NDP Leader Andrea Horwath went to the heart of the so-called “Ford Nation” to warn voters that the Progressive Conservative leader’s tax plan will benefit wealthy people like himself.

“Doug Ford says he’s for the people, but it’s clear his plan is for the rich,” Horwath said Monday at a coffee shop in Etobicoke North where Ford is the local PC candidate.

“We can’t afford Ford,” said Horwath, who noted Ford’s proposed tax cuts, bankrolled by $6 billion in annual service cuts, will only give $18 back to most ordinary Ontarians, while wealthier people would see almost $1,200 a year.

“When all of those taxes are taken out of the system, hospitals are going to get worse, nurses are going to get laid off, teachers are going to get laid off, our schools are going to continue to crumble,” she said.

Horwath noted Ford, the millionaire scion of a well off, politically established family, someone who inherited a successful business, opposes increasing the $14-an-hour minimum wage to $15 in January, which she and Liberal Leader Kathleen Wynne favour.

That would mean an additional $2,000 a year to a full-time worker earning the minimum wage.

Read more:

Doug Ford says a fully costed PC platform is coming — but won’t say when

Opinion | Martin Regg Cohn: Populism versus contrition in final Ontario election leaders’ debate

Kathleen Wynne answers your questions at the Toronto Star editorial board

“This is something that is very different from what Mr. Ford is offering lower income workers. Mr. Ford is saying ‘you don’t get the $15 minimum wage.’ His plan actually rips people off by about a thousand bucks,” said Horwath, referring to Ford’s proposal to make those who earn minimum wage exempt from provincial income tax, a savings of about $1,000 annually.

“He’s great with the bumper stickers …, but the minute you peel back a layer, you see his plan is a plan that is not for the people.”

Horwath’s Rexdale event the morning after Sunday’s televised leaders’ debate was briefly hijacked by local Liberal candidate Shafiq Qaadri, who has represented the riding since 2003.

Qaadri and a small band of supporters said they just happened to be canvassing nearby and wanted to “welcome” Horwath to the neighbourhood.

Share your thoughts

They brandished red-and-white Liberal signs and stood behind the NDP leader as she held a press conference that was broadcast live on CP24.

“I think it’s unfortunate that they’ve decided to do this. Nice to see you, Shafiq. What am I going to say? It’s their decision to behave that way,” she said.

The veteran Liberal insisted he was “very coincidentally” nearby and “thought we’d crash the party as it were.”

Conceding “it may be” bad form to show up at a rival party’s event, Qaadri said he “wanted to get the message out …. We do share a common goal about stopping the Ford machine.”

Loading... Loading... Loading... Loading... Loading... Loading...

Later in the day, he tweeted his “sincerest apology” to Horwath for his “rash and inexcusable” actions.

Wynne told reporters she was not amused by Qaadri’s impromptu stunt.

“He shouldn’t have done that. We have been very clear that that was inappropriate behaviour. My staff have reached out to the local campaign and said that it wasn’t appropriate,” the Liberal leader said at MaRS in Toronto.

In Guelph, where she pulled pints of craft beer for supporters at Brothers Brewery, Horwath said she welcomed the Liberal candidate’s note of contrition.

With files from Rob Ferguson

Read more about: