Doug Ford was in Hamilton Thursday evening for a event in the downtown core. The Ontario Progressive Conservative leader has been on the defensive after the Liberals released a tape on which Doug Ford appears to be gathering fake conservative memberships for his preferred Etobicoke candidate.

Deputy Premier Deb Matthews says Doug Ford promised to fire any candidate embroiled in nomination irregularities. The candidate in question is Kinga Surma, who was recorded last December at an event that included then PC leader Patrick Brown and Doug Ford. The audio the Liberals released apparently catches Surma and Ford going table to table at Tim Hortons, enlisting new members in 2016.

The PC leader scoffed at the accusations, “Have you ever paid for anyone else’s memberships and were you aware that could violate campaign spending laws? No, again, this goes back almost two years ago, it went through appeals process”

Pina Martino is the candidate who ran against Surma for the riding nomination. She says Doug Ford followed her home to intimidate her.

Another Tory candidate stepped down after his former employer, Highway 407, discovered customer data had been stolen. Police are investigating.

The provincial election is on June 7th, two weeks away.