Former Toronto city councillor Doug Ford has been warned by city officials that robocalls made before his annual Ford Fest backyard barbecue last September – where he pledged to run for mayor again this year – may have violated election rules.

Mr. Ford, who took over his controversial brother Rob Ford's 2014 mayoral campaign after his cancer diagnosis, has been criticizing Mayor John Tory on social media and in TV appearances for months – despite the fact his campaign can't officially begin until May 1.

In a letter dated Sept. 11, 2017, and obtained by The Globe and Mail through a Freedom of Information request, city clerk Ulli Watkiss tells Mr. Ford that a Toronto resident complained to her office after receiving a robocall "asking for their support in your mayoralty campaign in the upcoming 2018 municipal election."

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Ms. Watkiss tells Mr. Ford in the letter that, outside of the campaign period, "you cannot spend or raise any money to support your candidacy, including paying for robocalls, as that is a violation of the [Municipal Election Act's] provisions." She also warns that she will take "appropriate measures" to maintain "peace and order in connection with the election."

Under the rules, candidates in the Oct. 22 municipal election cannot raise or spend money until they have filed nomination papers, and the first day they can do that is May 1.

In an interview, Mr. Ford dismissed the letter, saying the robocall was merely an invitation to Ford Fest. He also argued that his opponent was already campaigning – from the mayor's chair.

"It's a joke, biased. John Tory's out there [in] full campaign swing. We've had the Ford Fest for 23 years, as the whole city's known. And every single year I've done a robocall. I didn't say anything political on the robocall," Mr. Ford said.

He also denied that the Sept. 8 barbecue was "a political event." He had billed it beforehand as the day he would announce whether he was running for a seat at Queen's Park or for mayor. At the party, he told a cheering crowd that included three city councillors that he would challenge Mr. Tory for the mayoralty.

Speaking to The Globe on Tuesday, Mr. Ford complained that the new May 1 start date, which is months later than in previous election years, hinders his ability to start raising money. Meanwhile, the incumbent mayor can rely on "gazillionaire" friends to fund his own campaign, Mr. Ford charged.

As mayor, Mr. Tory has kept up a relentless schedule of events and photo ops, often announcing city programs he has championed from a podium inscribed with campaign-like slogans such as "Get Toronto Moving."

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Mr. Tory would say little about Mr. Ford's campaign or his comments. But he denied breaking any rules.

"The rules are there for a reason," he said in an interview. "They're there, and I follow them and I'll continue to follow them."

Much of Mr. Ford's campaigning has consisted of media appearances or videos posted on Twitter. But his website, fordnation.ca, discloses that he uses the "social media marketing" services of Social Know How, based in Vaughan, Ont. According to a video posted on the company's Twitter feed, Mr. Ford attended the opening of the firm's new offices in December.

Mr. Ford said he does a lot of his own social media. But he said Social Know How only works on fordnation.ca, which he argued is not a campaign site. His campaign site will be called Elect Doug Ford and will launch May 1, he said.

However, fordnation.ca this week featured the headline "Ford Says No to Tory's King Street Car Exclusion Zone" and urges visitors to sign a petition opposing the pilot project, which restricts travel by cars on a stretch of King Street. Mr. Ford has also been railing against the project in TV appearances and on social media.

The petition page appears to allow Mr. Ford to build and use a list of potential supporters. When users click through to the petition, the site asks for names, addresses, postal codes and phone numbers along with e-mail addresses. To be "kept informed on this and other issues," viewers can click a box.

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"That has to do with King Street," Mr. Ford said when asked about the petition. "That has nothing to do with any election."

Penalties for serious violations of Ontario's Municipal Elections Act can include fines of as much as $25,000, six months in jail, being turfed from office or banned from running in the next election.