BURST
Ontario Doug Ford is serious about reducing crime in his province, fiercely advocating as of late for Ottawa to swiftly enact bail reform and more punitive sentences for offenders.
So serious, in fact, that he said he helped stop an alleged shoplifter at a Home Depot in July by chasing the culprit down in his pickup and threatening to kick his “a– all over the parking lot” if he didn’t hand over the pilfered goods.
Ford recounted his tale to Global’s Ben Mulroney and his audience of 1,000 plus at an Empire Club of Canada luncheon and fireside chat at the Metro Toronto Convention Centre on Tuesday.
As the premier tells it, he evaded his security detail by heading to the store around 8 a.m. and before their day began.
“It ticks them off,” he noted.
Ford said he’d made the trip specifically to buy “some plants” in preparation for Prime Minister Mark Carney’s visit to his Muskoka cottage, a meeting that took place on July 21 and included an overnight stay at the Fawn Lake residence.
“I load up all the plants and I’m ready to pull out and here’s this guy with a backpack and a bag, and he’s walking out and the store manager’s yelling at him, ‘Come back, come back, and the security guard is there,” Ford explained, “and I said, ‘Well, go get him.’ ‘We aren’t allowed to go get him.’”
As the alleged thief continued to walk away, Ford said to himself, “Screw this. I’m going after this guy.”
“So by this time, my heart’s beating, I’m ticked off. So I go racing behind, no one can see, and I pull up behind him and I jump out of the car and I said, ‘Buddy, what’s in your bag?’ ‘Nothing’s in my bag.’ I said, ‘Buddy, I’m going to kick your a– all over the parking lot, show me what’s in your bag,’” Ford said, drawing laughter from the crowd. “I did. I couldn’t help myself.”
As the man continued to deny any wrongdoing, Ford said the incensed manager came around the corner. When nothing turned up in one bag, they demanded he empty the second.
“So he went in there, and he pulled out one of those saw blades that you open up … and the store manager said, ‘That’s what he stole.”
Instructed to “keep emptying out” the bag, Ford said the man produced a set of tin snips.
“By this time,” Ford said, he was “in a full-out rage on this guy.”
The man convinced Ford and the manager that those weren’t stolen, however, showing them rust on the tool and he was sent on his way.
But not before the premier gave him a terse warning.
“I went on to tell him, if I ever see him in the parking lot, he’s gonna get a beating like he’s never got before,” Ford said to more laughter. “Well, that’s what you have to do.”
Ford’s story came amid a broader conversation about the Liberals’ promised criminal justice reform, which he hopes will keep violent offenders behind bars longer and bring about mandatory sentencing.
He’d also like to see the Young Offenders Act changed such that those convicted of violent crimes, especially involving guns, aren’t given repeated opportunities to re-offend.
“There’s too many judges that are just bleeding hearts that (say), “we gotta give them a second chance.” No, these are troublemakers. These kids need to be sentenced, and they need to learn before they go in, there are consequences when you go in with a gun on a violent crime.”
After the event, Finance Minister Peter Bethlenfalvy downplayed the premier’s threat of assault against the alleged thief.
“I think what he was, just as he does, speaks from the heart about how frustrating it is for many Canadians, for many Ontarians, where, you know, people get out on bail repeatedly,” Bethlenfalvy said, according to The Trillium. “So we need bail reform. We need tougher legislation. Ottawa has to take the lead.”
National Post has contacted the premier’s office for more information.
The tale drew criticism from Ontario Liberal MPP John Fraser, a former grocery store manager, who deemed Ford’s actions irresponsible because the person they’re chasing could very well have been armed. The premier, he said, should have stayed with his security detail.
“They’re here to keep you safe, and they’re not just keeping you safe for you — because it’s a changed and different world — but they’re keeping you safe for Ontarians and for the government,” he told Global .
“That’s one of the reasons that they’re doing it. You’re a special person, you’ve got this job that’s really important.”
NDP leader Marit Stiles, meanwhile, referenced Ford’s alleged heroics in a post on X that accused him of “chasing the stunts and the theatre” instead of dealing with unemployment.
“800,000 people are out of work — and what’s their Premier doing? Eating ice cream, pouring out liquor for the cameras, and playing Batman, bragging that he wanted to beat someone up at Home Depot,” she wrote.
800,000 people are out of work — and what’s their Premier doing? Eating ice cream, pouring out liquor for the cameras, and playing Batman, bragging that he wanted to beat someone up at Home Depot.
— Marit Stiles (@MaritStiles) October 15, 2025
What will it take for him to stop chasing the stunts and the theatre? A million… https://t.co/A478gAyKKh
It’s not clear at which Home Depot location the incident occurred. The closest store to his Fawn Lake is in Brace Bridge, whereas the one nearest his Princess Rosethorn neighbourhood home in Toronto is on Kipling Avenue.
National has also contacted Home Depot for comment.
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