Ontario Premier Doug Ford admitted he “was wrong” about Donald Trump as he imposed a 25% tariff on electricity exports to the United States as part of the growing trade dispute between US and Canada.
“I supported Trump getting elected, low taxes, small government… man was I wrong,” Ford said when announcing the measure that will affect 1.5 million American customers starting Monday.
“It’s the last thing I want to do, but we’re not going to roll over,” Ford said.
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The conservative premier, who once expressed admiration for Trump, has adopted an increasingly confrontational stance since the US president imposed 25% tariffs on most Canadian goods last week.
Conservative strategist Shakir Chambers said Ford has successfully grabbed the attention of White House officials.
“I have friends, and regardless of their political stripe, they’re applauding how aggressive Ford is in dealing with the White House,” said Chambers, vice-president of consulting firm Oyster Group.
US Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick has also called Ford and asked him to tone down his rhetoric, according to CBC News, but the premier refused.
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Ford warned US lawmakers about economic consequences of Trump’s trade policies, directly appealing to congressional representatives from Republican-leaning states.
“So the Congress people in the red states, you need to speak up for your people,” Ford said. “Because your factories are going to be empty, they’re going to be shut down, there’s going to be unemployment, inflation is going to hit and it’s going to hurt the American people.”
McMaster University political science professor Peter Graefe said Ford appears to have had a rude awakening about Trump.
“I think Mr. Ford is maybe late in discovering some features of Mr. Trump’s personality or how he engages situations,” Graefe told CBC News. “The very material impacts of Mr. Trump’s decisions mean that Mr. Ford has been shaken out of thinking like a partisan.”
Liberal strategist Charles Bird suggested Ford’s tough talk might assist federal ministers negotiating directly with the Trump administration by allowing him to play “bad cop” since “he isn’t sitting at the table with them.”
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