Mayoral candidate Doug Ford released his list of donors Sunday and claimed it proves that he’s the person who would best represent Toronto as mayor.
Ford said he’s raised close to $300,000 so far, mainly through small donations.
He contrasted his list with that of front-runner John Tory, who released his own donor list yesterday to reveal a war chest of $2.48 million, raised from more than 5,000 donors.
“Unlike Mr. Tory, the vast majority of donations to my campaign are less than $300,” Ford said.
He cited Tory’s list as proof that the former radio host is beholden to “political insiders, lobbyists, consultants and the richest families in the country, if not the entire world.”
“My campaign is for the people. I don’t need the establishment behind me,” Ford said. “All I need is the support of the people. And tomorrow night once I’m elected the mayor, I will owe absolutely no one but you.”
Ford, who is independently wealthy himself, said he expects his campaign will spend “well under $800,000” and said he is putting in a large amount of his own money to finance his run.
He urged his supporters to come out and vote and told them to contact his office if they’re not sure where to go.
However he faced more bad news Sunday as former mayor David Crombie threw his support behind Tory at a North York bagel shop.
Tory has consistently held a solid lead over both Ford and Olivia Chow in polls over the past few weeks. An Ipsos-Reid poll released just days ago showed Tory carrying a comfortable 11-point lead over Ford with 42 per cent support among decided voters. Ford had 31 per cent support, while Olivia Chow had 25 per cent support.
Speaking at her last campaign rally downtown Sunday, Chow told a crowd of supporters that the next mayor needs to be a "reflection of the city."
“We can elect a mayor who is a leader, who inspires, who puts people together and gets them working with each other and for each other," Chow said.
"...if you don’t want a conservative, don’t replace a Tory with another Tory."
Voters are set to go to the polls tomorrow in an election that will cap off a tumultuous four years at city hall that saw Mayor Rob Ford embroiled in a scandal around his drug use and public behaviour.
Mayor Ford dropped out of the mayoral race several weeks ago after he learned that he had a rare type of cancer. However his name will still be on the ballot as he vies to win back his old council seat in Etobicoke, a spot held for the past four years by Doug Ford.
The city has already seen record voter turnout in advance polls and Monday’s election is expected to be watched with interest around the world.
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