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He Has Only One Idea, and It’s a Wrong One
So said Samuel Johnson about an acquaintance. Johnson’s jibe perfectly characterizes Ontario Premier Doug Ford. Ford’s one idea is to favour drivers, by eliminating licence fees, reducing gasoline taxes, canceling bicycle lanes, and building new highways. Ford’s latest version of this idea is to launch a feasibility study for a 50 kilometre highway and subway…
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The Bay of Quinte Byelection’s Clear Message
The Conservatives narrowly won the Bay of Quinte byelection yesterday and Doug Ford said “the people of Bay of Quinte sent a clear message tonight by election a strong local champion who will fight the Liberal carbon tax and Bonnie Crombie’s plan to raise taxes.” Notice that even in saying thank you, Ford is launching…
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A Superb Film About a Quisling
When I was young, I learned that the word quisling meant traitor. Interested in its origins because the suffix “ling” is a diminutive (duckling, earthling), I looked it up. I then learned the word eponymous. I haven’t encountered the word quisling in recent years, so I searched it on Google N-grams to discover that its…
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Reagan Biopic: Heroic or Hagiographic?
When I watch a political biopic, I start with my fourfold classification of political fables: heroic, sacrificial, ironic, and tragic. It was clear in ten minutes that Reagan exemplified the heroic, in which the protagonist overcomes challenges, rises to prominence, and enhances the wellbeing of the people he serves. The movie begins with the attempted…
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How Allan Blakeney Helps Me Understand Doug Ford
Three decades ago, I co-authored a book with Allan Blakeney, the Premier of Saskatchewan from 1971 to 1982. I continue to refer to my collaboration with Blakeney in thinking about political decision making, especially by first ministers. In this post I will apply Blakeney’s ideas about selecting ministers and timing elections to some recent decisions…
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My Message to the Toronto Police about Protests
Faced with the challenge of keeping the peace during the numerous protests, demonstrations, and rallies that have taken place since last October 7, the Toronto Police have made the wise decision to consult the public about policies to guide their actions in this context. The consultation is being led by the Toronto Police Services Board,…
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Andre Rieu and the Power of Music
I didn’t expect to write this post. I was preparing posts about politics in Ontario and about the Toronto Police Service’s consultation about protests and demonstrations. But my posts about these topics will wait for a few days. I realize that most of my posts in the last year have been about fraught topics, in…
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Decant or Destroy the Ontario Science Centre?
Since the Ford Government announced the sudden closure of the Ontario Science Centre last June 21, it has taken the rhetorical line that it wanted to keep the beloved, iconic Moriyama building in operation until the new Science Centre at Ontario Place opens, but the recent discovery of decay in the roof forced it to…
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Strategic Voting in Ontario?
I recently saw the case made for strategic voting in Ontario in a column by TV Ontario’s Steve Paikin and in a media release by the citizen’s group Cooperate for Canada. Both are anticipating that Doug Ford will call an early election and suggest that the three progressive parties (Liberals, NDP, Greens) should agree among…
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The Only Answer is An Election
What is the question? The question is how can the Ford Government be persuaded to reverse course on closing the Ontario Science Centre and developing Ontario Place with the Therme Spa and a new, smaller, science centre. Even though Ford has often changed course over his six years as premier, this does not appear to…
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Retirement Four Years On
I’ve now been retired for four years, equal to the length of a political mandate in many countries. My inclination to stocktaking was reinforced by a recent article in the New York Times by Ron Lieber, who writes about personal finance. Lieber, still in his early fifties, develops his own mission statement for retirement, which…
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Abandoning Heritage Architecture
A redeveloped Ontario Place, housing the Therme Spa and the Ontario Science Centre, has become Doug Ford’s legacy project for his hometown. Those who were wondering if he would reconsider abandoning the Moriyama building in the face of loud protests from the architectural and technology communities received their answer this week. That answer consisted of…
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Better a Prime Minister than a President
President Biden’s disastrous debate performance has sparked agonized discussions among Democratic Party insiders and the American public at large about whether he should contest the election. Beyond that, it should raise questions about the institutional design of the presidency. How is it that a president whose mental acuity is failing can stay in office and…
- I am Professor of Public Management Emeritus at the University of Toronto, having retired in July 2020 after a 45-year academic career.
- My latest book, Public Representations: Screen Stories, Narrative, and the Public Sphere, co-authored with Beth Herst, was published in April 2026 by University of Toronto Press (open access).
- On this website I post blogs about politics, narrative, and my life experiences.
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