‘If they won’t listen to us, if they won’t meet with us, if they won’t talk with us, then we need to protest, to grow this,’ says local protest organizer
One of the main goals of the Fight Ford Province-Wide Protest is to make political learning easier, and it reached Barrie on Saturday.
“I think first and foremost it’s to educate people,” local organizer Wendy Bradley said about the rally in downtown. “There are a lot of people who didn’t bother to vote in the last provincial election (February 2025).
“We need people to better understand the challenges posed by the (Premier Doug) Ford government, what it’s doing to its citizens, to we, the voters, the electorate,” Bradley added.
Key issues include ongoing wildfires, reports that an MPP used tax dollars for hotel expenses, artificial intelligence data centres, cuts to post-secondary student funding, ending supervised consumption sites, changes to the Freedom of Information Act, banning speed cameras, and what critics call inadequate health-care funding.
“I am stunned by how many people don’t actually know the different things that have occurred,” Bradley said.
Around 25 individuals took part in the hour-long midday protest at Collier and Mulcaster streets.
Chants of “Hey hey, ho ho, Doug Ford has got to go” and “Doug Ford out the door” filled the air along with whistles.
John Smith from Barrie is part of Seniors for Climate Action Now; their chapter has about 30 members.
“We’re here to protest a couple of things,” he explained. “The overall policies of Doug Ford … mostly his climate change policies or lack thereof. Our premier is talking about building another pipeline.
“Our feeling is we have to cut down on fossil fuel emissions or the world is going to burn down,” Smith said while pointing at wildfires in Canada and Europe.
He believes protests like Saturday’s can make a difference.
“I think incrementally they help,” he remarked. “Obviously I’d like more people involved. I think we’re reaching a crisis point.”
Bradley also expressed that protests can be impactful.
“If they won’t listen to us, if they won’t meet with us, if they won’t talk with us, then we need to protest, to grow this,” she stated. “I hope enough people hear it so when election time comes around they’ll remember.”
Bradley pointed out that Ford’s Progressive Conservative government holds a majority and controls decisions in Ontario’s legislature.
“They can pass whatever they want,” she mentioned. “We want voters to understand. We want them to hear.”
“We hope that elected officials will listen too and maybe start making changes.”
The Fight Ford Province-Wide Protest began in January and had its initial wave of protests in February.
This event was planned across numerous communities throughout the province on Saturday.
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