Ontario Premier Doug Ford slammed the American owner of Hamilton steelmaker Stelco, saying Wednesday he’s ready to “blast” the company’s CEO for his support of U.S. tariffs on Canadian goods.
Ford was joined by union leaders in the city to announce $70 million for training and employment services for workers laid off due to U.S. tariffs and policies.
Cleveland-Cliffs bought Stelco last year for $3.4 billion Cdn. Since President Donald Trump has taken office and introduced high tariffs, Cleveland-Cliffs and president-CEO Lourenco Goncalves have pushed for more.
Canadian-made steel and aluminum currently face 50 per cent tariffs when entering the U.S.
Speaking inside Stelco union headquarters on Barton Street East, Ford said that while he “loves the workers,” he’s “got a problem” with Goncalves stating he supports tariffs.
“He doesn’t give two hoots about people who work at Stelco when he’s signing all these letters,” the premier said. “Remember that Stelco workers, when the owner comes prancing through your place. He doesn’t support you.”
Ford suggested that Cleveland-Cliffs find a new Stelco owner or that the province should buy it.
“I look forward to getting a phone call from him because he has my number,” Ford said. “I’m going to blast him.”
He then apologized to the audience for getting heated.
“Sorry guys — I get passionate about this because I want to protect our country and province.”
Earlier this week, the U.S. government announced it is hiking steel and aluminum tariffs on more than 400 products, including wind turbines, mobile cranes, appliances and heavy equipment.
Ford said the Canadian government should “hit [Trump] back twice as hard.”
“If you roll over, this guy just keeps beating you and beating you and beating you,” he said.
He also called for changes to the federal government’s tariff-rate quotas on foreign steel imports to help the domestic market and save jobs.
Mayor Andrea Horwath described the tariff expansion as an “underhanded move” that is “devastating news” for Hamilton.
“These new tariffs could potentially have a catastrophic impact on our city’s workers, manufacturers and families if they remain in place,” Horwath said in a statement on social media Wednesday.
“Cross-border trade keeps our factories running and our economy moving. This decision threatens both.”
For his part, Goncalves applauded the tariffs and thanked Trump.
“Today’s action taken by the secretary of commerce gives us certainty that the American domestic market will not be undercut by unfairly traded steel embedded in derivative products,” he said in a statement Monday. “That allows us to continue to invest in our [U.S.] stainless steel operations.”
Stelco’s union and Cleveland-Cliffs did not respond to requests for comment before publication.
