Martin Regg Cohn

Toronto

Political Columnist at The (Toronto) Star

Toronto Star political columnist. Recovering foreign correspondent. Reliving past pix here: https://t.co/QBRb59aXx5

Articles

Doug Ford won’t be the only one feeling the heat this summer

2 weeks ago | thespec.com | Martin Regg Cohn

Ontario’s long, hot summer of 2025 just got hotter. And longer. Not just for Doug Ford. The premier’s political rivals will also be facing the heat, each in their own way. MPPs headed home this week with a surprise: Ford’s Tories told them to stay away until Oct. 20. That’s a sweet summer break lasting nearly 20 weeks for provincial politicians who sat in their legislative seats for only six weeks this year.
Timing is everything as Ontario’s MPPs wrap up for the summer

3 weeks ago | thespec.com | Martin Regg Cohn

Opposition MPPs are furious at Doug Ford’s rush to pass a law speeding up development projects, deeming it unseemly and undemocratic. But New Democrats and Liberals were willing accomplices when the premier rushed through their pay raises in record time — a backroom deal done in a single day without a second thought. Why the rush on both counts? Politics is all about timing. Ontario’s MPPs are running out of time before the legislature rises on Thursday for its summer break.
Popular on the road, Doug Ford still has trouble to face at home

3 weeks ago | thespec.com | Martin Regg Cohn

Doug Ford is learning the hard way that nation-building and road-building are easier said (on the road) than done (at home). The paradox for Ontario’s populist premier is that he does best when he’s outside Ontario. In Saskatoon on Monday, Ford basked in his role as leader of the pack of premiers meeting with Prime Minister Mark Carney. But while the assembled first ministers were toasting Ford around the conference table, protesters from First Nations were taunting him at Queen’s Park.
Doug Ford’s sledgehammer tactics are causing needless conflict

4 weeks ago | thespec.com | Martin Regg Cohn

Doug Ford is walking and talking his way into a confrontation with Indigenous groups across Ontario. It’s not a good look. The premier won re-election promising to “Protect Ontario” and promote the economy. Now, he is pushing an unprecedented plan to bulldoze — literally and figuratively speaking — any part of the province that he declares a “special economic zone.”It’s a bad playbook. To get shovels in the ground, he is wielding a sledgehammer in the legislature — and digging in deeper by the day.
Doug Ford’s sledgehammer tactics are causing needless conflict

4 weeks ago | therecord.com | Martin Regg Cohn

Doug Ford is walking and talking his way into a confrontation with Indigenous groups across Ontario. It’s not a good look. The premier won re-election promising to “Protect Ontario” and promote the economy. Now, he is pushing an unprecedented plan to bulldoze — literally and figuratively speaking — any part of the province that he declares a “special economic zone.”It’s a bad playbook. To get shovels in the ground, he is wielding a sledgehammer in the legislature — and digging in deeper by the day.
Doug Ford’s peace deal with construction unions will cost us

1 month ago | thespec.com | Martin Regg Cohn

Doug Ford made history by winning his third consecutive election victory this year. First, though, he made peace with Ontario’s powerful construction unions. Ford overcame their history of bad blood by funneling big money into the skills training programs favoured by the building trades. Day by day, he delivered the good news in campaign-style announcements across the province. In return, his newfound labour loyalists delivered votes on election day for Ford’s Tories.
Benjamin Netanyahu’s political calculus masquerades as military strategy in Gaza

1 month ago | thespec.com | Martin Regg Cohn

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has a new battle plan for Gaza. It is a variation on the same old plan, which amounts to starving the Palestinian population into submission — ending with occupation once again. Ultimately, it is unlikely to subdue Gaza. No matter, for Netanyahu’s primary purpose is to save his political skin at home. This is a domestic political stratagem masquerading as military strategy. Hamas has already been largely eviscerated.
If Nate Erskine-Smith has become a political punchline, he’s only got himself to blame

1 month ago | thespec.com | Martin Regg Cohn

Politics can be a blood sport, which is why most politicians learn to roll with the punches. Not Nate Erskine-Smith, who has become a punchline in the halls of power. People are always taking shots at politicians. But when they’re laughing at you, it hurts. Erskine-Smith has been the butt of jokes ever since being booted from the federal cabinet this month. To be clear, there is no dishonour in being dropped, but when he complained about feeling “disrespected,” it became all about him.
Ontario budget recap: Ford government’s 2025 spending plan focused on tariffs, teachers, LCBO and cannabis

1 month ago | therecord.com | Robert Benzie |Kris Rushowy |Rob Ferguson |Martin Regg Cohn

This file is no longer being updated. Ontario Finance Minister Peter Bethlenfalvy tabled the Progressive Conservative government’s spending plan Thursday. Scroll through the Star’s live coverage below. And check out our provincial politics hub for the latest news from Queen’s Park.
Opinion: Doug Ford’s bad budget reveals why he called an early election

1 month ago | thespec.com | Martin Regg Cohn

Now you know why Doug Ford called an early election — he got out ahead of a bad news budgetOfficially, belatedly, Thursday’s budget is an echo of the premier’s February campaign slogan: “A Plan to Protect Ontario.”A more fitting title: The “Blame Trump Budget.”Fair enough. No question that the U.S. president messed up our economic outlook (and bolstered Ford’s re-election outcome). The unanswered question is whether Ontario’s premier can clean up that mess — or make matters worse.