Ontario Premier Doug Ford said Canada’s premiers must unify in the face of looming U.S. tariffs and Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland’s surprise resignation.
“Today has been an important reminder of how critical it is that premiers work together. No matter what’s happening (in) Ottawa, all of us premiers will remain united as ‘Team Canada’ to provide steady and stable leadership during these uncertain times,” said Ford after chairing the premiers meeting on Monday.
Public Safety Minister Dominic LeBlanc was quickly sworn in on Monday to take over Freeland’s role as Finance Minister.
Her resignation comes as the premiers gathered to brainstorm how best to deal with U.S. President-elect Donald Trump’s proposed 25% tariffs on all Canadian imports once he takes office in January.
The tariffs are punitive measures against both Canada and Mexico in response to what Trump called a lax attitude towards illegal border crossings and the entry of illicit drugs like fentanyl into the U.S..
“The imposition of tariffs by the U.S. would be a significant failure on the part of the federal government. To protect workers, we need a full ‘Team Canada’ approach,” said Ford.
“That means that the federal government needs to do better engaging with premiers as it deals with the threat of tariffs with regular meetings with the prime minister and whoever is on his team that takes a role on U.S. relations.”
Ford went on to say that a strategy to boost NATO spending must be formed as soon as possible if Canada plans on meeting the 2% GDP requirement as another avenue to increase border protection.
The Ontario premier acknowledged that while his peers have been briefed on the Trudeau government’s plan to strengthen Canada’s borders, they have yet to see concrete details about how and when it will be implemented.
When asked if he had confidence in Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s ability to deal with Trump during a trade dispute, Ford said he would provide support to his counterparts, saying that everybody would be “at the table.”
Ford had previously announced that he was prepared to cut power off to the 1.5 million homes south of the border that rely on Ontario-made energy as a retaliatory measure for the tariffs.
However, both Alberta Premier Danielle Smith and Quebec Premier Francois Legault publicly expressed their discontent with his proposed action.
“If it comes to Alberta or Quebec, that is their choice. They believe in diplomacy, good luck,” said Ford in response.
Additionally, the Ontario premier threatened to restrict the LCBO from purchasing American-made alcohol.
He also said he may halt the exporting of critical minerals to the U.S., effectively removing them from the provincial procurement process.
Ford will travel to Washington, D.C. in February, along with all the other premiers after Trump takes office to further negotiate things.
The premier also confirmed that he has been in contact with Freeland since her resignation announcement, telling reporters that he and the other premiers were concerned about the news.
In a letter to Trudeau posted on social media Monday morning, Freeland said rather than be shuffled to another cabinet position she will be resigning, claiming she and Trudeau have been “at odds about the best path forward for Canada.”
Freeland, who has served in the position since 2020, said she will be staying in caucus as a member of Parliament and seeking re-election.
