Ontario Premier Doug Ford made a series of appearances on U.S. television on Tuesday where he conceded that it is time to turn down the temperature after “things got a little heated” and a “little personal” with U.S. President Donald Trump one day prior.
Ford joined CNN, Fox Business, ABC, Bloomberg TV, and CBS News for interviews in which he appeared to tone down his rhetoric, one day after he called Trump a “loser,” a “dictator” and the “king of bankruptcies” during a press conference in Hamilton.
The war of words between Trump and Ford erupted after the premier appeared on The Morning Rush with Bill Carroll in Ottawa and said that Trump could “kiss my ass” after the U.S. president vowed to increase tariffs to 50 per cent on all Canadian cars, trucks, automotive parts, and steel on New Year’s Day.
Trump, for his part, called Ford the “the less charismatic, intelligent, and overall unimpressive brother of the late, great, Rob Ford” in a post on Truth Social.
“I think so. Things got a little heated, it got a little personal yesterday between the president and myself but I want to make a deal, a good deal for the American people and a good deal for the Canadians,” Ford said when asked by CNN’s Wolf Blitzer whether it was time to turn down the temperature in his war of words with Trump. “It’s time to get back to the table and let’s negotiate a fair deal because it is hurting the U.S., it is hurting Canada.”
Ford says comments didn’t go too far
Ford’s personal attacks directed at Trump on Monday came after he was asked to respond to Trump’s Truth Social post, in which the U.S. President also referred to Prime Minister Mark Carney and the Ontario premier as “Governor Carney and his flunky, Ford.”
Trump appeared to set his eyes on Ontario again on Tuesday morning, saying in another Truth Social post that the U.S. was “giving serious consideration” to changing the name of Lake Ontario to Lake America since “we don’t expect to doing much business with Ontario any longer.”
While Ford did appear to move away from personal criticism of Trump during his televised appearances, he may not be walking back Monday’s rhetoric entirely.
Leaving his office at Queen’s Park on Tuesday, Ford was asked whether he went too far and replied “not at all.”
Ford did not take further questions from reporters.
In his appearance on CNN, Ford said that it’s “time to get back to the table” and negotiate “a fair deal” to end the trade war with the U.S.
He then called Trump’s threats to stop doing business with Ontario “a lot of rhetoric,” noting that the province is America’s third largest trading partner globally.
“I do not understand why he wants to attack Canada non-stop. We are their closest friends and allies,” he said. “And make no mistake about it: Canadians still love the American people, they love the U.S. They don’t see eye-to-eye with the president by any means but they love the American people and I do as well.”
Ford told reporters on Monday that he has “more brains in my baby toe” than Trump has “in his whole body.”
He then added: “I don’t like the guy. Simple.”
That rhetoric was absent from his U.S. media appearances on Tuesday, however.
In his appearance on Fox Business, Ford also admitted that “things got a little heated” between him and Trump before shifting his focus to the impact that tariffs will have on American workers.
“I feel bad for the autoworkers of Michigan, Ohio, Texas and Kentucky that are going to lose their jobs because we buy 400 per cent more autos (from the U.S.) than any country in the entire world,” he said.
Later in the day, Ford told ABC’s Kyra Phillips that he is not interested in making the dispute between the two countries “personal” and instead wants to “sign a deal and make sure both countries thrive.”
The premier was also asked about his “conciliatory tone” during his interview with Bloomberg TV on Tuesday afternoon.
“Did something happen overnight? Did you get a phone call, or did you just wake up feeling that way?” host Joe Mathieu asked.
“No,” Ford replied. “It got heated yesterday, but let’s move on. That’s all part of going back and forth, but it got carried away, and I’m not innocent by any means. But I’m going to take a different approach. I’m going to move forward.”
Ford open to reintroducing electricity surcharge
Meanwhile, when asked about whether he was considering cutting off electricity Ontario is sending to the U.S., Ford said, “I wouldn’t say ‘cut if off,’ but surcharge for sure.”
Ontario first imposed an electricity surcharge in March 2025 in response to Trump’s tariffs, but the tax was later suspended.
“It doesn’t make sense to the Ontario people that when we’re under attack economically, that we’d be sending electricity down to companies and residents to keep their power going,” Ford said.
He also reiterated that American booze will be back on Ontario store shelves once Canada and the U.S. have a “fair” deal.
“I’d put the booze back on the shelves, and in a heartbeat if we had a fair deal and I’ve been saying that over and over again,” the premier said.
Ford’s U.S. media blitz on Tuesday coincided with an announcement by federal officials detailing new dollar-for-dollar tariffs on 700 different American products.
Federal Finance Minister François-Philippe Champagne was asked during that press conference whether anyone in the federal government asked Ford to tone down his rhetoric.
However, he told reporters that he has learned “not to comment on every remark that is being made on either side of the border.”
“My job, our job here this morning is to fight for Canada, is to fight for workers, is to fight for industries, is to bring the support to make sure we give them a bridge when we have more stability in our economy and certainty in specific sectors affected by the U.S. tariffs,” he said. “That is what Canadians are expecting from us.”
Ford sends memo to cabinet ministers
On Tuesday, Ford sent a memo to provincial board chairs and cabinet ministers, reminding them of the government’s “Buy Ontario” policies and encouraging them to “go even further where possible.”
Ford wrote, “it’s more important than ever that we all look for ways to support local businesses and producers so we can keep our workers on the job and keep our businesses open.”
In the memo, which was shared by the premier’s office, Ford urged the minister and chairs to “closely review” their supply chains and planned procurements and look for ways to do business with domestic partners instead of the U.S.
“Our government’s Buy Ontario policies are a floor, not a ceiling. By ensuring as much of this spending as possible is directed to Ontario and Canadian businesses, we can make the difference for a company that might otherwise be forced to close its doors or lay off employees as a result of these tariffs,” Ford wrote.
With files from CP24’s Bryann Aguilar
