I had some fun last fall comparing the elections of Naheed Nenshi in Calgary and Rob Ford in Toronto. Fairly or unfairly, it appears the two will be forever linked. We got yet another example of that this week with the news that Nenshi will become the first Mayor to lead Calgary’s pride parade, after Ford became the first Mayor in over 20 years to skip Toronto’s.

Now, I don’t think anyone should be surprised by Ford’s decision. A lot of Ford’s supporters likely feel he has his priorities straight by choosing the cottage over pride. Still, there were plenty of other Pride Week events Ford could have attended, to show his support for an event which is important to his city and many of the people who live there.

Ford missed an opportunity to expand his base – instead, all he’s done is needlessly fire up his opponents.