Doug Ford has failed miserably to protect Ontario from a surge of measles
- Martin Regg Cohn
- May 7
- 1 min read
By Martin Regg Cohn | Political Columnist | May 7, 2025
Measles is spreading to every corner of the continent, but all pathways lead back to Ontario — and point to this province as a deadly vector for the virus.
How did a province hit so hard by the novel coronavirus get caught out so quickly by an old measles virus, which had long ago been snuffed out in Canada?
Ontario now boasts 1,243 cases and the number is accelerating rapidly — up 223 cases in a week. By comparison, the biggest U.S. hot spot, in Texas, totals just 683 cases for a population of 30 million people — about half as many cases in a state with double the people, making Ontario’s outbreak four times worse per capita.
Texas happens to be in the heart of Donald Trump’s America, where Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. routinely spouts anti-vaccine propaganda that is spreading across borders. Ontario styles itself anti-Trump territory, yet it too is infected by an anti-vax virus that is exporting measles across borders and has left 84 people hospitalized here, including 63 children so far.
Premier Doug Ford just campaigned on a promise to “Protect Ontario” from political peril that would harm our economic health. Yet his government has failed miserably in protecting the province from a measles virus that is hurting our medical health at home.
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