Ontario Premier Doug Ford said Tuesday that U.S. president-elect Donald Trump’s threat to slap a 25 per cent tariff on all Canadian goods is “like a family member stabbing you right in the heart.”
“It’s the biggest threat we’ve ever seen … It’s unfortunate, its very, very hurtful to Canadians and Americans on both sides,” Ford said to media at Queen’s Park.
Ford stressed the roughly $500 billion in annual trade between Ontario and the U.S. and said, while the tariff would hurt the Canadian economy, it would also wreak havoc on American workers and employers.
Ford said Canada would have “no choice” but to retaliate if the incoming Trump administration went through with the tariff, which would also apply to Mexican goods.
Ford said the province plans to launch a “stronger together” marketing campaign targeting key U.S. states in the coming weeks.
Trump threatened the severe tariff in a post on social media platform Truth Social late Monday.
“This Tariff will remain in effect until such time as Drugs, in particular Fentanyl, and all Illegal Aliens stop this Invasion of our Country!” Trump wrote.
“Both Mexico and Canada have the absolute right and power to easily solve this long simmering problem. We hereby demand that they use this power, and until such time that they do, it is time for them to pay a very big price!”
Ontario ‘particularly at risk,’ economist says
Trump had previously mused about a 10 per cent tariff on Canadian and Mexican goods.
The impact of the escalated tariff could be especially felt in Ontario, which, if it were a country, would be the U.S.’s third-largest trading partner. Two-way trade between Ontario and the U.S. totalled $493 billion in 2023, according to the province. Ontario was the top destination for exports for 17 states, and the second-largest for 11 other states.
“Ontario is particularly at risk,” said Randall Bartlett, senior director of Canadian economics at Desjardins, noting the province’s auto manufacturing sector is deeply integrated with the American economy. Some parts for vehicles cross the Canada-U.S. border up to eight times before final assembly.
Bartlett said some economists believe crude oil and refined petroleum products may be exempted from the tariff, given it would significantly increase the price of gasoline in some regions of the U.S. Canada’s auto manufacturing sector is the largest non-energy export sector, and Ontario accounts for the bulk of that trade.
Desjardin had forecasted a 10 per cent tariff could decrease Canada’s GDP by a full percentage point and put the economy “right on the line” of recession,” Bartlett said. At 25 per cent, such a policy would have “very large and negative implications” for Canada, he said.
“Particularly if its only applied to Canada and Mexico and not to other countries, which would allow U.S. companies to start importing from other countries and substituting away from Canada,” he told CBC Toronto.
Ford wants plan for border crackdown
In his remarks Tuesday, Ford said governments at all levels in Canada have heard Trump’s message about the border “loud and clear.”
“The threat is serious. We need to do better on our borders. We need to give resources to [the Canada Border Services Agency],” he said, adding that illegal drugs, firearms and migrants make their way from the U.S. to Canada.
“We have to tighten our borders on both sides,” he said.
U.S. president-elect Donald Trump announced plans to add a 25 per cent tariff to goods crossing into the country from Canada and Mexico. In response, Premier Doug Ford called the move “insulting” and said Prime Minister Trudeau has agreed to meet with him about the levy.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said Tuesday he would convene a meeting with provincial and territorial leaders at 5 p.m. ET Wednesday to discuss a co-ordinated response.
Trudeau spoke to Trump on the phone late Monday, and also held calls with Ford and Quebec Premier François Legault.
In recent weeks, Ford has publicly advocated for a bilateral trade deal with the U.S. that would exclude Mexico before the scheduled review of the Canada-United States-Mexico Agreement in 2026.
Ford has accused Mexico of serving as “a back door for Chinese cars, auto parts and other products” entering the North American market.
On Tuesday, Ford said he was insulted that Trump would lump Canada and Mexico together in his tariff policy.
“I want to emphasize, to compare us to Mexico is the most insulting thing I have ever heard from our friends and closest allies, the United States of America,” Ford told reporters, adding that the flow of illicit narcotics and migrants from the U.S.’s southern border is exponentially larger than the Canada-U.S. border.
“We want to work together, we will work together, and resolve this problem,” he said.