THUNDER BAY — “Do not roll over, hit that guy back as hard as we possibly can.”
That was Doug Ford's message to Prime Minister Mark Carney, firing back at U.S. President Donald Trump’s tariffs during a press conference at Thunder Bay city hall.
“President Trump taking direct aim at our economy; his goal is to take every single business out of our country, out of our province, and bring it down to the U.S. — but I'll tell you, I will fight like I've never fought before. And we're gonna continue fighting against President Trump and his radical views,” Ford said.
Ford was in Thunder Bay announcing the city's second round of Build Faster Funding and $4-million boost to skilled trades programs in the region, when he was asked if it would be possible for Canada to negotiate with Trump and strike a deal that includes zero tariffs on certain sectors of auto, steel, and aluminum.
“This guy will say something one day, and he'll wake up, and the cheese slips off the cracker, and then all of a sudden he goes the other way,” Ford said.
Trump has now imposed 35 per cent tariffs on Canada on goods not covered under the Canada-U.S.-Mexico Agreement (CUSMA).
Ford said Canada is hoping to get “a deal with zero tariffs,” but right now, he is focused on Ontario’s manufacturing capabilities for steel and aluminum products.
He said he “didn’t realize” Canada does not make steel I-beams, rail tracks, or aluminum cans.
Ford said Canada buys $359 billion U.S., which is “more products (bought) off the U.S. than Japan, Korea, China, the UK, and France combined.”
“We have the aluminum in Quebec. We ship it down to the U.S. to get printed and formed, and they get 25 per cent tariff down, 25 per cent tariff back. That's 50 per cent tariff,” Ford said.
“And I asked the team, why aren't we making cans here? We're buying billions of aluminum cans. Guess what? We have companies that are now coming on board to make aluminum cans. They're going to lose out on over a billion dollars' worth of business.”
He said that after speaking to stakeholders in the food industry, he learned that Campbell Soup has been putting “the Canadian flag on their cans” while also labelling their cans as “recipe made in Canada.”
Campbell Soup Company closed its Toronto manufacturing plant in 2018 and moved to the U.S.
“What sort of nonsense is that? Don't let them hoodwink you. I'm gonna call them out again. I'm gonna show you one of their hands. It's unacceptable that they do that, don't try to pull one over people's eyes. Canadians are too smart for that. So please, when you go shopping, I know it's not always possible. Buy Canadian as much as you can,” Ford said.
He said Ontario workers can build “anything here,” from planes, trains, and automobiles to satellites and jet engines.
“We're gonna win this thing. One way or another, we aren't going to go down, and we're not going to roll over. We'll keep fighting every single day,” Ford said.
