Regardless of party stripes, it's tough to deny Doug Ford's Progressive Conservative government pushed through an extremely aggressive agenda in its first year in office.

But the PCs are wrapping their first year quite a bit differently than they started — down in the opinion polls.

Many governments rip off that proverbial Band-Aid early on in their term, leaving room toward the end of their mandate to woo voters, whose memories are traditionally short, though the pace at which the Ford government did it was dizzying.

"It's like drinking from a fire hose," said Ford at a news conference in early June when asked about his ambitious agenda.

'It's a lot of pressure'

"It's a lot of pressure."

After 15 years of Liberal rule, the PCs skipped the honeymoon period, and got straight to announcing the end of cap-and-trade, subsequently shuttering energy retrofit programs funded by its proceeds, rolling back OHIP+ and stopping the implementation of Liberal legislation to strengthen police oversight.

It's like drinking from a fire hose. - Premier Doug Ford

That was all less than a month after the election victory on June 7 last year.

A rare summer sitting saw the government announce a plan to repeal the modernized sex-ed curriculum, end a strike at York University and push Hydro One's CEO Mayo Schmidt out of the job, a promise Ford made during the election.

"The government has moved at a relentless pace," said Aleem Kanji, strategist and vice-president of Sutherland Corporation, a firm based in Thornhill, Ont., that deals with municipal public affairs and government relations.

"I'm not sure anyone could have predicted this pace of change."

View photos Lisa Xing/CBC More

The changes inspired a steady stream of protests, including a campaign against the rollback of the sex-ed curriculum.

Another decision that resulted in one of the most vicious fights all year was Ford cutting the size of Toronto city council by about half, and cancelling elections for four regional chairs.

None of that was mentioned during the election campaign, and some critics mused the former Toronto city councillor and failed mayoral candidate was pursuing a vendetta against his former colleagues.

Ford did not back down.

Reversing course

However, the government did backtrack on several decisions, which has some critics saying the PCs' policymaking was erratic and uninformed.

"I give them no credit whatsoever," said NDP Leader Andrea Horwath, who accuses the government of "ramming items" through the Legislature.

"It should be much more collaborative and cooperative," she said in an interview with CBC News Tuesday.

Amidst vocal opposition earlier this year, the Ford government scrapped a plan to open the Greenbelt to developers, a 7,200-square-kilometre swath of protected farmland, forest and watershed that surrounds the Golden Horseshoe.

"The Ford government is really taking us backwards," said Green Party Leader Mike Schreiner in an interview with CBC News on Tuesday.

This spring, a plan to change autism services to get rid of a ballooning wait list saw multiple protests at the Legislature, with parents spilling onto the lawn at Queen's Park by the busloads.

I give them no credit whatsoever. - NDP Leader Andrea Horwath