With Rob Ford gone, Toronto has lost a leader who could relate to and energize those who were disillusioned or cared little for politics, his brother, Doug Ford, said in a solemn interview on CP24.

“He connected with the average person — the teens, the union member and just the frontline workers —he was passionate about helping people and they finally had someone to voice their opinion.”

Ford said his late brother was “one of them,” which he characterized as “the average working person that needed help.” He suggested his brother’s flaws as a leader made him “real” in the eyes of his supporters, something his rivals did not have.

Ford said that “someone has to continue carrying that mantle” as a populist politician in the City of Toronto now that his brother is dead, and that person could be him.

“I have to sit down and talk to my family and talk about it, but we have a big group so we’re always going to be helping people.”

Reflecting on his brother’s reputation as the man who took up his constituents’ grievances as his own, Ford says his desire to help constituents with their issues was augmented by the fact that he was a good listener.

“I can’t say I am as good a listener as Rob.”

Without directly bringing up the criticism the long-time Etobicoke politician faced during his term as mayor for his substance abuse and the ensuing scandal, Ford said his brother is finally “getting the recognition for all of the years of helping people” now that he has died.

Rob Ford used responding to constituent calls as a means of coping with difficult days in the mayor’s chair, he said.

“He’d have some tough days with the media or with other opponents politically, so he’d go help Mrs. Jones,” said Ford. "And Mrs. Jones would just make him feel like a million dollars. But he loved doing it.”

Ford also spoke about his brother’s final days and how the family stayed positive until the end, despite signs that he was not going to be able to overcome his diagnosis of liposarcoma.

“Rob wasn’t taking to the other chemo and before you started a new treatment you needed to be well enough,” he said. His brother was weeks away from embarking on another specialized chemotherapy treatment called Panov when he passed away last Tuesday.

“His body couldn’t take it,” Ford said of the chemotherapy his younger brother had to endure.

The former mayor left behind his wife Renata and two children, Dougie, 9 and Stephanie, 11.

“I’ve got to make sure Renata and Stephanie and Dougie are always taken care of and they have a lot of support out there,” Ford said.

Ford said the family has been overwhelmed with the support the public has expressed in the wake of his brother's death.

“We’re so appreciative for the outpouring of support, we’re so grateful,” Ford said of the messages of condolence the family received.

He encouraged people to attend City Hall on Monday and Tuesday where Ford’s casket will lie in repose, and to walk with the family on Wednesday to St. James Cathedral for the funeral service at noon.

“Walk with me, walk from city hall to the church,” Ford said. “Rob wouldn’t want us to be in those big black limousines.”

Ford thanked Toronto Mayor John Tory for “bending over backwards” to accommodate his family and their plans to remember Rob, along with the police and city protocol officials.

On Friday afternoon, the family posted a four-minute-long video set to an insturmental version of Puff Daddy' and Faith Evans' "I'll Be Missing You." The video includes clips of people embracing Rob Ford and speaking fondly of him at his public appearances.

The family says the video was made by local Toronto filmmaker Tharanga Ramanayake.