Ontario Premier Doug Ford said Canada has to go on “the offence” when it comes to U.S. President Donald Trump’s tariffs.
“We always seem to be on our back heels. We need to be on the offence. Not constantly on the defence with President Trump. We need to stand up to the bully and we need to hit him tariff-to-tariff, all the way across the board,” he said during a media availability in P.E.I. on Tuesday afternoon, where is attending meetings with fellow premiers.
“That’s my message to the prime minister. We need a plan moving forward.”
In 29 days, the U.S. says it will charge a 50 per cent tariff on a wide range of Canadian goods, including some that are covered under the countries’ free trade agreement.
Officials in the U.S. have cited unfair trade practices, including provincial bans on U.S. booze, as justification for the move.
Ford said he would be happy to see the two sides reach a deal in the immediate future but noted that the new round of tariffs will hit Ontario the hardest.
‘Make sure he feels the pain’
“I’m tired of the bully trying to take our lunch money all the time,” Ford said.
“If he continues to constantly bully us, we can’t keep rolling over. We can’t keep backing down. We have to go full tilt. We are an energy powerhouse. We have to utilize every tool we have in the toolbox and make sure he feels the pain.”
He added that the province will not be lifting the ban on U.S. booze on LCBO shelves.
“We have to negotiate through strength, not weakness, and we need to throw everything on the table," Ford said.
“I want to emphasize one more time. It can’t always be Ontario. It has to be a Team Canada approach… We have to be united.”
Toronto mayor calls on ‘economic action team’
In response to Trump’s tariffs, Toronto Mayor Olivia Chow said she is reassembling her economic action team, which includes business and labour leaders who have devised a 10-point plan to combat the impact of the tariffs on Toronto.
Chow says the plan involved the city’s procurement practices, property tax deferrals for affected businesses, and a push to shop locally.
“I will call them back together and look at what else we can do,” Chow said at an unrelated news conference on Tuesday.
With files from CTV News Toronto’s Phil Tsekouras
