The former mayor of Toronto, Rob Ford, has lost his battle with cancer and died. He was 46.
Ford, who struggled with drug and alcohol addictions in the past, was diagnosed with cancer in 2014, just a year after he controversially admitted to smoking crack cocaine in 2013. Still, he was a local favorite, and was enthusiastically supported by natives, who elected him to city council after his final term as mayor ended in 2014 in a not-so-close race.
Ford’s popularity wasn’t just due to his perseverance through his personal struggles. He was a staple of Toronto nightlife, and was routinely seen out drunk in public places. Most infamously, he showed up to a city council hearing this past July–his first public appearance since a major cancer-related surgery–in a bright red track suit, denouncing his mayoral successor, complaining about the different ways he’s neglected to serve the city of Toronto. “To be quite frank, you can’t respect the mayor.”
Ford is survived by his wife, Renata, and his children Stephanie and Doug.