Millionaire Doug Ford attacks wealth of millionaire John Tory

Over the course of three days, he has said Tory is “from a whole different world,” called Tory a “downtown elite” who is “out of touch,” referred to a Tory “chauffeur,” argued that Tory is accustomed to a “silver platter,” and suggested Tory thinks he is superior to people who live in public housing.

The rise of Rob Ford was fuelled by alienation and resentment among lower-income suburban voters. Doug Ford, his brother, is attempting to harness the same anti-establishment grievance to try to chip away at Tory’s high approval rating and substantial lead.

Ford’s eyebrow-raising line of populist criticism has prompted howls of “hypocrisy!” — and wide-eyed laughter from Tory, who called Ford’s accusations “hilarious” at a debate on Tuesday.

When Ford claimed Thursday that he, unlike Tory, built his wealth on his own, Andray Domise, who is running against Rob Ford for the Etobicoke council seat Doug Ford is vacating, wondered on Twitter if he was experiencing “real life.”

Ford strenuously insists he is no hypocrite. Whenever reminded of his own riches, he argues that he is talking not about Tory’s wealth, precisely, but a certain brand of white-shoe sneer. He said Thursday: “I’ve been in thousands of factories, dealing with people, and that’s not the case with my competitors.”

“I don’t think it’s that important that they have money or don’t have money — the notion that the Fords are rich,” said pollster and conservative strategist Dimitri Pantazopoulos. “It’s kind of like the difference between the Beverly Hillbillies and the Rockefellers. They want to be the Beverly Hillbillies, and say, ‘Look, we’re just like you except we have money, and Tory is like the Rockefellers.’”

The cheap suit doesn’t fit Doug Ford like it fit Rob Ford in 2010. Rob Ford was known to be rich, too, but his rumpled jackets, beige minivan and just-folks manner lent the appearance of authenticity to the man-of-the-people narrative. Doug Ford’s slicker appearance, unconcealed taste for the finer things, and hard-edged personality make the pitch a tougher sell.

“But it’s about all he’s got to play with, at this point, and you play your best card,” said Pantazopoulos, who did an internal poll for Rob Ford’s 2010 campaign and has worked with Tory aide Nick Kouvalis on a Liberal campaign in British Columbia.

Ford appears to be attempting to sway the lower-income voters Olivia Chow is also trying to secure. But it could be Chow who benefits.

She can appear positive and above the fray as Ford does the Tory-tarnishing she might otherwise have had to run negative advertisements to achieve. And all the talk of family bequests may remind voters of her own early poverty.

“I think where a person’s background comes from — I can just talk about myself, because I know what life is like when life is tough. The other two candidates may not know that,” she said when asked about Ford’s attacks Thursday.

Tory, keen to project confidence and calm, has declined to directly engage in a no-win tit-for-tat with Ford on the subject of money. His spokeswoman, Amanda Galbraith, said Thursday that he, unlike Ford, has used his privilege to help the city.

“There are different ways to look at advantages that you’re given in life, and how you respond,” she said. “And I think John has responded by giving an immense amount of his time to charity and back into the Toronto community. And I think we should take a good look at the Fords, who arguably had similar advantages, and what Doug has done with his time — which is dividing, calling people names, going on council and calling people ‘monkeys.’”

Ford maintains the issue is not about advantages at all — just attitude. In an interview in August, he defined “elites” as people who “look at you like they are better than you, their nose up in the air, like they’ve never done anything wrong.”

“It has nothing to do with money,” he said. “Our thing with the elites has nothing to do with money.”

With files from Betsy Powell and David Rider