Rob Ford is called a Canadian conservative. Would someone please tell me the difference in terms of political platforms.
It would appear from a distance that despite Mr. Ford’s checkered personal life, he is an able administrator. I would not have thought that someone who has such substance abuse problems would be an able administrator, but that is what I have heard. Also, people seem to like him despite his personal problems.
I’ve met him a few times and he is very likable. The key to his success has been the job he did as Councillor since 2003. My first encounter with him was an occasion where I needed the city to step in because of garbage piled up in a parking lot. I emailed him at 10pm on a Sunday. He left me a voicemail first thing the next morning, said he just visited the parking lot in question and would make some calls. By the time I got home from work the trash was gone.
Canadian conservatives tend to be fiscal hawks but live-and-let-live on social issues. Our main strength has been a low-key, businesslike approach to government.
Mayors of Canadian cities have far less power than their American counterparts. While they can regulate zoning and have to deal with the usual areas of public works, parks & recreation, fire and police, they do not have the power to impose an income tax or sales tax. They have to rely entirely on property taxes and user fees. That fact limits the ability of municipal governments to engage in big government wealth redistribution programs such as direct welfare payments. A leftist mayor and council can still do significant damage to a city’s fiscal bottom line, but not nearly the extent that we’ve seen in large American cities.