FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

National Citizens Coalition Condemns Yesterday's Slanderous Remarks From Doug Ford, Calls for True Conservative Leadership

Toronto, ON – August 21, 2025 – The National Citizens Coalition (NCC), led by President Peter Coleman, strongly condemns Ontario Premier Doug Ford’s baseless characterization of Project Ontario and its supporters as a “radical right-wing group.” This slanderous label is an attempt to deflect legitimate criticism from concerned conservatives, including the NCC and its Director Alexander Brown, who are advocating for principled, fiscally responsible governance.

WATCH: The NCC's Alexander Brown is joined by 'Project Ontario' co-founder Matt Spoke to discuss the increasingly not-so-conservative government of Doug Ford, and the assembly of conservative groups and individuals working to hold Queen's Park to better account.

Instead of dismissing these voices, Premier Ford must address his government’s failures on critical issues: the economy, housing, immigration, crime, and Ontario’s staggering debt, all while cozying up to the federal Liberals.

“Premier Ford’s use of ‘radical’ to describe Project Ontario and its supporters, including the NCC, is a shameful tactic to silence conservative voices calling for accountability,” said Peter Coleman, President of the National Citizens Coalition. “Frankly, I know I'm not the only one who was reminded of Justin Trudeau's divisive playbook. Rather than resorting to name-calling, Ford should focus on delivering the conservative leadership Ontarians expect: leadership that tackles our province’s pressing challenges with bold, principled solutions.”

Project Ontario, supported by the NCC and prominent conservative experts and organizations, is a grassroots movement urging the Ford government to return to core conservative values. These include fiscal discipline, economic growth, and policies that prioritize Ontarians’ safety and prosperity. Far from radical, these demands reflect mainstream conservative principles that Ford’s Progressive Conservative government has consistently failed to uphold.

Ontario, under Ford’s leadership, carries the world’s largest sub-sovereign debt. Despite campaigning on fiscal responsibility, Ford’s government has tabled massive, Wynne/McGuinty deficits, with a 2025 budget promising up to $40 billion in new spending without clear plans to balance the books. This reckless spending, coupled with a failure to reduce red tape or lower key taxes, has left Ontario’s economy vulnerable, especially in the face of external pressures like U.S. tariffs.

Ford’s government has failed to address Ontario’s housing affordability crisis, a key concern for voters. Despite pledges to increase housing supply, housing starts have fallen well behind the other provinces, a deeply concerning trend when mixed with the impacts of mass immigration felt by the province, an issue the premier has avoided, repeatedly.

Meanwhile, public safety has deteriorated, with rising crime rates and insufficient action to address encampments or drug-related issues near schools and public spaces. His promise to ban drug injection sites and clear encampments is a step, but it lacks the comprehensive strategy Ontarians deserve.

Ford’s increasingly close ties with federal Liberal figures, including Chrystia Freeland and Mark Carney, further undermine his conservative credentials. His frequent praise for Mark Carney and criticism of federal Conservatives during the federal election campaign distracted from key conservative election priorities and fueled perceptions and questions of him as a “Liberal hype man.” This alignment with Liberal leadership, particularly amid economic uncertainty and continued managed decline, betrays the trust of provincial conservative voters who elected him to champion their values, as well as the trust of federal conservatives and common-sense Canadians who never asked for his interference.

“Premier Ford has lost sight of the conservative principles that elected him,” Coleman continued. “Ontarians deserve a government that reduces debt, tackles the housing crisis head-on, addresses immigration and crime with real solutions, and stands firm against federal Liberal policies that harm our province. Project Ontario, which has the NCC’s support, is calling for exactly that -- not radicalism, but accountability.”

The NCC, Canada's trail-blazing conservative non-profit advocacy group, urges Premier Ford to retract his slanderous remarks and engage with the recommendations of the NCC's Ontarians for Responsible Government campaign, and Project Ontario’s policy framework, which offer practical, conservative solutions to Ontario’s challenges and self-inflicted crises.

The coalition, on behalf of its supporters across the country, stands ready to work with all conservatives to restore principled governance and ensure Ontario’s prosperity. Does that sound "radical" to you?

For media inquiries, contact:
Peter Coleman, President
[email protected]

About the National Citizens Coalition: Founded in 1967, the National Citizens Coalition is a small-c conservative non-profit organization dedicated to promoting free enterprise, individual liberty, and limited government. Through advocacy and grassroots engagement that reaches millions of viewers per month, the NCC champions conservative principles to build a stronger, more prosperous Canada.

Do you support the campaign to hold the Ford government to conservative account? Donate to Ontarians for Responsible Government.