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TORONTO — Doug Ford’s bold promises of government belt-tightening during the last Progressive Conservative leadership debate may win over some of the party’s grassroots, but experts and critics say there isn’t much substance behind his populist message.

Ford, one of four candidates running to succeed Patrick Brown at the helm of the province’s official Opposition, has repeatedly touted his experience as a business owner and former Toronto city councillor in painting himself as the only one equipped to curb reckless spending at Queen’s Park.

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In the last of two televised debates before the party selects its new leader, the politician and brother of the late former Toronto mayor Rob Ford vowed to free up billions of dollars by eliminating waste, which he said he achieved at city hall.

Ford, along with his leadership rivals Christine Elliott, Caroline Mulroney and Tanya Granic Allen, have struggled to explain exactly how they will replace an estimated $4.3 billion in revenue that would have come from the carbon tax they have all pledged to axe.