I definitely like what I see from Houston. And don't particularly love Ford's non-crisis governance (That he skates on the housing crisis when Ontario's inaction is a huge part of what's driving the the national problem is crazy), but he's a "good man in a storm", and has shown a likeability, flexibility, and teflonish ability to shake off and move forward from mistakes/ scandals that keeps winning him elections.
I'd say it's a title he can justifiably "claim" but a claim that can't be conclusively awarded, if that makes any sense.
But there are some telling/interesting parallels.
Doug Ford was the Conservative answer to 15 years of increasingly unpopular Liberal governance. He met that challenge by winning a convincing majority, driving the Liberals out of party status. He has since won two more majorities, with the Liberal caucus having only grown back to 14 seats. This all happening in the key battleground of left leaning Ontario.