Rob Ford to Return to Work as Toronto Mayor Today

After an extended leave of absence in which he was to receive treatment for alcohol and substance abuse, Toronto Mayor Rob Ford is set to return to work on Monday and address the media at an invite-only press conference.

According to Canada’s Globe and Mail, the Mayor’s brother, Doug Ford, assured the press this weekend that Rob Ford had improved his condition significantly and is ready to return to work. “He’s had a lot of time to do what he needs to do… and he’s going to be back and he’ll be hungry and looking forward to meeting the people,” said his brother, who is also managing his reelection campaign. Doug Ford also reported that the Toronto mayor lost eight pant sizes in weight since entering rehabilitation.

Canadian journalists have protested that Ford’s first public appearance when returning to City Hall will be an invite-only affair, which his office asserted was done only because there was limited space in the press room. He is expected to brief journalists on his current health status and his plan to work for the city in coming days. One journalist, Now Magazine’s Jonathan Goldsbie, objected that “there’s no reason it has to be in that specific location as opposed to the member’s lounge, the council chambers, either committee room or anywhere else at city hall, which has a great number of very large spaces, which are conducive to press conferences.”

Ford returns not only to a spotlight that learned to be hungry for his antics, but to an election in which his polls slipped significantly since entering rehab. The Sydney Morning Herald reports that Ford’s approval ratings hit an all-time low of 32% in the beginning of June as he entered rehab, but news of his return has helped. He is currently polling in either second or third place, depending on the poll, in the elections expected to be held in October. 

Organizers say the Forum Research poll which shows him in second place does so because a return to the spotlight is enough to remind people to support their candidate. Lorne Bozinoff, a spokesman for Forum Research, told the Herald, “With his return now imminent, interest in the mayor is beginning to grow, and with it, as usually happens, his approval.” He noted that it is still too early to tell whether the uptick in support is a result of the headlines or whether these new supporters will stick with him until October.