The Clara Ford Affair: Race, Rumour, and the Shooting of Frank Westwood

Dark Poutine - True Crime and Dark History

Curiouscast

Documentary, True Crime, Society & Culture, History

4.8 • 2.3K Ratings

🗓️ 5 January 2026

⏱️ 63 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Episode 400: In October 1894, 18-year-old Frank Westwood was shot on the doorstep of his Parkdale home. The killing shocked Toronto and sparked a frantic search for a suspect. Weeks later, a mixed-race tailor named Clara Ford walked into a Toronto police station and was quickly accused of the murder. With no weapon, no motive, and a disputed confession, her trial exposed deep racial bias and divided the city. This episode looks at Clara’s life, the investigation that targeted her, and the aftermath of the trial that captivated Canada’s largest city. Episode Sources:Clara at the Door with a Revolver — Carolyn Whitzman (UBC Press, 2023)Toronto Public Library – Digitized Toronto newspapersNewspapers.com – Historical Toronto press coverageCity of Toronto ArchivesArchives of Ontario – Mercer Reformatory & judicial recordsRace on Trial: Black Defendants in Ontario’s Criminal Courts, 1858–1958 — Barrington WalkerAfua Cooper – Black Canadian history resourcesDEWART, HERBERT HARTLEY – Dictionary of Canadian BiographyJOHNSTON, EBENEZER FORSYTH BLACKIE – Dictionary of Canadian BiographyDeath in the Queen City: Clara Ford on Trial, 1895 By Parick BrodeA blood-drinking monster? When this Toronto woman was accused of murder, the newspapers of 1894 went wildA sensational Toronto murder from 1894 – Bill Gladstone GenealogyTranscript: The Story of a Black Woman Accused of Murder in 1894 | Feb 15, 2023 | TVO TodayInterview: Carolyn Whitzman on the archival story behind novel Clara at the Door – MOBA Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0	Hey, Mike here. I just wanted to let you know that you can listen to Dark Poutine early and ad-free on Amazon music, included with Prime.
0:17.8	Welcome back to Dark Poutine. Oh my gosh, Matthew. It's 2026. New Year, new me. A new year, new us. We have flying cars. We have time travel. It's amazing here in 2026. May all your problems last as long as your new year's resolutions. Yeah, about 15 minutes. Yeah, I remember when I was
0:41.6	trying to quit smoking in 1998. I eventually did later in January. I think it was January 22nd,
0:48.1	1998, I quit smoking. Holy smokes. I was literally smoking like five minutes after kicking nicotine is a difficult thing oh my gosh
0:58.7	yeah you know about that one that's a that's a rough one stupid gum i that's how i quit actually
1:05.5	was chewing that gum and i smelled like a fruity Nicorette for a long time.
1:12.2	Oh, well.
1:13.1	I bet I smell more like a fruity nicorette.
1:16.3	Well, you know, such as life.
1:20.7	But happy New Year, folks.
1:22.0	And let's get on with episode 400.
1:24.7	I can't believe this is our 400th episode.
1:27.3	And gosh, you've hit me with a wallop-y one first thing in the new year, Mike.
1:31.5	Yeah, I dug in deep for this one.
1:33.7	It's one that's been on my radar for a while.
1:36.8	It's something I've been wrestling with lately personally.
1:40.2	I'll get into that at the halftime of the show.
1:42.4	But the timing on this one is just incredible. Oh, good. I like when that happens. Yeah. A little bit of serendipity. Serendipity. Yes, exactly. I don't know who. Who's a seradipity person? You know, I recently watched for the other podcasts. I did the two older Pure Gold Movie podcast. I watched when Harry
2:01.4	met Sally. And I love the, there's too much pepper in my popper gosh. Oh boy.
2:08.0	Anyway, with that, let's get on. Okay. The views, information, and opinions expressed during
2:14.1	the dark routine podcast are solely those of the producer and do not necessarily represent
2:20.1	those of Curiouscast, its affiliate, Global News, nor their parent company, Chorus Entertainment.
	...

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