Want to lose weight? Hire a personal trainer in Toronto. Don't wait, lose weight!

Exit Polls show Stephen Harper's campaign hurt by association with Rob Ford


The Ford brothers’ rallying for Stephen Harper’s election campaign drove potential GTA voters away from the Conservative Party more than the Duffy trial did, exit polling has determined.

“It was clearly a mistake to be seen with the Fords,” pollster Greg Lyle explained on Tuesday. “It didn’t really rally the base, it pushed away swing voters. Not a good move.”

His firm, Innovative Research, conducted polling over the four days following the election, asking voters if certain factors in each party’s campaign made them more or less likely to lend their support.

Each factor was assigned a score: the percentage of voters who said it made them more likely to vote for the party, minus the percentage of those who said less likely. The more positive the number, the better that factor played, the more negative the number, the worse.

The poll also identified each party’s set of swing supporters — the voters who'd been on the fence before Election Day.

Among the Conservative’s swing voters, Harper’s appearance at an Oct. 17 event organized by Rob and Doug Ford earned a net score of -33 per cent. It proved the most overwhelmingly negative factor for swing voters regardless of issue or party.

The Duffy trial scored -30 per cent.

Lyle said the information should discourage politicians from buddying up with the Fords in the future. But, he’s not sure how closely they’ll take heed.

“It’s pretty clear the Ford brothers are the third rail of Canadian politics right now. But they never quit, I mean they just keep coming,” he said.

The Conservatives had a string of negative scores on the major factors in their campaign, boosting the argument they ran a poor campaign.

“Harper’s campaigning” itself was a net negative for swing voters (-11 per cent), as was the “Conservatives' advertising” (-26 per cent).

The party’s niqab stance was a net positive (23 per cent). The promise to introduce a “barbaric cultural practices” tip line, however, tipped negative (-2 per cent).

“That divided swing voters,” Lyle said about the tip line.

The Liberal Party, meanwhile, had only positives scores.

The promised “tax cuts for middle class/increase for high earners” earned a 56 per cent, followed closely by “Trudeau’s campaign” (55 per cent) and “Trudeau’s debate performance” (51 per cent).

As for the NDP, its plan to raise corporate taxes was the most positive factor among its swing voters (47 per cent), while the only negative was the party’s place in the polls (-8% per cent).

Above: The most hated Canadian Prime Minister shakes hands with Toronto's most hated mayor.

Rob Ford has tumour in his bladder and in excruciating pain

Former Toronto mayor Rob Ford is in "excruciating pain" and a new tumour has been found on his bladder, brother Doug Ford says.

Ford's medical team at Mount Sinai Hospital discovered the tumour after Ford, 46, was hospitalized for several days last week with abdominal pain, a statement released by his office on Wednesday said. The Etobicoke councillor is at home now, but is expected to return to hospital tomorrow.

"I've never seen him in this much pain," said an emotional Doug Ford.

Doctors have yet to determine if Ford's tumour is new, or if it's potentially related to the abdominal liposarcoma he was diagnosed with last year.

"At this time, we are still awaiting testing results to determine if it is related to the previous growths, as well as whether it is malignant," the statement from Ford's office said.

Ford will get additional treatments to deal with the tumour, though the statement didn't specify what type.

Ford also tweeted, saying he's "optimistic" he'll recover.

"Councillor Ford and his family wish to extend their continued gratitude for the thoughts, prayers, and support that they have received during this difficult time," the statement said.

Doug Ford said the new tumour came out of left field and was a major blow to his brother's morale.
"It's tough right now," he said.

Years of over-eating, drinking lots of hard liquor, drunken stupors, and smoking crack cocaine can leave a person riddled with cancer in multiple locations. Hopefully Torontonians learn from this lesson, don't ruin your body like Rob Ford did.


Update: November 8th

Rob Ford actually has TWO tumours in his bladder, both are believed to be cancerous.

Popular Posts