The Ontario election that propelled Doug Ford to power is long over, but the new premier is making a point of focusing on his predecessor. IPOLITICS

Ontario Premier Kathleen Wynne took her attacks on the Progressive Conservative leader to the next level Wednesday, calling Doug Ford Ontario’s Donald Trump.

“Doug Ford sounds like Donald Trump and that’s because he is like Donald Trump,” Wynne told reporters. “He believes in [an] ugly, vicious brand of politics that traffics in smears and lies. He’ll say anything about anyone at any time, because just like Trump it is all about him.”

READ MORE: Ford invokes Trump, calls for audit of Ontario’s books

She read from a written statement after Ford on Tuesday echoed the ‘lock her up’ chants that Trump led during the 2016 United States election against his rival Hillary Clinton.

“If Kathleen Wynne tried to pull these kinds of shady tricks in private life, then there would be a few more Liberals joining David Livingstone [sic] in jail,” the Tory leader is quoted Tuesday in a release calling for an audit of government spending.

It was the second time Ford invoked the Trump campaign chant.

“He all but chanted ‘lock her up,’ talking about me,” Wynne said Wednesday.

In power for 15 years, the polls say Ontario’s Liberals are down and close to out as they head into the June election.

“He may be Donald Trump, but I’m not Hillary Clinton,” Wynne said. “And Ontario is not the United States of America.”

She accused Ford of taking “the coward’s way out” when he was asked about controversial comments he made in 2014 about an home for teens with autism.

READ MORE: Ford accuses Liberals of ‘lying’ about comments he previously defended

On Friday the Liberals unveiled a $1 million attack ad campaign with Ford squarely in their crosshairs. Wynne defended that ads Wednesday saying they’re based on his policies and past comments.

But she acknowledged “it’s crystal clear that this is going to be a vicious campaign.”

The Liberals stepped into their own mess recently when they falsely quote Ford saying an offensive comment about the black community. Reported by QP Briefing on Tuesday, the Liberals apologized for the misquote.

In a hastily called press conference to respond to Wynne’s attacks PC MPP Lisa MacLeod told reporters Wynne’s attack show just how bad her government’s record is.

“She’s running in a different country against a different candidate because she can’t defend her own record in the province of Ontario,” MacLeod said over the phone from Ottawa.

“The campaign hasn’t even started yet and Kathleen Wynne is already desperately trying to scare people with negative attacks.”

But MacLeod wouldn’t say why Ford has suggested the premier should be sitting behind bars and skirted around allegations that the Liberals could have acted fraudulently while in government.

“If there is any fraudulent activity then that will be dealt with through the court of law,” MacLeod said while at the same time denying that she was accusing the Liberals of fraud.

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