Rob Ford, the pugnacious, populist former mayor of Toronto whose career crashed in a drug-driven, obscenity-laced debacle, died on Tuesday after fighting cancer, his family says.<br />He was 46.<br />He gained international notoriety after admitting smoking crack cocaine in 2013, but he was loved by supporters.<br />"A dedicated man of the people, Councillor Ford spent his life serving the citizens of Toronto," his family said in a statement.<br />He could not run for re-election as mayor in 2014 due to his cancer diagnosis, he was diagnosed with liposarcoma, and received chemotherapy, but won a city council seat in a landslide result.<br />He had been in palliative care for the past few days and passed away today.
