And yet they have found a way to get along and to work together.
asserted
they → find → way
“The mayor and I have a phenomenal relationship, phenomenal,” Mr. Ford said when the two appeared at a news conference this week.
asserted
two → have → conference
He was responding to a reporter who asked him where he stood on the coming municipal vote in Toronto.
asserted
he → respond → Toronto
Ms. Chow is running for re-election on Oct. 26 against two main competitors: Brad Bradford and Chris Alexander.
asserted
Chow → run → competitors
“We’re going to continue supporting the mayor, so read between the lines,” the Premier replied.
asserted
Premier → go → lines
Though (as the Premier’s office felt compelled to point out later) it fell short of an official endorsement, the remark was the latest evidence of the unusual partnership between the two, a rare example of cross-party co-operation in polarized times.
asserted
remark → compel → times
When Mr. Ford’s younger brother Rob was elected to Toronto city council in 2000, Ms. Chow and her husband Jack Layton were his fellow councillors.
asserted
Chow → elect → 2000
Mr. Layton had a seat next to him and took him under his wing.
asserted
Layton → have → wing
Rob appreciated the kindness and spoke of it when Mr. Layton, then the popular head of the federal NDP, died of cancer in 2011 (a fate that Rob himself would suffer five years later).
asserted
Rob → appreciate → that
He said Mr. Layton told him to look for votes on both sides of the council divide.
asserted
Layton → say → divide
“He taught me never to take things personal,” he recalled.
asserted
he → teach → things
Doug Ford jumped into the 2014 race for mayor after his brother fell ill.
asserted
brother → jump → mayor
He found himself running against Ms. Chow.
asserted
himself → find → Chow
The two of them ended up coming second (Mr. Ford) and third (Ms. Chow) to John Tory.
asserted
two → end → Tory
In 2023, Ms. Chow ran for mayor ran again in a special by-election triggered by the resignation of Mr. Tory over an affair with a much younger staffer.
asserted
Chow → run → staffer
Mr. Ford, by then Premier, said then that a Chow mayoralty would be an “unmitigated disaster,” nothing less.
asserted
mayoralty → say → ?
“God forbid Olivia Chow gets elected – your taxes are going up at an unprecedented rate,” he said.
asserted
he → elect → rate
“Companies will leave.”
asserted
Companies → leave → ?
He backed one of her rivals, former police chief Mark Saunders.
asserted
He → back → rivals
As soon as she was elected, though, he struck a different note.
asserted
he → elect → note
The two had a meeting the day after the vote and the Premier said all the trash talk was just something that happens during election campaigns.
asserted
that → have → campaigns
“We’re going to find common ground when we sit down because she’s actually quite a nice person,” he said.
asserted
he → go → ground
The two have clashed over his plans to put a waterpark and spa at Ontario Place on the waterfront, his decision to rip out some downtown bike lanes and his desire to expand the Billy Bishop airport on Toronto Island to accommodate jet planes.
asserted
two → clash → planes
But Ms. Chow has had the sense to pick her battles, acknowledging the fact that Mr. Ford leads the senior government and that Toronto depends heavily on Queen’s Park for funding and approvals.
asserted
Toronto → have → funding
There is a reason, she said, practically, that Ontario Place is called Ontario Place.
asserted
Place → be → ?
The provincial government created and controls it.
asserted
government → create → it
Mr. Ford, on his side, has done a lot to help Toronto pay its bills.
asserted
Toronto → do → bills
Under a “new deal” between the city and the province, Mr. Ford agreed to take over the Gardiner Expressway and Don Valley Parkway and assume billions in city costs.
asserted
Ford → agree → costs
As he put it, in classic Fordian terms, this week, “we’ve given the city of Toronto more money than they’ve ever seen in their lives.
asserted
they → put → lives
Of course, politicians often put on a show of bonhomie after fighting like alley cats behind closed doors.
asserted
politicians → put → doors
Mr. Ford and Ms. Chow may be cursing each other silently as they smile for the cameras.
uncertain
they → curse → cameras
It doesn’t matter in the end.
asserted
It → matter → end
They both care a lot about Toronto.
asserted
They → care → Toronto
Despite their different political views, they both want a lot of the same things: better roads, better transit, cleaner streets, more housing.
asserted
they → want → things
Their partnership is working – even if they sometimes vehemently disagree.
asserted
they → work → ?
When city council voted earlier this year to explore the idea of creating not-for-profit, city-run grocery stores, Mr. Ford went off.
asserted
Ford → vote → stores
“She wants city-run grocery stores?
asserted
She → want → stores
You’d be subsidizing it huge, because it’s just, it’s crazy.
asserted
it → subsidize → it
That’s socialism.”
asserted
That → ’ → ?
“I love you, mayor,” he added.
asserted
he → love → you
The Aporia
