Robert Bruce Ford (May 28, 1969 – March 22, 2016) was a Canadian politician and businessman who served as the 64th mayor of Toronto from 2010 to 2014. Before and after his term as mayor, Ford was a city councillor representing Ward 2 Etobicoke North. He was first elected to Toronto City Council in the 2000 Toronto municipal election, and was re-elected to his council seat twice. His political career, particularly his mayoralty, saw a number of personal and work-related controversies and legal proceedings. In 2013, he became embroiled in a substance abuse scandal, which was widely reported in national and foreign media. Following his admission, Ford refused to resign, but city council voted to hand over certain mayoral powers and office staff to Deputy Mayor Norm Kelly for the remainder of Ford's term. Ford took a sabbatical and received treatment for his alcohol and drug addiction. Despite the scandal, Ford initially contested the next mayoral election, scheduled for October 2014, but after being hospitalized and diagnosed with an abdominal tumour in September 2014, Ford withdrew from the mayoral race and registered instead to run for his old city council seat. John Tory succeeded him as mayor on December 1, 2014, while Ford regained his former seat. Ford received treatment for the cancer, and was able to return briefly to council, but died in March 2016 after chemotherapy was ineffective. Early life Ford was born in Etobicoke, Ontario, Canada, in 1969, the youngest of the four children (Doug, Kathy, Randy and Rob) of Ruth Diane ( Campbell) and Douglas Bruce Ford. His paternal grandparents were English immigrants. His father, along with Ted Herriott, was co-founder of Deco Labels and Tags, which makes pressure-sensitive labels for plastic-wrapped grocery products at an estimated in annual sales, and was a Progressive Conservative member of the Provincial Parliament (MPP) from 1995 to 1999. Ford attended Scarlett Heights Collegiate Institute in Etobicoke. He dreamed of becoming a professional football player, and his father paid for him to attend special camps of the Washington Redskins and the University of Notre Dame. After graduating from high school, Ford went to Carleton University in Ottawa to study political science. He made the football squad, but did not play in any games. He left Carleton after one year to return to Toronto and did not complete his degree. After Carleton, he started a sales job at Deco. After Doug