Ontario Premier Doug Ford says he would like to see his fellow premiers and Prime Minister Mark Carney be “a little more vocal” in the face of U.S. President Donald Trump’s latest tariff threat.
As the premiers gathered in Charlottetown this week, Ford was the most aggressive in condemning Trump’s move to impose 50 per cent tariffs on dozens of Canadian goods which are set to be enforced next month.
The Ontario premier told CBC’s Power & Politics that he would like the others and Carney to step up their rhetoric.
“We need a Team Canada approach led by the prime minister and if he doesn’t want to lead it with the other other premiers, then I can’t do it alone. I feel some days that I’m standing alone protecting Canada and I need everyone else to get onside,” Ford told host David Cochrane.
When asked to elaborate, Ford said “everyone should be out there being a little more vocal.”
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As he has during much of Trump’s second term, Ford came out swinging on Tuesday and reiterated calls for Canada to cut off energy exports to the U.S.
“We are an energy powerhouse and we could dismantle the U.S. if we wanted to,” he told reporters.
But other premiers didn’t go as far as Ford — or rejected the idea altogether.
New Brunswick Premier Susan Holt said leveraging energy is something premiers have talked about, suggesting it’s one of several tools Canada could use “should we need them.”
Alberta’s Danielle Smith said point blank that withholding energy is “not going to happen.”
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Saskatchewan Premier Scott Moe also flatly rejected the idea of using potash and energy as a leverage point and Quebec Premier Christine Fréchette said she’s “not there.”
Ford told Cochrane he thinks nothing should be ruled out.
“I say everything’s on the table. You have to negotiate through strength, not weakness and that’s the only thing that President Trump respects,” he said.
Ontario would be one of the harder hit provinces if the 50 per cent duties go through.
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Despite his suggestions that others take a stronger stance, Ford rejected the idea that a Team Canada approach is fraying.
“Make no mistake about it. We all get along very, very well,” he said.
The premier said it will be “critical” for Carney to lead Team Canada and come up with a plan to respond to Trump’s latest threat.
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“That’s gonna be up to the prime minister to bring all the premiers onside and I just believe in negotiating through strength. That’s what we need to do,” he said.
Carney will be meeting with the premiers on Thursday, though Ford said he doesn’t expect the prime minister to have a fully flushed out plan by then.
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Carney spoke with Trump after the president announced his new swath of tariffs. The prime minister said the two agreed to “intensify negotiations in the coming weeks.”
A deadline for the three countries that make up the Canada-U.S.-Mexico Agreement (CUSMA) to declare their wish to extend the trade agreement passed earlier this month. The U.S. opted not to immediately renew the agreement, triggering rolling reviews until 2036.
Ford said he doesn’t want those negotiations “dragged out” — but Greer said earlier Wednesday that he’s hopeful “options” for a renewed agreement would be hammered out “before the end of the year.”
The new 50 per cent tariffs are slated to come into force on Aug. 19.
