So far, Doug Ford’s campaign to become premier of Ontario is a festival of fakeness.

He communicates primarily through fake news reports on “Ford Nation Live.” He was cheered on by fake supporters (actually paid actors) at the first leaders’ debate. And then there’s Ford’s phony populism: this is a man who markets himself as the saviour of “the little guy” while pushing policies that would deliver a Trump-style bonanza for billionaires.

But there is one thing about Doug Ford that is excruciatingly real: the devastating social and economic consequences that would bear down on this province should he succeed in bringing Trumpism to Canada.

Which is why we are convinced that now is the time for everyone who is committed to social justice to throw down to help elect the NDP – and that includes people like us who have never been NDP members and usually stay away from parliamentary politics. We write this not only out of fear of what Ford would do if elected, but also out of genuine hope for what we could accomplish with a different kind of government in power in Ontario, one that was pushed from day one by engaged and organized social movements.

But first, let’s get real about the fear.

Whether it’s scrapping cap-and-trade or slashing taxes, Ford’s various giveaways would blow a huge hole in Ontario’s budget, with some economists putting its size as high as $25 billion over three years. He won’t say how he plans to make up for it, but it’s no great mystery. Think even bigger class sizes, even more stressed teachers, even longer wait times for medical care, even more crowded and unreliable urban transit, even more diminished housing and income supports for Ontario’s neediest residents. And as always, Black and Indigenous people, as well as new immigrants, would take the hardest hits.

To make up for cutbacks, user fees will go up, and as Ford has made very clear, the minimum wage will stay down. This means less money in most people’s pockets, never mind Ford’s droningly repetitive claims to the contrary.

But that is just the start of the threat Ford represents. Because as life becomes harder for Ford’s “little guy,” the Conservatives will need scapegoats – easy targets to distract attention from their failures. And Ford has provided plenty of clues about who will be in the crosshairs, from his early decision to boycott the Black Community Provincial Leaders Debate, to his slip about wanting to “take care of our own first” when asked about immigrant workers, to his decision to take up the cause of “free speech” on campus (code for allowing openly racist speakers), to repeatedly complimenting Kathleen Wynne on her smile (and smiling himself when supporters chanted “lock her up”) — and much more. The message is also evident in his support for ballooning police budgets, since brutal economic policies have long required a parallel criminalization of the poor and unwell.

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Ford may look like Trump Lite so far, but we believe that would change fast under a Tory government. These regressive signals are being sent at a time when resentments are surging and when a growing number of Canadians are already acting upon overtly hateful views. From proud white supremacists marching outside Ryerson University, to the horrific Yonge Street van attack seemingly spurred on by “incel” propaganda, parts of our society feel increasingly like a powder keg. We fear that Doug Ford as premier of this country’s most populous province could well be the match.

Ford is ahead in the polls not because a majority of Ontarians favour the bleak and divided future he has in store. Too many of us remember the wrenching impacts of Tory Premier Mike Harris’s cuts, an evisceration from which the province never recovered under the Liberals. That’s why Ford is so determinedly vague about his economic plans. It’s also why he favours the dog whistle over the Trump-style bullhorn when activating racial and gender resentments — too many Ontarians are horrified by what’s happening to politics south of the border.

Ford is ahead in the polls mainly because, as he is so fond of repeating, “people want change.” And there are very good reasons for that: despite important victories for workers like the minimum wage hike, and despite election-year promises of new spending, Ontario under the Liberals has become a more unequal society, with the benefits of a long period of prosperity still stuck at the top. At a time when corporate profits are soaring, our basic services are stretched to the breaking point. So even if his populist posturing is as fake as his “news” videos, when Ford rails against an elite taking advantage of regular people, he is tapping into something real.

The electoral mood is pissed off – and as Hillary Clinton fatefully demonstrated, status quo candidates are no match for a right-wing pseudo-populist promising to up-end politics as usual.

Now let’s talk about hope – because that is real too.

As much as the Ford vs. Wynne dynamic echoes Trump vs. Clinton in 2016, there is one significant difference: here in Ontario, we have a viable third party on the ballot. The NDP has been out of power for longer than either the Tories or the Liberals and can therefore make a more credible claim to represent “change” than either party. It also has a platform that proposes increasing taxes on the wealthy in order to pay for services that will tangibly improve the lives of the vast majority of Ontarians, like extending public health insurance to cover dental and pharmacare.

Combined with police and housing reforms, as well as the $15 minimum wage, $12-a-day daycare and returning Hydro to public hands, they are offering more than Ford’s pretend populism. They have an actual plan to begin interrupting the inequalities that have taken deep root over more than two and a half decades of Tory-Liberal rule.

The good news is that after overlooking the NDP for months, a great many Ontarians suddenly recognize that they have a way to express their desire for change without voting for Trump-style politics. Right now, Andrea Horwath’s NDP is polling just a few points behind Doug Ford. If she can maintain her current momentum, Horwath could actually pull off an historic upset.

Let’s help her do that, however we can, in the brief time before the vote. Not because the NDP’s platform is perfect – it isn’t. For instance, its pledge to eliminate carding by police lacks specifics, and its climate plans are inadequate. We are also old enough to remember Bob Rae’s tenure as premier, when his capitulation to the province’s business community resulted in a stinging betrayal of the NDP’s labour roots. Ever since, the party has attempted to appear more electable by tacking to the right.

But this election’s platform represents a genuine shift for the Ontario NDP. It is advancing bold policies and, in many cases, wisely following the lead of grassroots movements like Fight for $15 and Fairness.

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So even if we might want more, we understand that what we will be voting for on June 7 is not a mirror of our precise political worldview or a map of the exact world we want. We are voting for the best possible context in which we, and the social justice movements we are part of, can continue the long and difficult work of moving this province to a better future.

In that regard, the choices before us are stark. The Liberals would continue the steady slide into deep inequality. The Conservatives would send us hurtling backwards to somewhere far more frightening. And the NDP, whether on its own or leading a coalition government, would open up the possibility of actually moving forward.

We choose the third option. And then the real work begins.

Naomi Klein is the author of No Is Not Enough: Resisting the New Shock Politics and co-author of Canada’s Leap Manifesto .Rinaldo Walcott is a professor at the University of Toronto and the Director of the Women and Gender Studies Institute.

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