Doug Ford, Premier of Ontario, has an automotive aftermarket story.

Speaking at the Automotive Aftermarket Retailers Association “Shift Happens” EV Day event in Mississauga, Ont., Ford presented his customary treatise on lowering taxes and eliminating red tape. He also spoke about the need to focus less on the machinations of the current White House administration, and more on what can be done within the province to grow.

“Ontario’s automotive aftermarket is a key driver for our economy. Your businesses employ hundreds of thousands of people with good jobs that add billions of dollars to our GDP. Your industry and workers prove we have everything we need right here in Ontario to build the strongest, most competitive economy in the G7 by cutting red tape, lowering taxes and fees, and making our province more resilient and self-reliant.”

But Ford also has a long-standing connection to the aftermarket—or at least to John Cochrane, whose Cochrane Automotive continues to be a keystone in Etobicoke’s community–where the Ford family hails from–though Cochrane sold the business some time ago. Cochrane currently serves as the interim executive director of AARO.

It’s a connection that goes back long before politics became Ford’s business, rooted in volunteering together on community initiatives, while Ford was still making his way in the family’s Deco Labels and Tags business.

“I’ve known John and Leah for many years, all the way back to the Rotary Club. It consumed a lot of our life, to say the least.

“What a great team over there [at Cochrane Automotive]. I’ll give you an example of what type of business person John was.

“I went down to Chicago before I ended up going there full time. And we went to a trade show.

“I remember us driving this old white Dynasty, and we went all the way down there and I think the axle gave out, or whatever gave out.

“And we were, yeah, we were kind of stuck in not a friendly neighborhood in Chicago,” he related with a nervous smile. “And so I gave John a call.

“This is what I’m talking about. No one, no one would do this: He sent the tow truck down there. It was probably a 10-hour trip, picked the vehicle up and brought it back.

“And I think he found out it was Chrysler that had a malfunction in it anyways. But that’s the type of person John is.”

Later, over dinner with this writer, John Cochrane filled in some of the blanks. It turns out the axle had pulled out of the transfer case—an aftermarket shaft fractionally shorter than OE, combined with a subframe that had been shifted about an inch from a collision, and a hard-cranked steering wheel with heavy throttle (sounds on brand, right?) pulled the shaft out.

Cochrane says  the tow cost about $2,000 a hefty sum—this was in the 1980s, remember—but as he says, he was taught to always take care of the customer.

And that’s how Doug Ford has an automotive aftermarket story.

The rest of the AARO’s Shift Happens EV days was filled with excellent presentations on bridging the EV gap for business, dispelling myths, and what the future holds. More on that in the upcoming issue of Indie Garage.