Ontario Premier Doug Ford says his U.S counterparts are concerned about a drop in tourism from Canadians, telling him that President Donald Trump’s comments about making Canada the 51st state were insulting to Canada.
“Well, as we talk to the governors, a lot of governors are saying it’s insulting, it’s insulting to your closest friend and allies,” Ford told CNN in an interview Monday morning.
“We love the U.S. I love the U.S. Canadians love Americans. There’s one person that is causing this issue, and that’s President Trump. Hopefully he’ll take another avenue and start mending fences, because right now, as the governors told us here, they’ve seen a drastic decline in Canadian tourism.”
Ford’s comments come as he and several other premiers meets with a number of U.S. governors in Boston to discuss trade and tariffs.
Some of the governors, Ford said, are particularly concerned about a sharp drop in tourism from Canadians amid the trade war, which has seen the U.S. impose tariffs on Canadian goods, only to decrease or escalate them with little warning.
Trump has repeatedly called for Canada to become the 51st state and has said that he would use economic coercion in order to encourage the country to do so. Canadian leaders across the political spectrum have flatly rejected the idea as an assault on Canadian sovereignty.
However Ford said warm relations persist between the governors and premiers, despite the rhetoric from the White House.
“It’s a love fest in the room, and there’s a mixture of everyone in the room, and we just want to get things back on track and move forward,” Ford said.
The meeting is being attended by Maine Gov. Janet Mills, Vermont Gov. Phil Scott, Rhode Island Gov. Daniel McKee, Connecticut Gov. Ned Lamont, Massachusetts Gov. Maura Healey, and New York Gov. Kathy Hochul.
Along with Ford, the Canadian delegation includes Newfoundland and Labrador Premier John Hogan, Prince Edward Island Premier Rob Lantz, Nova Scotia Premier Tim Houston, New Brunswick Premier Susan Holt, and Quebec economic minister Christine Fréchette.
The Boston meeting between the governors and premiers comes the same day Prime Minister Mark Carney meets with Trump on the sidelines of the G7-summit in Alberta.
Ford expressed confidence in Carney ahead of the meeting, but said he needs to send a strong message that Trump’s tariffs are hurting both countries.
“I have all the confidence in the world in Prime Minister Carney,” Ford said. “He’ll be obviously very polite being the host, but he also has to be stern.”
He reiterated that it “makes no sense” to attack one of your strongest friends and allies.
“We have to send a message to the rest of the world; there’s certainty here now in these two countries, and come and invest in the U.S. and Canada,” Ford said.
When it comes to his response to the trade war, namely the controversial “special economic zones” for resource extraction in Bill 5, Ford was asked whether his plan strips away First Nations rights in favour of economic growth.
“There’s a few (First Nations) that’s making noise, but the vast majority, you watch, though, they’ll be full steam ahead, and we’re going to work collaboratively with our First Nations communities,” Ford said.
The bill has faced criticism from some First Nations groups over the special economic zones it allows the government to create. The bill gives the government the power to circumvent environmental and other regulations in zones of key economic interest designated by the province.
- With files from CTV News
