Standing on a muddy Mississauga construction site, flanked by excavation vehicles and workers, Ontario Premier Doug Ford wrapped up his remarks at a news-conference-style podium.
“Thank God we don’t have the media,” he quipped. “No answers, no questions — we’re good to go.”
The comment was Ford’s last remark at an event which looked like a news conference, but without reporters in attendance.
The 11 a.m. event on Thursday was live-streamed on the Premier of Ontario’s official, taxpayer-funded YouTube account.
Politicians even stood behind the same podium and placard that have been used at Ontario-Canada housing announcements for months.
But the first time newsrooms in Ontario were told about the event was when Ford posted a link to watch it on his X account.
“I’m in Mississauga this morning with an important local update on our plan to lower housing costs and make life more affordable for families,” Ford wrote. “Tune in.”
The event was also attended by the federal government and Mississauga’s mayor.
Both the federal government and the City of Mississauga said the event was organized by the Ontario government, which made the decision not to include media.
The premier’s office suggested it was standard practice to hold announcements without media present, claiming the event was for stakeholders. They did not say who the stakeholders were.
The closed-door event appears to be part of a growing trend for the Ford government, organizing publicly funded promotional events that appear to be news conferences — without inviting the press.
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It was back in April, as his government struggled with the fallout of a short-lived private jet purchase, that Ford announced a monument for workers who had been injured or died on the job.
The government issued a news release promoting the announcement, but Ford and his Labour Minister, David Piccini, announced it in front of friendly stakeholders in one of the backrooms of Queen’s Park.
Roughly a month later, the government announced it had broken ground on the Bradford Bypass. Ford and his transportation minister, Prabmeet Sarkaria, travelled to the site, where they stood behind a news-conference-style podium, again without reporters in tow.
The government repeated the move for a groundbreaking at North York General Hospital and again to announce station construction on the Eglinton Crosstown West LRT.
Interim Ontario Liberal Leader John Fraser said the moves were a deliberate attempt to avoid scrutiny.
“A serious government and a serious premier wouldn’t pull this kind of nonsense,” he wrote in a statement. “They’d be able to answer questions and defend their record. Apparently they can’t do either.”
Since coming to power in 2018, the Ford government has moved to make following the premier more complicated.
The party does not release an official itinerary for journalists or the public at the beginning of the week. Changes to freedom of information laws earlier this year mean even retroactive access to Ford’s calendar is now prohibited.
In recent weeks, the premier has repeatedly appeared at events his office his office has not disclosed to reporters.
Ford made an unannounced appearance in northern Ontario to announce the Marten Falls Community Access Road on Monday, appearing in Bradford West Gwillimbury the Friday before, also without reporters present.
Even after winning a legal victory to remove bike lanes from Toronto — a signature policy Ford pushed in 2024 — the premier opted to post a social media video about the move, instead of holding an event.
Ontario NDP Leader Marit Stiles said the shift was anti-democratic.
“He has a disdain for democracy,” she said. “He has tried to escape accountability and transparency. He has gone so far as to change the laws of the province to avoid accountability, now he is shutting out the public and the media. Frankly, that’s very Trumpian.”
It sounds like Mr. Ford is quietly trying to make his own private kingdom (in general, it is called a dictatorship). No accountability is the first step. Total control is the next. Maybe he is more like his brother than we think.
Do you blame him. The Liberal funded media is beyond bias
@Vinny
C’mon Vin….what else did Rae do? Were being fair right? Harris? Couldn’t agree more….spent 25 years in health care.
As I have stated, we are screwed in Ontario…
I guess it comes down to how you want to be screwed….and Ford has not screwed me as bad as the Liberals. As far as NDP? It’s not even in the realm of possibility to elect those nutbars….
And now for the nitwits…..read on.
I dont see the point in excluding the press. Politicians stick to their talking points and never answer questions anyway.
Bob Rae gave you an unpaid Friday off to avoid being fired. Mike Harris after him privatized the highways, created the long term care home problem and created temporary nurse problems right after. Conservatives can’t stop the slurp. Don’t forget Mike Harris then went on to be on the board for the long term care homes he helped to create.
I mean, you halfwits focus on cab rides from train stations.
Spoken like a true dictator. FYI comrade Doug, secrecy is what brought down the conservative good leader Harper.
Trumpian?! No, it’s very Carney-esque. Doug Ford, the fake Conservative, is taking his lead from the gross lack of accountability and transparency of our PM, as well as our PM’s obvious disdain for the press and arrogant belief that he can insult them or run away when he doesn’t like their questions. Ford is now following the same playbook.
@Vinny
C’mon Vinny, have you forgotten or maybe too young to remember BOB RAE?? There is a reason NDP have not formed a government in over 30 years! He made McGuinty, Wynne, and Ford look like capable politicians.
The socialist principles of the NDP would be a catastrophic fail in the 21st century.
Unfortunately we have no capable leaders in this country.
But to suggest the NDP in its current iteration would be a death blow to this province.
Oh and to show that I am not some “Maga Con” you are right about Ford, however I kept my list short regarding Liberals.
