It started as an announcement on beefing up bail system resources and processes, but Ontario Premier Doug Ford used a Wednesday news conference to slam the judicial system and went as far as suggesting judges should be elected.
“The system is broken, and there [are] a lot of terrible, terrible, bleeding-heart judges out there. You know something, if it happened to them they might take a different look at it,” Ford said during a question-and-answer period with reporters.
“It’s not a knock against all the judges because there [are] good, qualified judges … but the system is broken and once these judges get into their position, they have the sense of entitlement — that’s what drives me crazy.”
The comments came amid ongoing frustrations from policing advocates and many in government from different parties over how bail is given to those accused of crimes.
During the news conference, Ford and members of his cabinet announced they’ll propose legislation that would improve how forfeited bail money is collected. They are also making “serious violent crime bail teams” of prosecutors permanent, creating a new user fee system for those who are required to have GPS ankle monitoring and conducting “a comprehensive review of the bail system.”
Responsibility for criminal law, the Criminal Code of Canada, criminal courtroom procedures and the appointment of Supreme Court of Canada justices falls under the federal government’s jurisdiction. Provincial governments are responsible for administering justice as well as organizing and maintaining the courthouses where criminal matters are heard, which includes the appointment of judges in those courts.
Judges and justices of the peace have the discretion to make decisions around keeping people in custody or releasing them on bail, normally with certain conditions. They are required to consider potential risks to the public by releasing the accused and making sure the accused will return for court proceedings. Under the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, there must be “just cause” to keep people in custody and there must be a presumption of innocence until proven guilty.
Ford was asked about judicial appointments and the criteria the provincial government has for appointing new judges to Ontario courts.
“This is absolutely ridiculous how these judges keep letting people over and over and over again — I’m just done with it,” he said.
“We’re going to hire tough-on-crime judges, tough-on-crime JPs (justices of the peace) to make sure that they follow the law and keep these people in jail because they’re just being released. You could go in and kick in a door, put a gun to someone’s head with kids in the house, terrorize that house and guess what? By the time they get arrested and get out, it’s the next day.”
Throughout the question-and-answer period, Ford didn’t reference specific cases or examples by name and spoke generally.
Ontario Attorney General Doug Downey said when considering the appointment of new judges, the government is looking for individuals “who understand what’s going on in the community, who understand the frustration that individuals in the community are feeling when they’re in the victimization side.” He said he’s “really proud” of the judicial appointments made so far.
“When I review judicial applications, when they come out of the independent committee that recommends, if they don’t recommend them, I don’t know who they are. They never come to me,” he said.
“But if they’re recommended and I look at the application and I review, I’m looking for somebody who is going to enforce community standards. I’m looking for somebody who understands community, and somebody who will, quite frankly, help protect our communities.”
Ford went on to propose the idea of electing judges.
“Maybe that’s the problem. We should do what the U.S. does. Let’s start electing our judges, holding them accountable, and that’s my rant for the day because I’ve just had it,” he said before inviting Downey to the podium to speak.
“I’ve been meaning to get this off my shoulders for seven years.”
“You should see what he says in private,” Downey quipped in response.
Bike lane injunction cited by Ontario premier as example for electing judges, floats paying some to retire early
Ford referenced a recent temporary injunction made by a judge as an example for considering electing judges. In the case referenced, the judge was weighing a Charter challenge by residents and cycling advocates over the Ontario government’s plans to remove bike lanes on three major Toronto streets.
“I always say … the legislature is supreme, meaning the people are supreme. When you get a mandate to do something, you can have judges constantly overruling government,” he said.
“I have an idea … why don’t we have the next election the PC party, the Liberal Party, the NDP party, the Green Party and the judges’ party because they overturn everything right down to the bike lanes.
“We get democratically elected and some judge slaps an injunction on bike lanes. Don’t the judges have anything better to do than worry about if we’re taking out bike lanes or not taking out bike lanes? One judge says, ‘Yeah, not a problem.’ The next judge, not because of law, because of their ideology, their ideology is thinking, ‘Well, maybe, maybe we should take out the bike lanes.’”
There has been no publicly reported evidence to date that the judge who issued the temporary injunction was influenced by personal bias or ideology.
Ford noted the government plans to appeal the decision in court.
When asked how serious he was about the notion of moving toward an elected judiciary, which would require major legislative changes, there wasn’t a clear answer.
“I feel bad saying it because there’s fabulous judges out there, fabulous JPs, but like any group, there’s some bad apples that just believe in, ‘We shouldn’t throw anyone in jail. Let them run wild, you know, let’s rob everything.’ Let’s hold people accountable for once in the system,” Ford said.
“Why don’t we post, ‘This judge has let, you know, Johnny out six times, and he just murdered someone. Who’s accountable? Does the judge call the family up and say, ‘I’m sorry I let this guy out?’ Like something has to give. I just can’t stress it enough. We have laws for a reason. We build jails for a reason. We hire judges for a reason. We hire police for a reason.
