's why Ford's handlers keep his appearances to the tight "one question, one follow-up" format established during his more than 200 pandemic news conferences. It reduces the chance that Ford gets confronted with an unexpected question and has to venture into unscripted territory.
"What he needs to do, and what his campaign is probably relying on, is to run a disciplined and cautious campaign where you're not making mistakes, where you're not creating some sort of story," said Karman Wong, founder of KPW Communications.
"How do you do that safely? You don't give [the media] any opportunity to watch you fumble." said Wong, who served as a media adviser to former Liberal premier Dalton McGuinty and worked as a TV host and reporter in Toronto.
WATCH| Ford faces questions about why he's not more available to reporters:
Given his lead in the polls, Ford doesn't actually need to be making splashy news headlines every day. In fact, his campaign likely benefits from not being the story.
Ford held no scheduled media events for three straight days this week, including skipping out on reporters' questions after the northern Ontario leaders' debate.
When Ford re-emerged on Thursday and was challenged on ducking the media, he responded with an inaccurate account of his campaign news conferences.
"I've been in front of the press seven times out of eight days," Ford said in Kitchener. "I think that's a pretty good percentage."
Thursday was the ninth day of the campaign, and media covering Ford were given notice of news conferences on just six of those days.
The Progressive Conservatives are "replaying a playbook that worked very well for them last time," said Karl Baldauf, vice-president of McMillan Vantage Policy Group and a former chief of staff in the Ford government.
"They want to have a focused message that they repeat ad nauseum ... and they don't want to be knocked off that course," Baldauf said in an interview.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau issued a farewell message to Canadians Thursday as he marks his last full day in office.
The Association of Yukon Fire Chiefs says about 80 per cent of volunteer firefighters in the territory are wearing expired protective equipment, putting them in danger and in violation of occupational health and safety regulations when they respond to emergencies.
Environment Minister Steven Guilbeault will be given a new portfolio in Mark Carney's cabinet, a source with knowledge of the decision told Radio-Canada.
The Alberta government has suspended a loan program at Picture Butte Feeder Cooperative, the province's largest cattle financing cooperative, after an inspection alleged a number of financial mismanagement and regulatory issues.
If you look up at the sky late, late Thursday in the Toronto area, there's a chance you'll be able to see a total lunar eclipse and what's called a blood moon.
When wintertime calls, go where it's warm.
Colby Leamon had lost a close family member, and was looking for a dog to provide emotional support.
The cost of a 24-pack of beer could increase $3 to $5 because of 25 per cent tariffs on aluminum exported to the United States, according to a craft brewery in northern Ontario.
Fire tore through a seafood processing plant in Cape John, N.S., on Wednesday night.
Another of New Brunswick's new municipal councils has become embroiled in drama and bitter conflict.
Tardiness is nothing new at Via Rail, but late arrivals are reaching historic levels in a key corridor since passenger trains have been forced to slow down at hundreds of rail crossings operated by CN Rail.
Walmart Canada will stop selling machetes — a type of weapon frequently used in violent crimes — in stores across the country, after Manitoba's government pressured the retailer to restrict online sales.
The parents of two 15-year-old girls at Evan Hardy Collegiate in Saskatoon say they went to police and the school multiple times between June and August 2024 with concerns about escalating online threats from the student now accused of setting one of the girls on fire in a school hallway.