Rob Ford, the controversial former Toronto mayor who was serving on the city council, has died after a battle with a rare cancer. He was only 46.
Concerns about Ford’s health had reached new heights in recent days. On Monday, chief of staff Dan Jacobs confirmed that he was placed in palliative care at Mount Sinai Hospital in Toronto, reports USA Today. Last week, Jacobs said that he wasn’t responding to chemotherapy treatments for a cancer that began in his abdomen. Last year, it came back in his bladder.
His family told the Associated Press that Ford died today.
Ford became known outside Canada and around the world in 2013 due to his outrageous behavior, including his admission that he used crack cocaine and appeared drunk in public. He initially refused to resign as mayor, but his powers were stripped.
Ford even tried to run for a second term as mayor, but was forced to withdraw after he announced that he was diagnosed with liposarcoma, a cancer that grows in fat cells. He did win back his old Toronto City Council seat though.
According to the Toronto Star, Ford is survived by his wife Renata and their two young children.