Ontario Premier Doug Ford's speech at his party's policy convention will be open to the media for coverage. His party had planned to ban media from its convention this weekend.Adrian Wyld/The Canadian Press
Ontario’s governing Progressive Conservatives are backtracking on their plan to ban media from their convention this weekend, now saying that Premier Doug Ford’s speech will be open to reporters.
The change follows backlash to exclude media from the entire event, which is a break from political norms. The ban was first reported in the Toronto Star this week.
The decision to allow media into the convention for the Premier’s speech was confirmed to The Globe and Mail by Mr. Ford’s campaign manager, Kory Teneycke.
Mr. Teneycke chalked up the issue to a “miscommunication” on the party’s part, even as Mr. Ford defended the move days earlier.
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Still, the media will not be welcome at Mr. Ford’s “fireside chat” on Saturday with party members and will be excluded from closed-door meetings on political issues, such as electoral strategy and fundraising, which Mr. Teneycke said is typical for the party’s conventions.
“The private stuff’s private. But as you know, the Premier’s not shy in giving a speech and having people listen to it. It’s not some offence to his world view,” Mr. Teneycke told The Globe on Friday.
“Turns out I think we said something different to you guys,” he said. “Sorry about that.”
Mr. Ford is set to give his speech to the party faithful on Saturday evening. A new party executive will be announced on Sunday.
Party spokesman Peter Turkington told The Globe earlier on Friday that the policy to exclude media still stands.
“I can confirm that the Ontario PC Party Convention is a closed event and will not be open to media attendance,” he said in an e-mailed statement.
However, he later followed up to say he’s been given the go-ahead for media access to the dinner with the Premier on Saturday evening, which includes Mr. Ford’s speech.
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The Premier earlier this week also defended the decision to bar reporters.
“It’s a convention, and I’m out in the media almost every second day, and we’ll chat, but this is a party convention,” Mr. Ford said on Wednesday in Ottawa, where he attended meetings with fellow premiers and Prime Minister Mark Carney.
“So, we’re going to keep it as a party convention, but I’m always open to sit down and chat with you folks any time you want.”
Opposition parties on Friday accused Mr. Ford of secrecy and said the PC party doesn’t want the public to see any discontent from its members, including on the controversies surrounding its Skills Development Fund for retraining workers.
There are now two OPP investigations linked to recipients of the fund, although in both instances, the probes concern the use of money that the organization received from other ministries.
Even though reporters are now being allowed in for Mr. Ford’s speech, the rest of the three-day convention is off limits.
“They’re still not allowing the reporters into the convention, which the NDP does. What are they trying to hide? What don’t they want us to know? What questions don’t they want the reporters to ask?” said NDP MPP Chris Glover.
Liberal interim leader John Fraser said the backtracking suggests that the party is out of touch. “It is a sign of decline that happens to governments when they’ve been around too long,” he said.
The federal Conservatives are also holding a convention in Calgary this weekend, where delegates will vote on whether Pierre Poilievre should stay on as leader after losing last April’s election. At that convention, reporters aren’t allowed into early policy discussions but can roam around the building and attend constitutional debates, as well as policy votes once they make it to the main floor.
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Jamie Ellerton, principal at public-relations firm Conaptus and a former aide to Conservative immigration minister Jason Kenney, said the decision to bar media from Mr. Ford’s speech was “obviously shortsighted.”
“Clearly after the backlash, the party has woken up to that fact and kind of softened their stance,” he said.
“This was too far. And they recognized that to correct course.”
Conservative strategist Alex Chreston, a former interim executive director of the party who has attended conventions since 2003, said the event is an opportunity for party volunteers, staff and MPPs to get together to network and share ideas, but not necessarily to make news.
“It’s not like the federal convention where Pierre is facing a review,” said Mr. Chreston, a vice-president at Crestview Strategy in Toronto.
“This is the sitting Premier, deep into almost a decade in power, and there’s lots of opportunities to hear from him and see him.”
With a report from Stephanie Levitz in Calgary