The markets are crashing, the dollar continues to plummet and the price of oil seems to be in free-fall, but what is it that has the Canadian commentariat entranced – well, aside from the latest Duffy minutiae? The fact that Doug Ford may be contemplating the federal Conservative leadership if Stephen Harper fails to win the upcoming election. It kind of makes me want to weep. “Oh, it’ll be hilarious!” the Twitter Machine keeps relaying, but no, it wouldn’t. It would be heartbreaking for what it means to democracy. As we saw with the Rob Ford years in Toronto, and as we’re seeing play out with the Donald Trump primary race in the States, what more rational people see as hilarious and unbelievable is being embraced by a share of the electorate who are disengaged and who believe that all politicians are liars, so they would rather someone who stands up there and “tells it like it is,” never mind that what they’re telling them is completely divorced from reality and also generally false. We are already dealing with an overload of anti-intellectualism in the Canadian discourse (and no, not just from the right-leaning populists – you should see the abuse heaped on the economists who dared to debunk the NDP’s minimum wage proposal earlier in the week). Do we need it compounded on the federal scene by such an individual? While people may treat it like a joke, it’s a legitimate threat. Remember that Rob Ford got elected mayor because the very people who dismiss the Ford brothers can’t seem to grasp that they do strike a chord with voters, and I can’t think of anything more terrifying for the future of federal politics.

On the campaign:

• Stephen Harper announced environmental conservation measures – and then improperly used scouts in uniform as backdrops.
• Neither Thomas Mulcair nor Justin Trudeau had events yesterday.
• Here’s a roundup of other campaign-y things that happened Friday.

Good reads:

• In the Duffy trial, Ben Perrin wrapped up his testimony, where he said he was kept in the dark on the plan for repayment. (Cobb and O’Malley liveblog recap here).
• BuzzFeed digs into the sordid way the government arranged the pardons of those grain farmers who sold wheat illegally, and how they interfered in the process.
• Thomas Mulcair has said the NDP will decriminalise marijuana “the moment we form government,” which contrasts from the Liberal position of legalization.
• The Liberals decided to get into the game of involving the RCMP by asking them and the Information Commissioner to look into texts between Nigel Wright and Ray Novak.
• Oh, and the Liberals have started playing the game of using half of quotes out of context in their attack ads. Sigh.
• Susan Delacourt says that the Duffy trial has put accountability on the agenda for the election more than it did in the entire last parliament.
• Scott Reid recounts the first rule of crisis management – don’t lie.
• Paul Wells notes the absurdities that creep into policy discussions during election campaigns.

Odds and ends:

A Liberal candidate has been sanctioned by Elections Canada for overspending on his nomination race.

Stock photo fun around the images used to promote the adoption tax credit.

The Bank of Canada will issue special commemorative $20 bills to mark the Queen’s record-breaking reign.