In real estate, there’s curb appeal — and an appeal to curb the aggressive sales pitch.
The Etobicoke realtor selling Premier Doug Ford’s house has been asked to stop using his name and photograph in his advertisements.
Real estate agent Monica Thapar distributed thousands of flyers around Toronto boasting that “we just listed Premier Doug Ford’s home in Princess Anne Manor!”
Along with a picture of the house, there is a snapshot of the premier and his wife, Karla Ford, apparently signing some documents in their dining room beneath a headline: “Moving Ontario!”
Clutching a maple leaf, a cartoon version of Thapar sports a yellow T-shirt emblazoned with the slogan: “Agent to the Premier!”
After the Star inquired with Ford’s office Tuesday about the pamphlet, the realtor was told to cease the leaflet blitz.
“The premier did not authorize the ad and has instructed the real estate agent to remove it immediately,” said Ivana Yelich, his executive director of media relations.
Reached by phone, Thapar was reluctant to comment.
“Can I just call you back? I’m getting on an elevator,” she said at 9:34 am
But she did not ring back. Hours later, after a followup email from the Star seeking comment, she replied, “please email me what you were calling about,” but she did not respond to detailed questions by the afternoon.
Sources close to the family say the house, which has not yet been listed on MLS, will officially go up for sale next month. The asking price was not available, but its assessed value for property tax purposes is $1.84 million.
Insiders say the Fords, who have four adult daughters, will be moving nearby.
Property records show the couple bought the house — on a 63.85 feet by 120.47 feet lot — on July 30, 1998 for $535,000.
Over the past two years, protesters rallying against COVID-19 vaccines and lockdown measures have frequently demonstrated outside of the family’s home.
Last June, a 44-year-old man with a butcher’s knife was disarmed by an Ontario Provincial Police officer on the Fords’ doorstep. They were not at home at the time.
George Niras, a former Caledon mayoral candidate, was charged with one count of possession of a weapon and 11 counts of mischief after neighbors reported their tires were slashed.
One neighbour, speaking confidentially in order to discuss local matters, said an agitated man was yelling threats at the premier’s front door before the OPP officer, a member of Ford’s security detail, disarmed him.
The resident noted there is frequently a circus-like atmosphere on the street because of the protests.
“They’re anti-lockdown, they’re anti-vax, they’re anti-everything. One guy even had a ‘No 5G’ sign. This is the bottom of the barrel,” he said earlier this year.
“There are cops here all the time and they’ve installed CCTV (closed circuit television cameras) on a telephone pole right in front of (Ford’s) house.”
Last fall, the premier urged demonstrators to take their grievances to Queen’s Park or city hall, where such rallies are usually held.
“I’m asking the protesters (that) show up to my house every Saturday morning. This is not about me. I’m out of there, I’m not there … my neighbors, they’re frustrated,” Ford said in October.
“They didn’t sign up for this… I signed up to be the premier.”
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