Doug Ford stirs up provincial politics speculation with Queen's Park meeting

An informal meeting with a prominent Tory MPP is leading to questions about former Toronto Coun.Doug Ford making a run at provincial politics.

Ford met with Nepean-Carlton MPP Lisa MacLeod at her Queen's Park office Tuesday afternoon. A source within the Progressive Conservative Party told CBC News thepair were just "having coffee."

Ford expressed surprise that reporters were waiting to speak to him at the legislature.

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"Somehow this got blown out of proportion," Ford said. The purpose of the meeting was just to have a coffee with his friend MacLeod, he said.

PC Leader Patrick Brown said party headquarters told him there is no meeting scheduled with Ford. The Ford family's political base the so-called Ford Nation is in Etobicoke, and Brown said he was surprised to hear the former city councillor is interested in the vacantScarborough-Rouge River seat.

"It will be an open nomination and I understand there is more interest than we've ever seen before," Brown said. "I think there's 10 or 15 candidates expressing interest. Doug has expressed interest in Etobicoke before, but this is the first I've heard of Scarborough.I checked with headquarters and he hasn't expressed an interest to them either."

Brown said more than 10 people have expressed an interest in running inScarboroughRouge-River.

Last year, Ford endorsed Christine Elliott in the PC leadership race which he had also at one point considered joining.

The seat for Scarborough-Rouge River was left empty late last month after Liberal MPP Bas Balkissoon abruptly resigned.