Ontario Premier Doug Ford may have stopped short of pinning an “Olivia Chow for Mayor” button on his suit lapel, but he made clear Wednesday he is backing her in the midst of her bid for re-election. Ford and Chow were at a joint press conference to mark the opening of a new Sanofi vaccine manufacturing facility in Toronto, and Ford was asked about making any endorsements in the mayoral race. “The mayor and I have a phenomenal relationship,” Ford said. “We’ve given the city of Toronto more money than they’ve ever seen in their lives, over $9 billion. We’re going to continue supporting the mayor. She’s doing an incredible job. So, read between the lines.” Ford has previously said he would be staying out of the mayor’s race. It is a far cry from Ford’s prediction during the 2023 mayoral byelection, in which he was backing former Toronto police chief Mark Saunders, that electing Chow would be an “unmitigated disaster.” “She made (former mayor) David Miller look like a fiscal conservative,” he said at the time. “God forbid Olivia Chow gets elected – your taxes are going up at an unprecedented rate. Companies will leave.” After Chow won that mayoral race the premier changed his tune. The pair met the day after the vote and Ford chalked his comments up to typical campaign mudslinging. “We’re going to find common ground when we sit down because she’s actually quite a nice person,” he said. The two have worked closely on many issues since then, and while they are not always in agreement over provincial incursions on speed cameras and bike lanes, Ford has suggested the disagreements are not personal. Earlier this year Ford called a planned City of Toronto pilot project to open four city-run grocery stores “the craziest idea” he has ever heard but ended his rant on a positive note. “She wants city-run grocery stores? You’d be subsidizing it huge, because it’s just, it’s crazy. That’s socialism. I love you, mayor,” he said. Chow is running against Brad Bradford and Chris Alexander, among a packed slate of about 50 other candidates. This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 16, 2026. Allison Jones, The Canadian Press
