Kayla Hazeltine
Professor Jung
POL 101
10 November 2023
Argumentative Paragraph
Doug Ford, the Ontario Premier since 2018, has been marked by controversial policy and
decision-making. In order to strategize for his removal in the 2026 election, the Political
Opportunity Theory in conjunction with the collaboration of opposing parties, could create the
support necessary to remove Ford from office in the 2026 election. The article, “We May Be
Stuck with Doug Ford,” by David Moscrop, highlights Ford’s failures across various issues
including the removal of rent control during a housing crisis, canceling green energy contracts,
and cutting education funding (Moscrop 2023). The diversity of these failures will unite voters,
creating the ideal conditions for successful social movements and political change. The Political
Opportunity Model, as discussed in Professor Jung’s lecture (2023a), explains how the success
of social movements depends on the political opportunity that stems from weaknesses in the
system. Ford’s policy-making has produced these vulnerabilities, creating an opportunity to
initiate social movements such as rallies and widespread criticism on social media. Although
these efforts will diminish Ford's votes in the 2026 election, social movements are insufficient to
remove him entirely. Collaboration with opposing parties is necessary to consolidate anti-Ford
votes. In order to do this, voters must use the strategic voting method: choosing to vote in a way
that doesn’t reflect their true preference as both parties are too small to win a majority (Jung
2023b). In the 2022 election, Ford received 40.8 percent of the vote while “the NDP and Liberals
managed 23.7 percent and 23.9 percent respectively” (Moscrop 2023). The NDP and Liberals
need to utilize strategic voting and consolidate their votes for one candidate which will give them
enough votes to unseat Ford. This kind of collaboration between parties is difficult to achieve;
until these parties can do so, it will be difficult to remove Ford.
Bibliography
Jung, Courtney. 2023a. “POL101 Electoral Systems VS23.”
https://play.library.utoronto.ca/watch/0f8cb93aabc37e347dc82c1d7dce02f6.
———. 2023b. “POL101 Social Movements Lecture S23.”
https://play.library.utoronto.ca/watch/e8987ff96717f01a0e57342bd827a3e5.
Moscrop, David. 2023. “We May Be Stuck with Doug Ford.” The Walrus. October 23,
2023. https://thewalrus.ca/we-may-be-stuck-with-doug-ford/.