A day after drawing stern rebukes for saying the province should be “taking care of our own first,” Progressive Conservative Leader Doug Ford scrambled to do damage control over his controversial remarks about bringing more immigrants to northern Ontario.

“My opponents are playing politics, you know that,” Ford told reporters Saturday at a central Etobicoke retirement home, where he promised a $98-million dental care program for 100,000 low-income seniors if he is elected premier on June 7.

“I’m a huge supporter of new Canadians. I’m a huge supporter of new immigrants coming into this country, trying to make their own way,” he added, claiming “Ford Nation is the most diverse group anywhere in Canada.”

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The controversy made headlines Friday after a leaders debate on northern Ontario issues, where Ford said he had concerns about duplicating a federal pilot project in Atlantic Canada to lure newcomers to sparsely populated parts of Ontario.

“I’d be more than happy to sit down and talk to the folks and look at a pilot project. But, No. 1 — I’m a pretty generous guy — I’m taking care of our own first,” Ford told delegates to a conference held by the Federation of Northern Ontario Municipalities.

“Once we take care of our own and we exhaust … every single avenue and we don’t have anyone that can fulfil the job, then I’d be open to that.”

While PC officials initially insisted Ford’s remarks were “gravely misconstrued,” both Liberal Leader Kathleen Wynne and NDP Leader Andrea Horwath expressed shock. A Wynne strategist said the lines echo U.S. President Donald Trump’s “nativist” rhetoric.

Facing repeated questions about the comments during his Saturday campaign swing through Toronto and Caledon, Ford, who is leading in public opinion polls, insisted he is a go-to contact for new Canadians who are having difficulty getting jobs and having their skills recognized.

“They call me personally on my phone. If they have credentials from where they come from, we make sure we do everything in our power that we’re going to recognize that. We’re going to recognize those credentials and speed up the process,” Ford said, without providing details, other than to suggest that he will work with the federal government to help newcomers.

“Guess what? They don’t call Kathleen Wynne or Andrea Horwath to get a callback. They’re gonna call me. I’m gonna break down a brick wall to make sure I can help every new Canadian.”

At one point during a five-minute scrum with journalists, Ford tried to change the subject.

“Is there any question about dental care?” he asked.

Speaking in Sudbury on Saturday, Horwath said Ford didn’t seem to understand that northern municipal leaders are looking to immigration to boost their populations and economies by “rolling out the red carpet.”

“Mr. Ford’s comments seemed to be completely opposite of what they were asking for,” she said.

“I was a little bit shocked,” Horwath added. “I’ve heard that language used by people who are suggesting that newcomers are not welcome in our province or in our country, and that’s not an opinion I share.”

For weeks, Wynne has been criticizing Ford as a Trump clone and Liberal strategists pounced on the immigrant remarks.

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“This is what we’ve been saying — if you listen closely to Doug Ford, Doug Ford will tell you who he really is,” said one senior Grit, speaking on condition of anonymity in order to discuss campaign tactics.

“He talks a lot like Trump with his bumper-sticker sloganeering, but this is really the first time he’s been so blatantly nativist in public,” said the strategist, adding the Ford campaign is clearly concerned about fallout from the remarks.

“This can’t be helpful to them.”

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