Ontario’ s premier says he’s “very, very grateful” that Canada has been spared from new U.S. import tariffs.
During a Wednesday evening appearance on ABC News Live Prime with Linsey Davis, Doug Ford said his focus going forward is on “building relationships” and “always communicating” with the U.S. administration.
“That’s what we’ve done, at least myself with (U.S. Commerce) Secretary Lutnick. He’s a very great business mind, along with the President, so we just look forward to a great relationship,” he said.
Ford also told Davis that he was “cautiously optimistic” when he saw that Canada was not on the list of U.S. President Trump’s newly announced import levies, adding that the economic uncertainty caused by the threat of U.S. tariffs has affected people on both sides of the border.
The premier would not say what, if any, retaliatory tariffs from Canada may entail at this point, seeing as how the country appears to be exempt from the new taxes.
He is set to meet with Prime Minister Mark Carney and other premiers on Thursday morning.
“I just want to build a strong Am-Can fortress, American-Canadian fortress, the strongest countries in the world, the safest countries, the most prosperous. That’s what we would like to see and continue on our incredible relationship of over 200 years,” he said.
Ford went on to say that he appreciates the “courage” shown by U.S. Senator Rand Paul, who has said that tariffs on trade between the U.S. and Canada could lead to a recession in America.
“We said right from day one, tariffs on Canada is an attack on Americans,” Ford said, adding that new tariffs imposed on the United States’ “largest customer in the world” will lead to job losses.
“We’re so integrated, our supply chains, not just with auto, but other areas. … I’ve always said, we’re stronger together, not just economically. We share the same values.”
About an hour earlier, Ford appeared on NewsNation to discuss Trump’s tariffs announcement as well as Canada and Mexico’s exclusion from them.
Ford reiterates that best outcome is zero tariffs
Speaking with Chief Washington Correspondent Blake Burman, Ford reiterated that ultimately the best outcome from all of this is zero tariffs between Canada and the United States.
“So I think we’ll have to dig deep into this and sit down with the [U.S.] administration and see exactly what this means,” Ford said, adding middle ground must be found to keep jobs and reduce economic uncertainty.
“We have great trade back and forth. It’s been that way for many years and let’s continue that. Because I feel if we continue tariffing each other it’s not going to be good for either country.”
Ford said he feels that despite some recent disagreements between the two countries there is still room to sit down and negotiate.
Burman noted that Ford has taken on a very different tone from the last time he was on the program discussing tariffs on electricity.
“We didn’t know what was happening. We just kept hearing the 51st state and we’re going to be tariffed. And now the tone has changed on both sides,” he said.
“And again, that goes back to negotiating and good faith, building a relationship that I feel Secretary Lutnick and myself have. We’ll continue sitting down and let’s get a [United States-Canada] deal or a [United States-Mexico-Canada] deal, and give everyone certainty, and you’ll see the markets climb.”
He said if that happens there will be greater investment and greater consumer confidence, “and that that’s what we believe is the right thing to do.”
Ford says Canada could drop retaliatory tariffs if U.S. stops trade war
Earlier today, Ford said he believes that Canada would drop its tariffs on goods south of the border if U.S. President Donald Trump stops his trade war.
He made the comment in an interview with CNBC’s Andrew Ross Sorkin when the host alluded to Canada’s $60 billion in retaliatory tariffs on products imported from the United States.
Ford is currently the chair of Canada’s Council of the Federation of premiers and has participated in bilateral discussions with U.S. officials in the past. However, it should be noted that the tariffs placed on some U.S. goods are ultimately the responsibility of the federal government.
“We’d be willing to take those off tomorrow, if he took all the tariffs off. We are not the problem,” Ford said.
Last month, the U.S. introduced a global 25 per cent tax on all steel and aluminum imports. Before that, Trump imposed a blanket 25 per cent tariff on all goods from Canada and Mexico, but later exempted items that are compliant under the North American free trade pact, although that exemption expired on Wednesday.
Trump has also placed a 25 per cent tax on all imported automobiles, which will start being collected Thursday. However, Ford has indicated that, following a conversation with U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick last week, any car manufactured in Ontario that is made up of at least 50 per cent U.S. parts would not be subject to the duty.
For Ontario’s part, the province has unleashed a number of retaliatory measures, including removing all American-made alcohol from LCBO shelves, banning U.S. companies from government procurement, and imposing, and then rescinding, a 25 tax on electricity sent south of the border.
In his second U.S. media appearance of the day, Ford said while Canadians are “ready to sacrifice” in the face of the escalating trade war, Americans may have not yet felt its full impact.
“I have a tremendous amount of friends in the U.S. and they are kind of going on their merry way until they get hit and they are going to get hit hard based on President Trump continuing to tariff,” Ford told CNN’s Wolf Blitzer.
Ford admitted to Blitzer that “it’s hard to keep up” with the changing nature of Trump’s trade action and the month-to-month changes in the plan, as he pushed for negotiations to continue.
“We need to sit down and do everything we can to have certainty. No one likes uncertainty. People don’t like it. Businesses don’t like it. The market doesn’t like it, and that’s what we’re facing right now, because every single day, something changes,” Ford said.
Toronto Mayor Olivia Chow echoed Ford’s remarks following a meeting of the Great Lakes and St. Lawrence Cities Initiative, which includes members from both sides of the border.
“We are already starting to really push buy Canadian, shop local, and we’ll continue to do that. We are rolling out a series of incentives, and we’re saying to American companies, ‘Sorry, you can’t bid on our contracts anymore,‘” Chow said.
Last week, Toronto City Council approved Chow’s economic action plan to respond to the tariffs, including amending the city’s procurement policy to prioritize Canadian suppliers and limit reliance on U.S.-based goods.
As part of the plan, only Canadian companies will be permitted to bid on city construction projects worth less than $8.8 million. Contracts for goods and services under $353,300 will also be reserved for Canadian suppliers.
