Premier Doug Ford is probably feeling a little lighter today after finally getting a haircut at a barbershop in Leamington.
Ford had promised to hold off on visiting a barber until the entire province was in stage two of Ontario’s reopening plan and allowed to do the same.
While most of Ontario entered stage two on June 12 with the GTA following a few weeks later, the small farming communities of Kingsville and Leamington had to remain in stage one until July 8 due to a number of outbreaks involving seasonal workers.
That left Ford stuck with a rather dishevelled look, even as more and more Ontarians were able to visit a barber or salon and shed their overgrown pandemic locks.
“It has been about five months now but boy it feels good to get a haircut,” Ford said as he sat down in the barber chair at Mastronardi Barbering in Leamington on Thursday morning. “They (Kingsville and Leamington) were the last to open up and I always said I am not going to get my haircut until everyone can get their hair cut in the province.”
Ford’s visit to the Windsor-Essex region today is part of an eight-week summer tour of the province.
NDP Leader Andrea Horwath has previously accused Ford of practicing “poor judgement” by going on a province-wide tour while Ontario remains in the midst of a public health crisis but Ford has dismissed that criticism.
Speaking with reporters earlier in the day, he said that he was excited to spend some time meeting residents in the Windsor-Essex area.
“I just love the people here. They are salt of the earth hard working people,” he said. “It just made my day coming here. It is fabulous.”
Ford will also be holding his daily COVID-19 briefing in the region this afternoon when he makes a stop at Craven Farms in Chatham. That briefing was initially scheduled to begin at 1 p.m. but minutes before it was supposed to start, his office announced that it would be delayed until 2:40 p.m.
