Ford says premiers are concerned about Freeland’s cabinet resignation, but pushes for ‘unity’ amid Trump tariff threat

Ontario Premier Doug Ford admits that Chrystia Freeland’s sudden resignation from cabinet has left him and his fellow premiers uneasy as they meet to coordinate their response to incoming U.S. President Donald Trump’s tariff threat.

“I think we all are, but again, this is a time for the premiers to step up — which we’re going to — and project unity across the country,” Ford said Monday when asked if he was concerned about Freeland’s departure, who serves as deputy prime minister and finance minister. He said he was not made aware of her resignation prior to the announcement, but has spoken to her since.

Ford, the chair of the Council of the Federation, made the comment as he hosted the leaders of Canada’s 13 provinces and territories to discuss Trump’s proposed tax. The president-elect has threatened to impose a 25 per cent levy on Canada and Mexico unless both countries strengthen their borders.

Ford previously wished his counterparts “good luck” in addressing the potential duties, but now says Canada’s premiers are aligned in their approach.

“I believe, after a conversation last night, we have a unified strategy,” Ford said ahead of a summit.

“I want to stress: every jurisdiction is different across the country, from coast to coast to coast, everyone has their interests at heart, but we are unified in the message of our number one priority is secure our border, make sure we hit our two per cent NATO commitment, and then we move forward on the negotiations with the U.S.”

Prior to touting a collaborative approach on Monday, Ford doubled down on his threat to cut off Ontario-made energy to 1.5 million homes in New York, Michigan and Minnesota last week, even though some others premier publicly disagreed with the strategy, including Danielle Smith in Alberta and Francois Legault in Quebec.

“If it comes to Alberta or Quebec, that is their choice. They believe in diplomacy, good luck,” he said at an unrelated news conference. Trump was asked about Ford’s energy threat last week, to which he said, “Well, that’s OK. That’s fine.”

Ford has also threatened to restrict the LCBO from buying American-made alcohol, stop the export of critical minerals and cut the U.S. out of the provincial procurement process.

“I don't want this to happen, but my number one job is to protect Ontario, Ontarians and Canadians as a whole, since we're the largest province,” he said last Wednesday.

Ford added that he hopes he and all the premiers will travel to Washington in February following Trump's inauguration in January.

Freeland has served in Justin Trudeau’s cabinet in some capacity since he was elected in 2015. She was a driving force in renegotiating the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) under the first Trump presidency. Trump has said he plans to invoke the six-year renegotiation clause of that deal, now known as the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement, in 2026. Meanwhile, Ford has indicated that all the premiers agree Canada should pursue a bilateral trade deal with the U.S. directly.