Ontario Premier Doug Ford tones down rhetoric in war of words with Donald Trump

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Trade negotiations between Canada and the United States fell apart last week, which Prime Minister Mark Carney said was due to the Trump administration introducing unacceptable measures including restrictions on Canada’s ability to sign deals with other countries.

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Trump has imposed 50 per cent tariffs on $28 billion of Canadian exports.

Ford said he didn’t support the initial deal, but was prepared to go along if the federal government wanted to sign it. Ford has since applauded Carney for walking away and supports a strong dollar-for-dollar tariff response.

The federal government announced Tuesday details of its retaliatory measures, which include increasing tariffs on American steel and aluminum products from 25 to 50 per cent and imposing 50 per cent tariffs on clothing, 25 per cent tariffs on appliances, dairy products, seafood and certain steel and aluminum products beginning on Sept. 8.

The premier kept quiet for several days as a deal appeared close last week, but on Monday he unleashed his feelings about Trump.

Ford said Trump should “kiss my ass” after the president threatened further tariffs on Canada’s auto and steel sectors that he said would come into effect on Jan. 1.

Those comments set off Trump, who called the premier the less charismatic and less intelligent brother of the late Rob Ford, the former mayor of Toronto.

In response, Ford called Trump a “loser” and said Canada needs to inflict pain on Americans by targeting Republican states.

Earlier Tuesday, Trump mused about changing the name of Lake Ontario to Lake America in a social media post, saying the U.S. didn’t “expect to be doing much business with Ontario any longer.

Ford did not respond to CNN’s question about the proposed name change.

“I think it’s a lot of rhetoric because we’re the No. 1 customer to 17 states, number two to 12 others,” Ford said.

He pushed for a deal that would bring the cost of living down on both sides of the border, which he says cannot be done with tariffs.

“President Trump ran on lowering the cost of goods,” Ford said. “Everything’s gone up, from homes to fuel. He ran on creating more jobs. Actually, job numbers went down last month, while Ontario gained 52,000 jobs.”

Ford said on Monday that everything is on the table in the escalating trade war, including surcharging electricity the province sends to three states – Michigan, New York and Minnesota – or even cutting off electricity to those 1.5 million customers entirely.

The premier also threatened to cut off critical minerals shipments to the United States.

But on Tuesday, Ford once again pushed his idea of a “Fortress North America,” where Canada increases trade in electricity, critical minerals and cars.

“We’re stronger working together rather than attacking each other,” Ford said. “It just it doesn’t make sense.”

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Aug. 25, 2026.

Liam Casey and Allison Jones, The Canadian Press