Residents of Ontario have had many bones to pick with Premier Doug Ford lately as we wait out yet another full shutdown and stay-at-home order — both invoked, in many people's eyes, because of his government's mismanagement of the health crisis, even this late in the game.
Social media has been completely buzzing about the man behind the lockdown capital of North America in recent weeks, whether it's regarding the extreme restrictions he just revoked shortly after implementing them, or new calls for the premier to resign.
Ford most recently made news on Wednesday for the fact that he is now isolating after a workplace COVID-19 exposure, and also for another far less grave and more hilarious reason: his choice of cell phone.
“Aides say Ford still uses a BlackBerry Classic phone for calls, texts, and emails, but the device is so old that downloading attachments can be challenging.
— Sean Marshall (@Sean_YYZ) April 21, 2021
The premier is so accustomed to the vintage 2014 smartphone that he has a stack of them and gets refurbished models…” https://t.co/S5APO499RJ
It was an article about the former of the two topics, written by Robert Benzie and Rob Ferguson for the Star, that publicized what many are finding to be a breakthrough revelation.
The leader of the province, Boomer that he is (though admittedly, he falls on the very tail end of that generation), doesn't use the latest iPhone, or even Android device.
Instead, he opts for refurbished Blackberry Classics, an archaic model some may recognize from 2014.
Ford can't use a laptop (he's my age wtf) & uses an old blackberry while getting refurbished phones from a tech shop in Mississauga. Sounds secure. https://t.co/i8g8Pqo8vZ pic.twitter.com/Z1dNoZHP6U
— Jane Daly (@dalybeauty) April 21, 2021
As the reporters write, Ford has been having some technical difficulties adjusting to his new life in quarantine, and was recently outfitted with a laptop that he has to be taught how to use now that he's staying alone in his late mother's home, and not working from his office where tech support is readily available.
"Aides say Ford still uses a BlackBerry Classic phone for calls, texts, and emails, but the device is so old that downloading attachments can be challenging," they continue on to disclose.
"The premier is so accustomed to the vintage 2014 smartphone that he has a stack of them and gets refurbished models from a Mississauga electronics shop for about $150 a pop."
next time i complain about how my slow iphone 8, i'll remind myself that ontario premier doug ford still uses a 2014 blackberry classic. https://t.co/Q8nuc7jNFi
— Aaron Sousa (@JournoSousa) April 21, 2021
This detail about the 56-year-old father of four has gained a ton of traction on social media within just hours of the article going live. Many people are shocked and confused as to how and why anyone in this day and age would have such devotion to such an old model of device — especially someone in a position as powerful as Ford's.
People are drawing comparisons betweeen Ford's passé tech choices and the province's rudimentary and very confusing online vaccine portal (and rollout in general), among other things.
Others are more preoccupied with how he procures and stocks up on the old Blackberries — from a used phone dealer who seems to charge him more than the obsolete technology is worth.
A BLACKBERRY CLASSIC???????
— aʟʏsᴏɴ (@alysonkshave) April 21, 2021
As headline-worthy as this new information seems to be, there are still some who simply aren't all that surprised, given what we know about and have seen from dear old Dougie.
ontarians are shocked to learn that Doug Ford—who projects the confident image of a tech guru zapped into our world from the far future, with an innate mastery of Virtual Reality and all the latest simulators—still uses a 2014 blackberry.
— john. (@johnsemley3000) April 21, 2021
It's just one more bizarre and quirky thing to add to the book of Ford-isms that we've all witnessed over an absolutely surreal thirteen months.
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