Ontario election: Ford under fire over partisan visits to Washington, D.C. [Video]

On the first day of a snap election campaign, Ontario’s Progressive Conservative Party launched a new commercial laying out how the campaign could blur the lines between political party and government.

“When we know trouble is headed our way, we need a fighter — someone who protects us, our jobs and our family,” a party voiceover proclaims. “That’s Premier Doug Ford.”

It’s part of a strategy from the Progressive Conservatives that will see Ford head to Washington, D.C., twice over the next month — trying to campaign as party leader while projecting the image of a working premier at the same time.

While the party attempts to straddle the line, Ontario’s top civil servant has instructed Ford and cabinet ministers to avoid taking part in events that risk trampling on “conventions traditionally followed during an election period.”

The caretaker convention, invoked when the Ontario legislature is dissolved to ensure the seamless continuity of government, allows …