Leaders of Canada’s most populous province and a key auto industry center said Friday they needed a stronger hand to deal with President Trump’s plan to impose tariffs on Canadian goods. He said he intended to hold elections as soon as possible.
“If we have a strong mandate, we will be able to fight Donald Trump to make sure the tariffs are blocked,” Ontario’s Conservative Premier Doug Ford said at a press conference Friday.
Mr. Ford has emerged as one of the most powerful political voices defending Canada against Mr. Trump, who claims Canada has an unfair economic advantage over the United States.
“He’s going to try to destroy our country,” Mr. Ford recently told reporters at the US president’s corps.
Ontario’s auto industry is deeply intertwined with the U.S. auto industry, with parts and components going back and forth many times before a vehicle is fully assembled.
The 25% blanket tariff Trump says will go into effect on February 1st will devastate Canada’s economy and province. Up to 500,000 jobs could be lost, Ford said.
Ontario is also a major producer of hydroelectric power that flows across the border and provides energy to New England, but Ford said the province could withhold electricity as a form of retaliation.
“We’re going to go as far as cutting off their energy,” he said recently.
At these potentially dangerous times, in part because Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has decided to step down and make way for a new leader and prime minister, Canada lacks a strong bargaining position at the federal level. That’s a hindrance, Ford said.
“You need a loud voice at the table,” Ford said.
Mr. Ford’s party already has a majority of seats in the Ontario Legislature, but Mr. Ford is hoping to gain more seats for the Conservative Party, making him more active amid the political turmoil with the United States, Canada’s largest trading partner. He suggested that the ability to take action would be strengthened.
“The opposition is treating you with a little more respect instead of putting you in a vulnerable position,” Ford said. The election will be held on February 27, more than a year before the fixed election date of June 2026.
Opposition leaders say an early election is unnecessary because they support Mr. Ford, who will protect the province and country from tariffs.
Ford has been on Fox News and other U.S. cable shows criticizing Trump over tariffs. He also launched a multi-million dollar advertising campaign reminding viewers of Ontario’s energy and mineral contributions to the United States.
Trump reiterated the tariff threat in remarks Thursday to attendees at the Davos Economic Forum in Switzerland, saying the United States doesn’t need Canadian exports such as timber, oil and gas.
“We have something unique,” Trump said.
