Who is Rob Ford and what happened to the Toronto mayor after crack cocaine video scandal?

A video emerged online in 2013, showing Rob Ford smoking crack cocaine.

Published on: Jun 24, 2025, 14:31:02 IST

Edited by Sumanti Sen

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Rob Ford, former mayor of Toronto, made headlines for an infamous video that brought his career down. In 2013, a video emerged online that showed Ford, then-in-office, smoking crack cocaine. This incident and what followed made Ford one of the most divisive political figures in recent times.

Who is Rob Ford and what happened to the Toronto mayor after crack cocaine video scandal? (CBC News: The National screenshot/YouTube)

Even before this event, Ford had a history of substance abuse and legal controversies, although none of them dissuaded him from running and winning a seat on the council. He was accused of an impaired-driving conviction in 1999, a possession-of-marijuana charge in 2006, a conflict of interest case for using office stationery in exchange for funds, and repeated signs of alcohol addiction.

How did the crack cocaine video surface?

Ford was elected to office in 2010. Although his troubled history with substances and alcohol was well-known, matters reached a saturation point in 2013 when Robyn Doolittle of The Toronto Star received a call from a source claiming to have a video of Ford smoking crack cocaine.

Although he initially denied the allegations, he was ultimately forced into confessing the truth when the police claimed to have recovered the video during a massive gun smuggling raid.

Here's what followed

Following this scandal, videos emerged of Ford ranting about wanting to kill a person, calling the police chief a derogatory name, and imitating a Jamaican accent. The city council stripped Ford of most of his power and funds in November of that year. He finally stepped down on November 30, 2014, by making a public statement that read, “I have tried to deal with these issues by myself over the past year. I know that I need professional help and I am now 100% committed to getting myself right. I have a problem with alcohol, and the choices I have made while under the influence."

Soon after he was diagnosed with an aggressive form of cancer called liposarcoma and underwent chemotherapy for the same. He ran for mayor again and won by a landslide number two years later but lost his life in March 2016 to cancer, 18 months after his initial diagnosis.

A Netflix documentary on the subject called Trainwreck: Mayor of Mayhem was released on June 17.

– By Stuti Gupta

ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Sumanti Sen
Sumanti Sen covers everything that’s happening in the US, from politics to entertainment, but her expertise lies in covering crime news. She has comprehensively chronicled the Idaho student murders, the Laken Riley and Iryna Zarutska cases, and the killing of Charlie Kirk, among other incidents. Over the years, she has interviewed several victims/families of victims of crimes seeking justice. She digs up stories that might otherwise remain unheard, and does her bit to ensure that victims and survivors’ voices are heard. Sumanti’s many years of experience also include interviews with Hamas attack survivors and mental health experts, among others. Her coverage of the October 7 Hamas attack on Israel and interviews with survivors of the tragedy, coupled with her other works including the Titan submersible coverage, earned her the Digi Journo of the Quarter award during her first year at Hindustan Times. Sumanti actively tracks missing person cases in the United States, and peruses Reddit and other social media platforms to bring to light cases that frequently elude public attention. She has extensively covered the disappearances of Nancy Guthrie, Thomas Medlin, Beau Mann, and Sudiksha Konanki, among others. When not at work, you will either find her with her novels, or with her beloved rescue pooches.Read More

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