Premier Doug Ford’s campaign manager is recovering at home after crashing his vintage Ferrari near Ottawa, the Star has learned.
Kory Teneycke, who recently purchased the red 1988 Ferrari 328 GTS, suffered minor injuries in the midday accident on April 13 when he was hit by a new Chevrolet Silverado pickup truck.
“We were just going to lunch, it’s so mundane, but luckily it wasn’t serious,” Teneycke said in an interview Saturday.
“I’m at fault. I went into the intersection and I am getting a ticket for running a red light. They haven’t felt it to me yet, so I don’t know what the fine will be,” the veteran political operative said.
“There’s no dispute. I went through the red light,” he said.
“I thought I was fine. I hit my head. But I went to the hospital in Ottawa the next day because I was feeling a bit nauseous and they did a CT scan. It turns out I had a minor concussion. But I feel totally fine now.”
The accident happened on the Quebec side of the Champlain Bridge connecting Ottawa with Gatineau, about five kilometers west of Parliament Hill.
It’s a three-lane bridge, featuring one reversible lane that switches directions depending on the time of day to alleviate rush hour traffic.
“So it’s like Jarvis Street (in Toronto). I saw the green light (indicating the lane was open) and not the red light at the intersection,” said Teneycke, explaining why he ran the light.
“It was a very low-speed crash because I rolled into the intersection and the car is very low to the ground.”
Teneycke bought the 34-year-old midengine sports car earlier this year at an American online auction site for $88,000.
“It’s been a dream car of mine since I was a kid. It’s a Magnum PI Ferrari and it’s awesome,” he said, referring to the popular 1980-1988 TV series starring Tom Selleck as a Hawaii private investigator.
“But it’s probably worth less than the truck that hit it and it cost a lot less than a Tesla or a Suburban.”
Dash camera footage shared by another motorist with Teneycke, which he provided to Star when contacted Saturday, confirmed his account of the accident.
“For the truck that hit me, it was a fender bender. It just rolled over it like a monster truck.”
But the low-slung Italian sports car suffered significant damage. A photo Teneycke took immediately after suggests an expensive repair is looming — and that he dodged serious injuries.
“I know I’m very lucky that I hadn’t gone farther into the intersection. Stuff can always be replaced or repaired.”
The accident comes against the backdrop of the June 2 Ontario election campaign, which officially kicks off a week from Wednesday.
As the Progressive Conservatives’ campaign manager, Teneycke, a former director of communications to Prime Minister Stephen Harper, is instrumental to Ford’s re-election chances.
Almost a year ago, the premier asked the prominent lobbyist to take a hiatus from his firm, Rubicon Strategy, to guide the campaign. (In the past, Rubicon has acted for Torstar, parent company of the Toronto Star, on Parliament Hill.)
Teneycke, whose salary is paid by the PC Party, was one of the strategists who urged Ford to shake up his cabinet last June after some poor pandemic decisions earlier in 2021.
After that sweeping shuffle of ministers, the premier then mandated COVID-19 vaccinations for all Conservative candidates last summer — and parted ways with Tory MPPs who refused to get their shots.
It was left to Teneycke warn those on the fence to get their injection or face ejection.
His blunt style has ruffled the feathers of some cabinet ministers, who have privately complained to the Star that he has too much power, though even his detractors concede he is very effective.
The general no-nonsense campaign was also key to Ford’s surprise win over front-runner Christine Elliott in the March 2018 Tory leadership contest.
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