TORONTO

Mayor Rob Ford is heading to Ottawa Wednesday with visions of coming back with infrastructure funding.

Ford is taking part in the Federation of Canadian Municipalities’ Big City Mayors’ Caucus for the first time since he took office in 2010. But other mayors weren’t exactly rolling out the welcome mat for him and most of his council colleagues were unimpressed with the trip.

“I will be advocating for Toronto’s fair share of federal infrastructure and housing funding,” Ford told reporters Tuesday.

He said he’ll be asking for money to fund the city’s housing backlog and subway construction. “We need money,” he said. “We need money for our subway system for the Sheppard line, the Finch line, the Downtown Relief Line.

“We have to get this money, that’s what people want.”

Ford dismissed a question about why he voted against asking the other levels of government for help fund housing at the last council meeting.

“I’m not going to waste their time when I know I was going up there personally,” Ford said.

“I don’t want to frustrate our federal colleagues through paperwork — that’s not how I do business.”

Asked why he’s only now taking an interest in the Big City Mayors’ Caucus, Ford said he’s realized “we need this funding to help the poor people out who live in Toronto Community Housing.”

It isn’t clear how the mayors will receive Ford given the cold shoulder he’s given the caucus in the past.

Vancouver Mayor Gregor Robertson said he’s focused on making sure the mayors have a “productive meeting.”

“Canada’s cities are engines of economic growth, and this week’s meetings will be focused on crucial priorities such as securing federal commitments to protect affordable housing funding and to reduce traffic gridlock with new federal investment in transit,” Robertson told the Toronto Sun in a statement Tuesday.

Ottawa Mayor Jim Watson said the issues facing Canada’s largest cities are “bigger than one person” and vowed that the mayors won’t be distracted by Ford’s woes.

“Our goal as members of the big cities mayors caucus is to focus on issues of substance, such as the affordable housing and infrastructure programs,” Watson told QMI Agency Tuesday. “We’re not going to get sidetracked by political or personal situations happening in other cities.”

He couldn’t say if Ford would be welcome.

“He’s never been to one of our meetings, so I don’t know what he will contribute to these meetings because I’ve never seen him in action,” he said.

Councillor Paula Fletcher said Ford’s trip to Ottawa was clearly “political.”

“It’s an election year, he’s still trying to let people know he feels he’s the mayor,” Fletcher said. “I think most councillors realize we’ve vested the deputy mayor with a great number of powers.

“I think (Ford) thinks he’s the voice for the city, I’m not sure everybody else thinks he’s the voice for the city,” she added.

Councillor Adam Vaughan said Ford has “done everything in his power to cut funding for public housing and undercut pleas to Ottawa for funding.

“It seems like he figures that’s the only place he’s going to get a camera and a microphone on that day so off he goes,” Vaughan said.

“He’s all talk and no action and in this case he’s being a blatant opportunist.”

— With files from Jon Willing, Ottawa Sun