The Slatest

Former Toronto Mayor Rob Ford Dies at Age 46

Rob Ford in Toronto on April 17, 2014.

Geoff Robins/AFP/Getty Images

Former Toronto mayor Rob Ford has died, his family says:

Ford was diagnosed with cancer in September 2014. The conservative mayor made international headlines in 2013 when reports emerged that he’d been filmed smoking crack; he later admitted that he had, in fact, smoked crack. (The video was never published.) Unbelievably, Ford continued on to serve the rest of his term as mayor, though the Toronto City Council stripped him of some powers. He was running for re-election when he became ill. From the Toronto Globe and Mail:

Mr. Ford had been diagnosed with pleomorphic liposarcoma, a rare form of soft-tissue cancer, in September of 2014, amid a heated re-election battle. The illness forced him to withdraw his candidacy for a second term to focus on cancer treatments.

Ford was, however, elected in 2014 to a City Council seat and served until his death.