Toronto Coun. Rob Ford is endorsing Progressive Conservative MPP Monte McNaughton in his bid to become the provincial party's next leader.
The former mayor made the surprise endorsement on Friday.
"I'm supporting Monte McNaughton because he's a family man -- he's the conservative in the PC leadership race," Ford said about the two-term Lambton-Kent-Middlesex MPP in a statement Friday afternoon. "He will help the little guy and defend the taxpayer."
Ford's endorsement came as a surprise given his brother, former councillor Doug Ford, has publicly thrown his support behind the leadership campaign of MPP Christine Elliott. The older Ford said he was supporting Elliott, the wife of late finance minister Jim Flaherty, last November after announcing he was not joining the Ontario PC leadership race himself.
Doug Ford, who unsuccessfully ran against Mayor John Tory last fall in the municipal election, previously described Elliott as being an "extremely, extremely bright individual" who can "drive (the) province forward."
Elliott and McNaughton are running against a number of other declared candidates including MPP Lisa MacLeod.
Meanwhile, Rob Ford has finished his chemotherapy treatment and is expected to begin radiation next month.
Ford has undergone five rounds of chemotherapy since he was diagnosed last fall with a rare and aggressive cancer in his abdomen.