We the “voting” public are screwed no matter who we vote in….just depends on which type of screwed….and right now Ford screwed is the only choice…believe it or not
Don’t forget he daughter’s wedding guests got contracts rewarded. He fired 455 WSIB workers and hired a company in Texas. He gave several contracts to US companies before and during this trade war. Pretending to be captain Canada while selling us out to the states. People don’t fact check before they spew lies.
Ford has greenbelt scandal. Covid deaths in long term care homes. Osap scandal where he let the private career colleges have access to osap and they abused it. He closed emergency hospitals in rural areas. His mpp charged taxpayers for hotel rooms for private use. He privatized healthcare and keeps expanding it over funding it. He triples the debt. The list keeps getting bigger. He falsified reports on the Ontario science Centre. Ndp would do way better here and actually work with the people. People afraid of functioning government.
and people think he doesn’t like Trump, yet he’s literally Trump’s mini me
@Vinny
Perhaps it’s because all you offer is hyperbole. You refuse to look at ” your side” and scruntize with the same lens as those you dislike.
Ford is a dolt, no doubt, but compared to what’s waiting from the Liberals or God forbid NDP….I’ll take my chances with Ford.
Lest you forget….Under the Liberals
Privatization of our hydro
Closed 600 schools( most of any party)
Fired 1600 nurses
Cost taxpayers over a billion dollars for gas plant shutdowns
And that is just a few…
Until there is a viable candidate from the Liberals, that isn’t another whack job, it’s Ford.
@claud
What would you know about an authoritarian regime? You live in N.A.
What will you use as a comparison once he’s gone? Democratic norms? Safeguards? Have you been watching the Liberals over the last decade?
Ford taking yet another page from Trump’s playbook, and his loyal lap dog followers lap it up like maga acolytes, can’t seem to see through the ruse, a slow chipping away of democratic norms and safeguards toward an authoritarian regime benefiting the connected few only.
Conservatives can’t stop their slurp.
I love Doug Ford,he speaks his mind. That is a good leader ☺️.
I would say the same thing if I had Colin obsessed with me.
Wow alot of socialist simps here all of a sudden.
Tell ya what, race you to the bottom. Afterall isn’t that what you want?
What a coward.
King Dougie. Rules by decree. No better than Trump. The media is there to hold truth to power DoFo. You seem to have forgotten who you answer to. Can’t wait to turf this guy.
The job of the media is to hold the government accountable, no matter how much I dislike it sometimes. A functioning democracy requires a critical questioning media.
Sounds like a Trump move 🤔 why do I see more familiarity with conservatives and Trump republicans
Thank God he’ll be gone next election!!!
He’s happy there’s no press to ask questions that would make him accountable.
Sounds like the person to the south of us.
We all know CONS love being told what to do and want a daddy figure, this comment section proves that.
@Theaverageglobalnewscommenter This person especially, desperately needs therapy, oh my god…. That is unhealthy delusion.
Con asskissing idiots on here defending this!!! Wow, just when you thought they couldn’t be any more stupid, presto, the bar bottoms out to the floor, lol!
So many Conservatives here willing to lick the boots of their corporate overlords.
It doesn’t say much for Ontarions that they would first pick this clown as a leader and then vote him in.
Oh no I just looked up who stopped the fascists… well I’m sure that’s just made up by the liberals
@vinny
I read the definition of fascism and it didn’t make sense, so I asked a friend and he said it was communism and its whatever the liberals don’t like so I guess I’m a fascist Vinny.
@Vinny
So what do you call a government that never answers a direct question, wastes millions in tax dollars, vilifies a segment of the population for not complying, and freezes bank accounts?
@Vinny
Sooo the Liberals are fascists?
Thank you for finally seeing the light.
@Vinny. Fascist Ford’s Gestapo are coming for you. Good luck in the concentration camp, Vinny the low IQ liberal
The liberal media making a big deal out of nothing! We don’t need to hear everything politicians do, especially conservatives. They are smarter and know more about this stuff then we do (that’s why we have them, duh) and Mr.Ford is always doing what’s best for us. We need to stop the liberals not go after our fellow patriots like Mr.Ford.
Wonder if it’s because of Global’s persistent unrelated and often disrespectdul attacks on Ford unrelated to the event at hand? And what gives the private media the god given right to show up anywhere and be disrespectful all the time. BTW, the planned purchase was for a State Aircraft, owned by the Province, used for government business and not a ‘Private Jet’ so Ford could go spend his time on private holidays.
The only conservative thing about Ford is his mistrust of the tax dollar funded media. Can’t blame him.
Those “stakeholders” are his private sector cronies. Slug ford = Ontario’s chump. He loves chump, and a self-admitted “Big Republican”. Ontario elected a monster. 3 times… Kinga is also such a slob. Just imagine if any Lib or NDP official boasted about zero media accountability, it would be 24/7 breaking news on every right wing outlet. Petty fascist. #dofomustgo
Trump lite. A government that doesn’t take questions is called a dictatorship or fascist.
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