Michael Ford (politician)
Canadian politician (born 1994)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Michael Douglas Ford ECO (born Michael Douglas Aldo Ford Stirpe; 1994) is a Canadian lobbyist and politician who served as the Ontario minister of citizenship and multiculturalism from 2022 to 2025. He was the member of Provincial Parliament (MPP) for York South—Weston from 2022 to 2025, representing the Progressive Conservative (PC) Party. Ford was a member of Toronto City Council from 2016 to 2022, representing Etobicoke North. He is the nephew of Doug Ford, the 26th premier of Ontario, and Rob Ford, the 64th mayor of Toronto. In 2025, Ford registered as a lobbyist.
Michael Ford | |
|---|---|
Ford in 2024 | |
| Ontario Minister of Citizenship and Multiculturalism | |
| In office June 24, 2022 – March 19, 2025 | |
| Premier | Doug Ford |
| Preceded by | Parm Gill |
| Succeeded by | Graham McGregor |
| Member of Provincial Parliament | |
| In office June 2, 2022 – March 19, 2025 | |
| Preceded by | Faisal Hassan |
| Succeeded by | Mohamed Firin |
| Constituency | York South—Weston |
| Toronto City Councillor | |
| In office December 1, 2018 – June 15, 2022 | |
| Preceded by | Ward established |
| Succeeded by | Rose Milczyn |
| Constituency | Ward 1 Etobicoke North |
| Toronto City Councillor | |
| In office July 25, 2016 – December 1, 2018 | |
| Preceded by | Rob Ford |
| Succeeded by | Ward dissolved |
| Constituency | Ward 2 Etobicoke North |
| Toronto District School Board Trustee | |
| In office December 1, 2014 – May 6, 2016 | |
| Preceded by | John Hastings |
| Succeeded by | Avtar Minhas |
| Constituency | Ward 1 Etobicoke North |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Michael Douglas Aldo Ford Stirpe 1994 (age 31–32) |
| Party | Progressive Conservative (provincial) |
Other political affiliations | Independent (municipal) |
| Relatives | Rob Ford (uncle) Doug Ford (uncle) Doug Ford Sr. (grandfather) Krista Haynes (cousin) |
| Website | Michael Ford MPP |
Early and personal life
Ford was born in 1994, to Ennio Stirpe and Kathy Ford in Toronto, Ontario.[1] He attended Richview Collegiate Institute in Etobicoke, graduating in 2012. He is the nephew of Doug Ford, the 26th premier of Ontario, and Rob Ford, the 64th mayor of Toronto. He is the grandson of Doug Ford Sr., who was an MPP.[2]
In 2014, Ford changed his surname from Stirpe to Ford, and removed Aldo from his given name.[3] His father, Ennio Stirpe, was convicted of manslaughter in 2009 and convicted of attempted murder in 2012. Stirpe is currently incarcerated and serving an 18-year prison term for attempted murder.[4]
Political career
2014 municipal election
In the 2014 municipal election, Ford was initially a candidate for Toronto City Council in Ward 2 Etobicoke North.[5] However, he dropped out when his uncle, Rob Ford, withdrew from the mayoral race after being diagnosed with an abdominal tumour.[6] Rob Ford then registered to run for the council seat, while Michael transferred his candidacy to the school board race.[2]
During an interview with The Globe and Mail, Michael Ford acknowledged that his last name helped him get elected, but stated that he is his own man, and unlike his uncles. His colleagues on the school board were very concerned when Ford was elected due to his uncles' public lives in politics, but one of his colleagues, Marit Stiles, told the Globe that Ford was a hard worker, eager to learn, and wasn't afraid to ask questions.[3] He also quickly earned a reputation for being more politically moderate and conciliatory than his uncles — including expressing admiration of Justin Trudeau, whom both of his uncles were known for criticizing, and attending Toronto's Pride Week parade.[7]
Toronto City Council
Councillor Rob Ford died on March 22, 2016, at which time the council seat in Ward 2 was declared vacant.[8] After city council declared on May 6 that a by-election would be held to fill the seat, Michael Ford announced he would resign his trustee position to run for council.[9]
He won the by-election, winning 69.53 per cent of the vote over 11 other challengers.[10] At 22, he is the youngest person in recent history to be elected to council.[11]
Ford ran for re-election in the 2018 municipal election in the newly expanded Ward 1 Etobicoke North.[12] He defeated fellow incumbent councillor Vincent Crisanti.[13] In July 2025, after Ford decided not to run for re-election at the provincial level, he became a registered lobbyist at Toronto City Hall.[14]
Provincial politics
In April 2022, Ford announced that he would run in the June provincial election in York South—Weston, for the Progressive Conservative Party.[15] He was appointed Minister of Citizenship and Multiculturalism in the Ford Ministry.[16] On September 20, 2024, Ford took a leave of absence to prioritize his "health and well-being over the next couple of months."[17] On January 24, 2025, Ford announced that he would not be running for re-election in the 2025 Ontario general election.[18]
Post-political career
Ford is the principal at Etobicoke-based lobbying firm MDF Strategies.
Election results
| 2022 Ontario general election: York South—Weston | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | Expenditures | |||
| Progressive Conservative | Michael Ford | 11,138 | 36.60 | +3.65 | $69,685 | |||
| New Democratic | Faisal Hassan | 10,342 | 33.98 | −2.09 | $97,063 | |||
| Liberal | Nadia Guerrera | 7,377 | 24.24 | −3.59 | $82,208 | |||
| Green | Ignacio Mongrell Gonzalez | 770 | 2.53 | −0.01 | $0 | |||
| New Blue | Tom Hipsz | 345 | 1.13 | $0 | ||||
| Ontario Party | Ana Gabriela Ortiz | 251 | 0.82 | $217 | ||||
| Independent | James Michael Fields | 209 | 0.69 | $632 | ||||
| Total valid votes/expense limit | 30,432 | 99.12 | +0.31 | $112,794 | ||||
| Total rejected, unmarked, and declined ballots | 271 | 0.88 | −0.31 | |||||
| Turnout | 30,703 | 38.11 | −11.06 | |||||
| Eligible voters | 80,336 | |||||||
| Progressive Conservative gain from New Democratic | Swing | +2.87 | ||||||
Source(s)
| ||||||||
| 2018 Toronto municipal election, Ward 1 Etobicoke North | ||
| Candidate | Votes | Vote share |
|---|---|---|
| Michael Ford | 10,648 | 42.26% |
| Vincent Crisanti | 8,654 | 34.34% |
| Naiima Farah | 2,262 | 8.98% |
| Shirish Patel | 1,945 | 7.72% |
| Carol Royer | 642 | 2.55% |
| Michelle Garcia | 439 | 1.74% |
| Peter D'Gama | 253 | 1.00% |
| Christopher Noor | 214 | 0.85% |
| Gurinder Patri | 142 | 0.56% |
| Total | 25,199 | 100% |
| Source: City of Toronto[19] | ||
| 2016 Toronto municipal by-election, Ward 2 Etobicoke North | ||
| Candidate | Votes | Vote share |
|---|---|---|
| Michael Ford | 6,534 | 69.53% |
| Jeff Canning | 1,918 | 20.41% |
| Christopher Strain | 354 | 3.77% |
| Chloe-Marie Brown | 152 | 1.62% |
| Christopher Noor | 134 | 1.43% |
| Kevin Clarke | 84 | 0.89% |
| Other candidates | 221 | 2.35% |
| Total | 9,397 | 100% |
| Source: City of Toronto[20] | ||