Abby Ayoola is a longtime Ford fan, first-time Ford voter.The 32-year-old Mississauga resident is a regular at Ford Fest, the annual backyard barbecue hosted by rookie Progressive Conservative leader and former Toronto councillor Doug Ford and his brother, late mayor Rob Ford, at their mother Diane’s Etobicoke home. On June 7, Ayoola plans to cast a ballot for a party she’s never voted for before, now that there’s a Ford in charge.“The way they care about the little people, the way they help them, that’s what matters,” said Ayoola, who moved to Canada from Nigeria in 1998. As a mother with six kids between 16 months and 11 years old, it can be “tough” to make ends meet, she said. “The food prices are going up, everything’s getting higher and higher. Like, how can we cope?” Ayoola said. “(Ford) said it’s going to get back to the way things were.” Like many Ontarians, Ayoola is worried about her family’s future and fed-up with out-of-touch leaders and status quo politics. It’s part of why Ford’s anti-elite, austerity message is appealing beyond the Greater Toronto Area and heart of Ford Nation and puts him in serious contention for the premier’s seat in the spring election. The PCs have also come out on top in most public opinion surveys for more than a year.As more citizens feel insecure and disconnected from the political ivory tower, populist sentiment in Ontario may weigh heavily on voters’ decisions at the ballot box. In extremes, autocratic rulers and xenophobic or nativist platforms can start to look attractive, and extremist or fringe political factions may be empowered.Populist movements have picked up steam in democracies around the globe, including Turkey, the Philippines and Italy, and is most often applied to Brexit and the political stylings of U.S. President Donald Trump. It’s an approach to politics that generally favours the peop ...
|
