Ford says premiers must stand united against Trump tariff threat amid 'uncertain' times in Ottawa

Hours after Chrystia Freeland’s surprise resignation from cabinet sent shockwaves through Ottawa, Ontario Premier Doug Ford is trumpeting unity amongst Canada’s premiers amid the threat of tariffs south of the border.

“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,” Ford said following Monday’s premiers meeting, which he chaired.

On Monday morning, Freeland suddenly announced her resignation from cabinet in a letter addressed to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. In it, she said Trudeau told her on Friday that he no longer wanted her to serve as finance minister.

The news comes amid U.S. president-elect Donald Trump’s threat of 25 per cent tariffs on all Canadian imports when he takes power in January, unless both Canada and Mexico strengthen their borders. The potential tax took centre stage at Monday’s premiers’ meeting, where Ford said he and his 12 counterparts agreed there is “no greater risk” to the Canadian economy than that.

“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. 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 said.

Ford added that the strategy needs to include a plan to accelerate NATO spending to meet its two per cent target as well as proactive measures to protect the border. He underscored that while the premiers have been briefed on Ottawa’s border plan, they need to see more details about how and when it will be implemented.

Asked if Ford still has confidence in Trudeau to lead Canada into a potential trade war, Ford once again touted unity with his counterparts, saying they would all be “at the table.”

‘Not backing away whatsoever’ on retaliatory tariffs: Ford

Ford’s push for a unified approach in response to Trump’s tariff threat on Monday is a far different tone from the one he took last week.

At an unrelated news conference on Friday, he doubled down on his threat to cut off Ontario-made energy to 1.5 million homes in New York, Michigan and Minnesota, even though some premiers 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 the time.

Asked if his more toned-down rhetoric Monday meant he was reconsidering retaliatory tariffs, he said Ontario is “not backing away whatsoever.”

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. He said he hopes he and all the premiers will travel to Washington in February following Trump's inauguration in January.

Ford says premiers are concerned about Freeland resignation

Asked about Freeland’s departure earlier in the day, Ford said he and the other premiers were concerned, and that he had spoken with her since she made the announcement.

Freeland has served in 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 Canada-United States-Mexico Agreement (CUSMA), in 2026. Meanwhile, Ford has indicated that all the premiers agree Canada should pursue a bilateral trade deal with the U.S. directly.