Premier Doug Ford is accusing NDP Leader Marit Stiles of making “Trump-style” comments at Queen’s Park when she suggested Ford could be imprisoned at the end of this mandate.
On Monday, as the Official Opposition Leader was speaking with the Queen’s Park Press Gallery, she declared her intention to launch a public inquiry into the actions of the Ford government if the NDP forms government after the next provincial election.
“Don’t worry about it Doug, when I’m premier, I’m going to call a public inquiry into all of this,” Stiles said. Maybe you don’t get another mandate because you’ll be in prison, Doug.”
The comments were met with incredulity from Progressive Conservatives, many of whom felt she crossed a line.
“Yesterday we saw the Leader of the Opposition invoke dangerous American-style Trumpian rhetoric that quite frankly has no place in this Legislature,” said Government House Leader Steve Clark.
“That type of rhetoric lowers the tone in this House. It has no place in this Legislature, our province, or our country.”
Premier Doug Ford called Stiles’s remark “unacceptable” and tried to tie it to U.S. President Donald Trump.
“She doesn’t have to apologize, whatever she wants to do,” Ford said. “But we aren’t going to lower ourselves to the Trump-style rhetoric she’s feeling right now.”
Ford, however, has also been accused of relying on the same rhetoric during election campaigns and while in government.
In 2018, former Premier Kathleen Wynne accused Ford of sounding like Trump for suggesting that a “few more Liberals in jail.”
Ford also accused former NDP Leader Andrea Horwath of sounding like “nails on a chalkboard” and recently claimed Liberal MPP Stephanie Smyth was only in the legislature because “CP24 didn’t want her anymore.”
Asked about his own heated rhetoric, Ford said “words get said” inside the legislature but that Stiles had “stepped over the line” with her comments.
Stiles pushed back against the Progressive Conservatives and said she had nothing to apologize for.
“I think it’s very rich for this government to talk about this being Trumpian or MAGA,” Stiles said. “They’re clutching their pearls when this government is under RCMP criminal investigation for matters related to the carve out of the greenbelt.”
NDP insiders said Stiles’ comments weren’t pre-planned and are a reflection of what the party recently asked the RCMP: whether the Ford government changes to the Freedom of Information laws constitute obstruction of justice in the Mounties’ years-long Greenbelt investigation.
Stiles said her comments were reflective of how a portion of the voting population might feel.
“I think I’m saying out loud what a lot of people are saying quietly,” Stiles said.
Other political parties questioned how the NDP will navigate away from an extreme position while insisting they’re going to keep the temperature low.
“The Ontario Greens don’t engage in that kind of polarizing rhetoric, because I think it drives engagement in politics down,” said Green Party Leader Mike Schreiner.
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