Canada PoliticsOpposition parties try to tie Rob Ford to Harper Conservatives
Canada's opposition parties are spending some energy trying to tie the Rob Ford affair to the Harper Conservatives.
Over the weekend, according to the Canadian Press, NDP leader Thomas Mulcair actually suggested that the Ford fiasco would affect Stephen Harper's popularity.
Mulcair says the long-standing Tory-Ford ties are souring voters’ opinion of Harper, and will play a role in the 2015 federal election.
Harper and Ford have had a cosy relationship over the years, culminating with the pair enjoying a fishing trip together at Harrington Lake, Que., shortly after the Tories won re-election in 2011.
“The Conservatives have been saying for years that Rob Ford’s their guy,” Mulcair said Sunday during a surprise stop in Toronto to support his party’s candidate in the coming federal byelection.
“They’re going to have to wear it now,” he said, repeating
On Tuesday, in the House of Commons, the Liberals got involved.
Justin Trudeau even got in on the act.
"I'll take no lessons on accountability from a man whose fishing buddy is Rob Ford," the Liberal leader said during a lively exchange with the prime minister.
[ Related: Rick Mercer explains why some people still support Rob Ford ]
For their part, the Tories have been distancing themselves from Ford.
On Monday, the prime minister's office released a statement calling the drug-use allegations "troubling."
And on Tuesday, Multicultural Minister Jason Kenney called on Ford to resign.
In spite of the public rebukes, can the Harper Conservatives expect some collateral damage?
Certainly, Rob Ford is a Conservative, has friends in the party and has gone fishing — a couple of times — with prime minister Harper.
And, of course, there's this:
But, political communications consultant Gerry Nicholls doesn't believe that the circus at Toronto city hall will have any lasting affect on the Tories.
"The NDP is playing the “guilt by association” card, which is a typical political ploy," Nicholls told Yahoo Canada News.
"It likely won’t work this time, because Mayor Rob Ford’s difficulties stem not from his ideology or from his policies but from his personal failings. And since personality-wise, Prime Minister Stephen Harper is about as far removed from Mayor Ford as you can get, voters might see the NDP’s attacks as unfair or cynically opportunistic.
"Besides, even though Ford is a Conservative, he’s more identified with his own movement – Ford Nation – than he is with any political party."
[ Related: Toronto Deputy Mayor Norm Kelly vows ‘peace’ after taking reins from Rob Ford ]
What do you think? Will the Rob Ford saga hurt the Harper Conservatives' popularity?
Let us know your thoughts in the comment section below.
(Photo courtesy of the Canadian Press)
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