PC Leader Doug Ford held his first rally of the 2022 campaign in the heart of "Ford Nation" at the Toronto Congress Centre.

A few protesters greeted attendees along City View Drive in Etobicoke North. One group shouted "freedom" at passersby. Another individual was a big fan of the New Blue Party.

One guy held a red sign and said "no more cheesecake."

The parking lot had a lot of cars, but some supporters were also school bused in. About one thousand people came, in total.

After rolling the campaign bus into the building, he delivered a short, 11-minute stump speech (there was a Leafs playoff game, after all) about building highways, building electric vehicles, building hospitals, and saying yes to doing things like that if re-elected.

Apart from "done" and "get" (including its present participle), "build" (also including its present participle) was the most-uttered verb.

Ford also boosted his caucus, PC candidates, and his political staff as essential to accomplishing his vision for the province.

"I am truly blessed with the best political team this province has ever seen," Ford said. "We have an extremely talented caucus and an incredible group of candidates."

Ford's speech leaned more toward "getting it done" than what the government's already done, though past policies were still mentioned. It was an overall positive speech, with some dirt flung at the Liberals and NDP sandwiched in the middle.

Ford's line about "saying yes to getting the job done on new subways" drew a particularly raucous applause. The $28-billion dollar projects are the best in North America, he said. Adding the price tag was one of the few times Ford deviated from his teleprompter.

After Ford's eleventh "yes" (according to a transcript of his remarks provided to reporters), supporters broke out into a "yes" chant.

The crowd was evidently keen on developing Ontario's critical minerals. Ford's line about building a road to the Ring of Fire drew an unexpected roar.

The PC Leader tried to judo flip Del Duca's "the choice is yours" campaign slogan.

"So that is the choice. It’s the clear choice we face on June 2 ... if you want to Get It Done (capitalized on the transcript and teleprompter), you have one choice," he said.

After stepping down from the podium, Ford shook hands with some supporters, as did the many candidates and ministers in attendance.

Ford rallies in Ford Nation

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