“You know these judges that are bleeding hearts, I can’t wait until they retire. Matter of fact, I’ll pay them to retire earlier. I’ll pay you out for two, three, four years. Just get out of the system, simple as that, and we’ll get judges in there that 90 per cent of the people are saying, ‘Rah, rah, rah, let’s go.’”
Ford was then asked about an independent judiciary and how the comments could be an attempt to sway judges.
“That’s a joke as far as I’m concerned and let me tell you the reason why: there’s no judge appointed anywhere in this country, anywhere in the United States, anywhere in the world that’s not a political appointment,” he said.
“You think these judges just come out of the blue? Do you think the appointments from the federal government, do you think that the Liberal government for the last 10 years is going to appoint a tough-on-crime, conservative-minded judge? Not a chance, not a chance.
“Every judge in this country has been politically appointed since before Moses. Maybe Moses was even politically appointed, I don’t know, but I’ll guarantee you one thing, we’re going to be tough on crime.”
‘I’ll be on them like an 800-pound gorilla’: Ford to press feds harder for change
Ford said he and premiers from across the country are demanding changes to laws and sentences by the federal government, even musing that provincial governments should have a hand in shaping the Criminal Code of Canada.
“I’ll guarantee you tomorrow once we have a criminal code, then bang, this will stop immediately and we’ll be building more jails. We’re already building jails, but we’ll be building more jails because these guys are going to be in jail, and they’re going to think twice about going and robbing someone when they know the sentence is going to be five to 10 years in maximum security prison. Watch how quickly it stops,” he proclaimed.
Ford added he spoke with Prime Minister Mark Carney on Tuesday after Carney and the Liberal Party of Canada formed a 169-seat minority government in Monday’s election.
“I’m confident that hopefully the new prime minister, unlike the previous prime minister who didn’t want to do anything, the new prime minister I have confidence that he believes in keeping community safe, which I know he believes in that, and I’m sure he believes in keeping criminals in jail,” he said.
“So let’s see what happens, but again I’ll be on them like an 800-pound gorilla like I’ve never been on them before because people are fed up.”
When asked why he wasn’t as forceful on the need for changes during the federal election especially when the Conservative Party of Canada advocated hard for changes, he said he “shouldn’t interfere” in the campaign.
“Last time I checked, Pierre Poilievre never came out in our election. Matter of fact, him or one of his lieutenants told every one of his members, ‘Don’t you dare go out and help the PCs, isn’t that ironic? But anyways, I’m not going to dig deep into this,” Ford said.
“The people spoke and I have no say in who people vote for, but I’ll tell you one thing we have a government democratically elected. I will hold them accountable. I’ll hold them accountable like I would no matter if it’s a Conservative government or a Liberal government. My interest is protecting the people of Ontario, and I will be all over this government.”
Advocates, Ontario opposition parties call out attempts to politicize judiciary
Advocates with the Canadian Civil Liberties Association called Ford’s comments “alarming,” and reiterated previous calls for governments to collect more data to better inform needed reforms.
“Respecting the independence of the judiciary and the rule of law is necessary for a fair criminal justice system in Canada, and protects all of our rights and freedoms,” Shakir Rahim, who heads up the organization’s criminal justice program, wrote in a statement.
“The fact is that bail in Ontario is more difficult to obtain than ever. Around 80 per cent of the people in Ontario prisons have been denied bail and are awaiting trial.”
Meanwhile, opposition politicians at Queen’s Park on Wednesday were quick to criticize Ford’s comments.
“The premier’s attempt to politicize our courts and our judiciary is unacceptable and it is dangerous,” Ontario NDP Leader Marit Stiles told reporters.
“We are not going to be the 51st state and we are not going to import the American-style judicial system or courts into Ontario or into Canada.”
Ontario Liberal Party Leader Bonnie Crombie called some of Ford’s comments “very erratic” that “kind of ignor[e] the rule of law.”
“People need to have confidence in our judiciary system. They need to know that their judges are fair, that they’re independent, that they’re qualified, and that they’ve been selected because of their merit. And I think this is very different than the system that is used in the United States,” she said.
Stiles and Crombie were both asked about how Ford committed to removing bike lanes during the 2025 Ontario election campaign and how those efforts are on hold.
“We’ve seen this premier over and over again, and this government, bring in legislation that they absolutely know they’re probably not going to get away with, and they waste our time and our money having to fight these things in court. I always say do it right the first time, and if it’s not going to stand up in the courts, just don’t do it,” Stiles said.
“We have to have respect for the judiciary. The judiciary are not there to further our agenda, they’re independent. Their job is to impose the rule of law and to interpret the rule of law, so unfortunately the premier cannot choose to ignore the rule of law based on a judge’s decision.”
With files from Mark McAllister
