Mayoral candidate Doug Ford pulled out of a debate hosted by the Empire Club of Canada 90 minutes before it was scheduled to start on Friday.
In a statement sent to the media at 11:15 a.m., Ford blamed the $80 ticket cost ($800 for a table) for his last-minute withdrawal from the sold-out luncheon and said he would canvass in an unspecified part of the city instead.
The debate, which took place at 12:45 p.m. at Arcadian Court, was supposed to be only the second debate to feature all three main candidates in the race for mayor.
“I am campaigning to be the Mayor of all people, not the Mayor of the privileged few,” Ford said in his statement. “Debates should be open events that any member of the public can attend and ask questions. How many average, hardworking people can afford to take 3 hours away from work to come downtown and spend almost $100 having lunch?”
In his statement, Ford said he was not aware of the cost of attending the debate until he happened to review his schedule with his campaign team.
At that point, Ford said he made the decision to skip the debate and to avoid attending any future ones “that will cost residents money to participate in.”
Tory, however, challenged Ford’s assertion that he is skipping the event because of the cost, noting that he has also avoided attending a number of free debates, including one hosted by the Toronto Environmental Alliance Thursday night. Ford is also expected to skip a free debate hosted by the Network of Indian Professionals this evening.
“He says the reason he is not showing up is because there is a price tag but there was a free one last night that I was at with Ms. Chow and there is a free one tonight that I am going to be at with Ms. Chow,” he said. “There is a pattern of behaviour here. Don’t show up for the council votes, don’t show up for the board meetings and don’t show up for the debates because you are just entitled to sort of assume that this job will be yours.”
Addressing his decision to pull out of the debate later on Friday afternoon, Doug Ford said the event was “exclusive” and is only for the “Bay Street elites” and the “political insiders.
Ford then dismissed a question about the hypocrisy of him pulling out of the debate because of the ticket cost, one week ahead of a planned $750 a plate fundraiser in Etobicoke.
“You are trying to compare apples to oranges,” he said.
Chow, who has criticized Tory for skipping debates in the past, was also asked about Ford’s last-minute cancellation as she arrived at Arcadian Court Friday afternoon and said it is “disrespectful.”
“I can’t even begin to guess why he pulled out but he has done it many times before,” she said. “At city council meetings when there is a vote that isn’t important he just doesn’t show up, so we shouldn’t be surprised that he is continuing that kind of performance."
The Empire Club of Canada is a non-profit organization and President Andrea Wood told CP24 that the ticket price for the debate only covers the cost of renting a venue and serving a lunch.
Wood also noted that Ford’s brother, Mayor Rob Ford, spoke to the club while running for mayor in 2010 and again in 2011.
“I am disappointed for our audience and for the City of Toronto because I think we all would have appreciated seeing all three candidates debate the issues of importance for the city,” she said.
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