Ottawa-Outgoing Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau posted a social media post after President-elect Trump mused at Tuesday's Mar-a-Lago press conference about using “economic power” to win Canada as its 51st state. In the media, he reacted by saying, “There is no snowball's chance.'' Hell, Canada becoming part of the US. ”
But Prime Minister Trudeau announced on Monday that he plans to step down as prime minister once his Liberal Party chooses a successor, putting Trump's proposal to annex Canada and plans to impose a 25 per cent tariff on exports from the country to be a priority. The biggest backlash came from the premier of Canada's most populous province, Ontario.
Doug Ford, a former businessman and conservative like Trump who served as Ontario's 26th premier since 2018, said in an interview with Fox News Digital that it would be “insane” for the next president to target Canada. “It's ridiculous,” he said.
He said the bilateral focus should be on what the Canadian government calls almost “strengthening.” trillion dollars A two-way trade relationship that “makes the United States and Canada the richest and most prosperous jurisdictions in the world.”
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Ontario Premier Doug Ford speaks to media members as he arrives for a conference in Ottawa, Canada, February 7, 2023. (James Park/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
At a press conference in Toronto on Monday after Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced his resignation, Ford chided Trump for offering a “counter-proposal” to the idea of making Canada the 51st province.
“Why don't we buy Alaska and throw it in Minnesota?” he said at Queen's Park in the Ontario Legislature.
Mr. Ford jokingly told Fox News Digital that after making those remarks, he heard from Canadians that he should have chosen a warmer place like Florida or California.
“California will never vote for him anyway,” he added.
Ontario's premier said at a press conference on Monday that annexation of Canada “will never happen” “on my watch.”
Ford is also taking President Trump's tariff threat seriously.
President-elect Trump and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau meet before the NATO meeting in Watford, Hertfordshire, England, on December 4, 2019. (AP Photo/Frank Augstein, File)
Last month, his Progressive Conservative government launched a multimillion-dollar campaign touting Ontario as an “ally” to create “more workers, more trade, more prosperity, more security.” has launched a U.S. advertising campaign on TV and streaming apps.
“You can rely on Ontario for the energy that powers our growing economy and the critical minerals needed for new technologies,” the 60-second ad says.
Ford said the 25% tariffs on Canada that President Trump plans to implement on his first day in office, Jan. 20, will hurt millions of U.S. and Canadian workers.
“Nine million Americans produce products every day in Ontario alone,” he said. “The problem is that China is shipping goods to Mexico and Mexico is putting a Made in Mexico sticker on it.”
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Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy will head the Ministry of Government Efficiency. (Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)
Ford, who helped renegotiate the North American Free Trade Agreement during the first Trump administration, said Ontario was prepared to take retaliatory measures in response to U.S. tariffs that would “actually send a message to the United States.” However, Canada currently hopes to enter into separate agreements with the United States and Mexico.
“It's unfortunate because retaliation is not good for either country,” he said, noting that Ontario is the largest exporter to 17 provinces, second only to 11 other provinces.
“I never want to hurt those people,” Ford said. “I want to create more jobs in the United States. I want to create more jobs in Canada. And we can do that by making sure that we tighten tariffs and impose tariffs on countries like China.”
For example, he says: “A person who purchased an Oshawa-made GM pickup truck in Texas [Ontario] He may have paid between $50,000 and $60,000, and with customs duties he would have paid more than $70,000.
“It just doesn't make any sense,” Ford said.
A tractor-trailer crosses the Ambassador Bridge from Windsor, Ontario, to Detroit, Michigan, on February 14, 2022. (Geoff Robins/AFP via Getty Images)
He said he would like to meet directly with President Trump and is in contact with U.S. senators and governors to make that happen. SpaceX and Tesla CEO Elon Musk, whom President Trump has appointed to co-lead the Department of Government Efficiency initiative with former Republican presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy, also met. is also on Ford's wish list.
Ford said Trump “doesn't realize” that Ontario is the nation's third-largest trading partner, with approximately $344 billion “split evenly down the middle” as of 2023. said.
Ontario's premier said he wants to ship more power and critical minerals to the United States, which “needs us as much as we need it.”
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In 2012, President Trump and his late brother Rob, then the mayor of Toronto, met up with President Trump when they visited the city for the opening of the former Trump International Hotel & Tower, which is no longer affiliated with Toronto. I met with my daughter Ivanka. Trump Organization, also known as the St. Regis Toronto.
Mr. Ford, who ran his family's Toronto-based business Deco Labels and Flexible Packaging before entering municipal politics as a city councilor in 2010, described Mr. Trump as a “shrewd businessman.” ” and considers him to be a “smart businessman.”
The president-elect “knows Ontario very well,” the premier said.
“Not a single senator, governor, congressman or businessman has ever said Canada is the problem,” said Mr. Ford, who opened a Deco branch in Chicago in 1999.
He said Trump has not set his sights on other U.S. allies such as Britain or France, but he “wants to target” Canada, America's “closest friend.”
Ontario's premier said, “I'm not sure if it's personal to Prime Minister Trudeau, but Prime Minister Trudeau is in the process of retiring, so I hope we can have better discussions.'' He added that he would consider it. future.
On Monday, President Trump posted: society of truth “The United States can no longer suffer from the huge trade deficits and subsidies that Canada needs to survive.”
Doug Ford campaigns at Cambrian University in Sudbury, northern Ontario, on April 11, 2018. (Steve Russell/Toronto Star)
“Justin Trudeau knows this and he has resigned,” the incoming 47th president of the United States said.
But Mr. Trudeau remains prime minister, and Mr. Ford and the premiers of nine other provinces and three territories are scheduled to meet with Mr. Trudeau in Ottawa next Wednesday to address the Trump tariffs.
Despite resigning as prime minister in the next two months, when the next Liberal leader is expected to be chosen, Trudeau should not think he is done, and Canadian prime ministers are concerned about Canada's security. He will “turn his feet to the fire”. Mr. Ford said he stands ready to respond to any impending punitive trade actions from the Trump administration.
He chairs the Council of the Federation, a group of Canadian prime ministers who prioritize Canada-U.S. relations and promote avoidance of U.S. tariffs. “Priorities” According to a statement released last month.
“Canada and the United States form the world's largest integrated market, valued at more than C$3.5 billion. [about US$2.4 billion] Products and services of value cross borders every day. The United States sells more goods and services to Canada than it sells to China, Japan, and Germany combined. ”
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To allay President Trump's concerns about border security, the Ford administration on Tuesday launched “Operation Deterrence” to crack down on illegal immigration, drugs and guns, the prime minister told Fox News Digital. It is said that 90 per cent of these come into Ontario from the United States.
As for drugs, he said the government is also working with the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) to determine the source of the fentanyl ingredient and whether it comes from “China, Mexico or the United States.”
Prime Minister Trudeau announced his own border security plan last month.
