Ontario Premier Doug Ford has successfully built a political bridge in a location where most Canadian Conservatives don’t even have access to a blueprint: trade unions.
The International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Construction Council of Ontario (IBEW CCO), which represents 18,000 members throughout the province, endorsed Ford and his Progressive Conservative party on Friday.
“Throughout my personal leadership career spanning more than three decades, no provincial government or political party has done more for the electrical trade than our current government under the leadership of Doug Ford,” said James Barry, the IBEW CCO’s executive secretary treasurer.
“Premier Ford and Minister (David) Piccini’s willingness to have open, honest conversations at literally any given time, day or night, and their commitment to our member’s education along with a renewed commitment to upholding the integrity of our trade as registered apprentices and licensed journeypersons is truly unprecedented.”
That’s impressive, but it’s not a one-off. Ford also received an endorsement on Saturday from Unifor Local 1285 in Brampton. (Yes, the same city that Ontario Liberal Leader Bonnie Crombie was caught saying that she “doesn’t care” about.) According to a press release put out by the party, this is the “first-ever endorsement by Unifor for the Ontario PCs.”
This follows a similar trend set during the last election. Four unions endorsed the PCs in 2022: the Laborers’ International Union of North America, International Brotherhood of Boilermakers, International Union of Painters and Allied Trades and, yes, the IBEW CCO.
Many columnists and political commentators were skeptical of these endorsements at the time, brushing them off as outliers given that most major unions have historically backed either the NDP or the Liberals.
Fair enough, but the critics largely ignored another component to this story: Ford’s innate ability to build a massive political tent that encompasses Ontarians from all walks of life, including union bosses and members.
“I’m not gonna judge any other party. I’ll tell you, our families, be it my dad or my brother Rob or (nephew) Michael, we’ve supported the hard-working women and men in this province, the union members,” Ford said at the International Union of Painters and Allied Trades’ headquarters in Toronto in May 2022. “We always have. I love ’em.”
These aren’t warm, fuzzy lines crafted for a particular audience and the TV cameras that followed him on the campaign bus. It’s actually him. The Doug Ford I met in his late father’s legislative office, long before he dipped his toes into the choppy political waters, has always thought this way about unions and the working class.
He knows there will be periods of agreement and disagreement with union leadership, but has never doubted the vital role that blue-collar workers play in helping build Ontario’s economy. He’ll always be their Conservative champion by opposing big government, supporting lower taxes and more individual rights and freedoms, and standing up for the little guy at every turn.
Ford may not be as wildly pro-union as the average Ontario Liberal or New Democrat voter, but he’s not viciously anti-labour or anti-union in any way, shape or form. That’s why former OPSEU president Warren (Smokey) Thomas and ex-Unifor national leader Jerry Dias were able to work successfully with the Ontario premier on an issue-by-issue basis.
Ford’s ability to forge good relations with unions and the working class isn’t unique. The old liberal Republican faction in the United States regularly earned union endorsements. Republican presidents like Dwight Eisenhower, Richard Nixon, Ronald Reagan and, most recently, Donald Trump acquired blue-collar votes that helped them win elections.
Former British prime minister Boris Johnson and former Australian prime minister Scott Morrison rebuilt shattered ties with unions and the working class in their countries. Several right-leaning Canadian parties, including the old Reform party and federal Progressive Conservatives, also garnered significant blue-collar support.
And we certainly can’t forget to mention Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre, who has vigorously defended working-class people at every turn during the affordability crisis and built a powerful political bridge that may rival Ford’s.
Conservatives can learn something from Ford’s union endorsements: a strong focus on free markets, private enterprise and trade liberalization are all important and necessary, but labour-oriented concerns such as economic security, good wages and workers’ rights shouldn’t be ignored.
If these two elements could become a natural political combination over time, the historic ties between Conservatives and unions could not only be rebuilt, but won’t raise as many eyebrows as they likely do now.
National Post