Ontario votes: Opponents accuse Ford of ‘hiding’ during snap election

Ontario Progressive Conservative Leader Doug Ford is facing accusations from his political opponents that he is “hiding” from the election campaign.

The accusations come on the 10th day Ford has not held an event in the province.

The PC leader last took questions in Ontario on Feb. 10 at a campaign stop in Oakville, Ont., where the number of reporters was capped at six.

On Feb. 11 and 12, he spoke to travelling media in Washington, D.C. and has not made any public appearances since, skipping two consecutive post-debate events with reporters.

“He’s hiding, he’s afraid to face the media, he’s afraid to face the people,” Ontario Liberal Leader Bonnie Crombie charged. “He doesn’t want to be accountable for his record.”

Ford had been scheduled to appear in northern Ontario on Tuesday, but the event was cancelled when he wasn’t able to leave Toronto Pearson International Airport following a plane crash.

He has no events scheduled for Wednesday and has not yet released his Thursday itinerary — although that normally comes around 3 p.m.

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Ontario NDP Leader Marit Stiles, who didn’t hold any events Wednesday either, claimed at her Tuesday announcement Ford was avoiding scrutiny.

“Doug Ford is hiding, he is in hiding right now,” she said in Toronto.

“Last night, after the debate, he wouldn’t even stand up in front of the reporters. He will not defend his government, he will not take responsibility for the state of this province. He is hoping people are just going to stay home and not vote.”

The PC campaign did not respond to questions from Global News asking when Ford would take questions or when he would make a public appearance next.

Ford is scheduled to take a trip to Washington, D.C. on Feb. 21. A social media post Wednesday showed him meeting workers in the Niagara area.

While the PC leader has been absent from the public campaign, his party’s war room has been hard at work digging up dirt on opposition candidates.

A series of social media posts by Ontario Liberal candidates, in particular, have been circulated by the party. Crombie has not dropped any of her candidates but some have issued public statements apologizing for past social media comments.

In particular, the Liberal candidate for Oshawa found himself in hot water after comments he made about the death of a Sikh leader and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.

Asked about some of the comments her candidates have made in the past, Crombie laid down a challenge to the PC leader.

“They want to sling mud. If Doug Ford has something to say to me, he should have the balls to say it to my face,” she said on Wednesday.

“That’s taking voters for granted. That is disrespectful. Show your face and be accountable for your record.”

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