Never bet against Brady: An interview with independent MPP Bobbi Ann Brady

Be it a certain ex-NFL quarterback or a current Ontario politician, a word to the wise: never bet against someone with the surname “Brady”.

Last year, the Doug Ford Progressive Conservatives achieved yet another super-majority government in Ontario's provincial election, winning 83 of 124 seats.

But Premier Ford, a.k.a., Ontario’s chief cherry cheesecake enthusiast, is still smarting over one riding that did not go PC: Haldimand—Norfolk.

In fact, shockingly, the riding went independent when long-time PC loyalist Bobbi Ann Brady captured the riding.

Here's the skinny: Haldimand—Norfolk was held by MPP Toby Barrett going all the way back to 1995, when Mike Harris was first elected as premier.

Barrett announced he was retiring from politics last year and that his heir apparent would be Brady.

Alas, Ford had other ideas as the party backstabbed the long-term conservative Brady, who had spent 23 years working for Barrett.

After giving Brady the silent treatment for several months, the PC party appointed Caledonia Mayor Ken Hewitt to run in Haldimand—Norfolk instead of holding a nomination meeting.

So much for democracy…

Yet, Brady refused to bend the knee and ran as an independent candidate. And what’s more, she defied the odds and won, beating Hewitt by more than 2,000 votes — a margin of 4.5%.

We recently ventured down to Haldimand—Norfolk to interview Brady on a wide range of topics, including the numerous flip-flops of Ford (the vaccine passport decision perhaps being the most egregious); the failure of the provincial government to rein-in out of control school boards and their lust for promoting radicalized sex-ed curriculums; Ford’s new best buddy relationship with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau (a PM the premier used to mock); and hey, what is the deal with Doug Ford backstabbing his base, referring to members of Ford Nation as “a bunch of yahoos”?