Toronto to Ontario to Canada: A Conservative Cascade Effect

The victory of Rob Ford in Toronto's mayoral race certainly changes the political landscape significantly. Having a staunch conservative running the show in one of Canada's most liberal cities is a coup of the highest order. But it is the timing that could prove to be the most promising aspect.

As we all know, October 2011 will mark the next provincial election in Ontario. All signs are pointing towards McGuinty and the Ontario Liberal Party's demise with a possible takeover by the Tim Hudak lead Progressive Conservatives. The next Canadian federal election is set for October of 2012 though this could be overridden by actions of the official Lame-O-pposition.

It is the annual frequency of these elections that offer a certain degree of promise for supporters of the federal Conservative Party of Canada. If Rob Ford can withstand the obvious resistance he will face from Toronto City Council and build a certain degree of momentum, the changeover of the provincial government to a more conservative government could turn the tide in the options available to Toronto.

There can be little doubt that some of Rob Ford's more ambitious plans would find a louder resonance with a Conservative provincial government over the current Liberal one. And if Rob Ford can build a coalition within City Council to move his agenda forward, combined with both a provincially and federally Conservative atmosphere, Torontonians may in fact see this as a windfall of cooperation between the levels of government that has not been seen for decades.

McGuinty rams heads with Harper. Mike Harris had to ram heads with Chretien and Martin. David Peterson and Bob Rae rammed heads with Mulroney. Bill Davis rammed heads with Trudeau. To have three levels of cooperative, like-minded political ideology between Ford, Hudak and Harper... the promise is certain.

If Hudak takes power and works with both Harper and Ford, it may be possible to destroy the Liberal bastion that is Toronto and shift it forever to the right. Of course, this will all depend on the Harper Conservatives maintaining power until the next scheduled election of October 2012.

If they can do so and at the same time build a coalition of willing participants to change the Toronto landscape, Stephen Harper may be able to secure the majority that has eluded him thus far. If that majority is achieved with the help of a Toronto that begins to see the benefits of conservative principles in governance, there will be nothing stopping Harper from taking back those mandatory government political party subsidies that have been so difficult for Harper to dispose of.

We all know such a change of funding will ruin both the Liberals and the Bloc entirely. But more importantly, without this income, the Liberals may never be able to take Toronto -- or Canada -- back again.