Premier Doug Ford is insisting that he has no plans to formally back any Toronto mayoral candidates after some took his praise for Olivia Chow earlier this week as an endorsement. Ford was at a press conference alongside Chow and other officials on Wednesday when he was asked about his feelings regarding Toronto’s mayoral election. The premier responded that Chow was “doing an incredible job” and that he has a “phenomenal” relationship with her. He then told reporters to “read between the lines,” prompting some to suggest that he was offering an endorsement of sorts. In an appearance on NewsTalk 1010 on Friday morning, Ford said that wasn’t the case. Instead, he said that the intention of his remarks was just to affirm that he is on the same page as Chow following earlier questions regarding a dispute between the city and the province over automated speed cameras. “I just said the truth: I get along very, very well with the mayor and I kept going and I said, ‘read between the lines.’ Basically, we are going to work things out, we are going to get through this. But let’s be very, very clear when I endorse someone - which I am not - you come out and you fully endorse them,” Ford said. “You don’t say, ‘read between the lines.’ You say, ‘this is the reason I have endorsed them.’” Ford’s remarks earlier this week prompted mayoral candidate Brad Bradford to release a statement, in which he said that the premier’s support for Chow was not surprising given that she is “the easiest negotiation he has ever had.” Bradford then went on to list numerous instances in which he said Chow “rolled out the red carpet” for the premier. Fellow mayoral candidate Chris Alexander also commented on the praise, saying in a statement that Chow had “feuded with this premier over countless issues” and that “neither side wins from these disputes.” Speaking with NewsTalk 1010 host John Tory on Friday, Ford was insistent that he isn’t endorsing anyone in the mayoral campaign and that some individuals just took his praise for Chow “and ran with it.” “I am not endorsing anyone and anyone who is mayor I am going to work with. Simple as that,” he said. Ford’s comments on Friday were his first public remarks since the news conference earlier this week, though his office did release a statement on Thursday insisting that his support for Chow was not an endorsement. Torontonians head to the polls to elect a new mayor on Oct. 26.
