Opinion: Doug Ford Is Officially Worse Than François Legault, Here's Why
Canada's own mini-Trump has outdone himself.
It's often a tale of two Canadas when we're talking about Ontario versus Quebec. While both provinces are full of loud, beer drinking, and hockey-loving Canadians, the two provinces have long been at odds with each other.
From language issues to Quebec independence debates, the provinces have maintained this uneasy alliance and mutual respect ever since confederation in 1867. If we're to go even farther than that, the animosity between the two regions used to escalate to full-scale war. Blame the French and British colonists for that one, though.
Flash forward to the present and both Quebec and Ontario are in the limelight again, this time, for having some seriously problematic Premiers.
On one hand, you have François Legault, a bombastic personality with a government that is often called racist over a murky secularism bill. Critics argue that his policies are inherently racially motivated — a claim that he categorically denies.
Quebec's currently embattled leading political party, the CAQ, has also been blamed for blocking any reasonable debate in the province's National Assembly.
As they're currently trying to fast-track some unpopular bills, the other political parties in Quebec want to slow down and discuss the finer points.
Translation: "In the past few months, we will detail our plan, consult the experts, and the population. Then, we will mobilize the people of Quebec. I'm convinced that if we work together, we'll leave our children with a prosperous Quebec, a green Quebec, a proud Quebec!"
It's easy to point fingers at François Legault and call him a nationalist. I think that in a lot of ways, he kind of is, but he doesn't seem to be in it for the fame and power. He's a classic politician who has some questionable views, but the man isn't evil.
Our neighbours to the west, unfortunately, aren't so lucky.
READ ALSO: SNC-Lavalin Is Going To Trial For Corruption Despite Trudeau's Desperate Attempts To Prevent It
Ladies and gentlemen, meet Doug Ford:
This guy and his Progressive Conservatives party were voted into Ontario parliament with a majority government. Since then, the best thing he's done was lower the price of beer. Doesn't make our guy look so bad now, eh?
A glance into Ford's policies leaves one thankful they live in Quebec. We're so sorry, Ontario.
First off, he tried to cut funding to healthcare, child-care services, environmental protection, municipalities, and many other welfare services. Then, he rolled back on that after his popularity divebombed.
He then appeared on Fox News and was favourably compared to Donald Trump. He seemed to enjoy that a little too much. Oh yeah, and he was accused of antisemitism and bigotry on his campaign trail, too.
And finally, his government has now made it impossible to file a lawsuit against them, giving him and the Ontario PC Party complete legal power to ignore liability suits and to even throw out existing lawsuits against them.
Tallying up the results, it's easy to see that Doug Ford is officially worse than François Legault.
At least our guy doesn't cheer for the Leafs, right Quebec?
Unfortunately for both provinces, each of these guys will be in office for the next three years, so buckle up.
Ontario Premier Doug Ford and Quebec Premier François Legault have both faced criticisms for their provincial politics, but who is really worse? Well, with the new Ontario budget, it looks like Ford is officially taking the cake.
Read the latest Ontario budget bill for full details, here and here.