Rob Ford will formally endorse Stephen Harper later tonight at a Conservative Party event. Although he went on record earlier on in the campaign saying that he wouldn't endorse "any leader or any party," apparently he's had a change of heart. His choice of party doesn't come as much of surprise, but the timing is at least a little odd. Late campaign endorsements aren't rare, but given the explanation offered by the mayor's press secretary, one wonders why he didn't throw his support behind Harper sooner.

"It's coming down to the wire in terms of the election and the Conservative platform and the message that Prime Minister Harper has been giving, lower taxes, is very important to the City of Toronto, particularly on the corporate tax side. We need to create jobs here and have a competitive tax environment," said Adrienne Batra of Ford's decision.

I guess the counter argument would be, higher federal taxes might free up funds for investment in desperately needed urban infrastructure like, I don't know, a certain subway line along Shepard Avenue. Just a thought.