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Image trumps issues in Toronto mayoral campaign

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What do Justin Trudeau and the Ford Family have in common?

They’re both using their image and ‘celebrity status’ to their great advantage.

At FordFest this past weekend in Toronto’s west end, thousands of people — many whom identify themselves as part of Ford Nation — gathered at a park in Etobicoke to celebrate the Rob and Doug Ford legacy.

Mayoral candidate Doug Ford arrived early and was quickly mobbed by the crowd. These people weren’t asking him about his attendance record at City Hall or how he’s going to pay for his “subways subways subways” plan, they just wanted a picture with him.

There were big line-ups for Ford bobble-heads, t-shirts and other paraphernalia (and incidentally no line-ups for the volunteer desk).

And, late in the evening, when a black SUV carrying Mayor Rob Ford pulled in, people actually ran alongside it.

For these people — and a growing number of voters — issues are less important than the Fords’ celebrity.

[ Related: City councillor receives offensive letter as election campaign takes sharp turn into the gutter ]

The same thing is happening federally with Justin Trudeau. Even before the Liberal leader offered up one concrete policy idea, opinion polls suggested that Canadians were ready to crown him as prime minister.

Despite his inexperience — compared to NDP leader Thomas Mulcair — and abstract policies, Trudeau still leads in the opinion polls and draws much bigger crowds wherever he goes.

Political pundit Gerry Nicholls says, like the Fords, Trudeau resonates with voters on an emotional level.

"Much of politics…is theatre, where candidates assume a role or an image," Nicholls told Yahoo Canada News.

"Trudeau, with his impeccable pedigree, has cast himself as the idealistic handsome hero who will bring hope and happiness to the land; the rough-hewn Fords, on the other hand, portray themselves as populist champions, who will stick it to the downtown and media elites. Trudeau is running as a celebrity, the Fords as brawlers."

[ Related: What Doug Ford needs to do to win the mayoral race ]

It would be disingenuous to say ‘celebrity’ or image politics is something new to Canada. We saw it with Trudeau-mania in the 1960s.

It has, however, been amplified by the evolution of social media: Posting a picture of yourself on Facebook with Rob or Doug Ford is deemed ‘cool.’

Voters are also challenged by a 24-7 media cycle where they’re faced information overload. It’s difficult for voters — let alone economists - to understand efficacy of Olivia Chow’s LRT plan versus the financial minutiae of John Tory’s Smart Track plan.

It’s easier to judge candidates on their personal attributes.

As for candidates who aren’t able to reach voters on an emotional levels, Nicholls suggests that they’re out of luck.

"Candidates who focus on issues and ideas, usually attract a lot of attention and a lot of enthusiasm but don’t attract a lot of votes," he told Yahoo Canada News.

"A classic example of this in the Toronto Mayoral race was David Soknacki."

It’s true: Now-withdrawn mayoral candidate David Soknacki earned wide praise from political analysts across the political spectrum.

The Toronto Star even suggested that his campaign was “the most thoughtful and thorough in its approach to policy.”

Despite the accolades, Soknacki could not get past 5 per cent support in the opinion polls. He just couldn’t connect to voters in an emotional way.

Certainly, there’s a chance that neither Ford nor Trudeau will win their respective elections.

But they’ve each come a long way by putting their image ahead of their policies.

It may not seem fair, but who ever said politics was fair?