‘Do not roll over,' Doug Ford urges Mark Carney as Donald Trump's trade deal deadline nears
'I told the prime minister, do not roll over. Hit that guy back as hard as we possibly can. And that's what we need to do — and we can do it,' Ford told reporters Thursday in Thunder Bay.
As Trump's Friday deadline for increasing levies on Canadian products loomed, the Ontario premier stressed 'we can kick back' against the mercurial American president.
'Prime Minister Carney is trying his best, but this guy (Trump) 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,' said Ford.
'And you're thinking, 'How do you deal with a guy like this?''
The premier said Canada has no choice but to 'on-shore' more products that it currently imports from the U.S. in order to become less reliant on its largest trading partner.
'Are we hoping that we can get a deal with zero tariffs? Yes, but I always say how can we kick back — and it's not the American people — kick back at President Trump,' he said.
'Let's start on-shoring absolutely everything we possibly can, like … those big steel I-beams (used in building construction) … and aluminum cans.'
Noting 'we're the kings of aluminum in Quebec,' Ford said Canadian companies are soon going to be manufacturing beverage cans here, using domestic raw materials.
'They're going to lose a billion dollars worth of a business in the U.S. We don't have to take a back seat to anyone in the world, and we sure as heck don't have take a back seat to President Trump,' he said.
'He needs to remember we're … their number one customer.'
Ford also had some choice words for businesses that try to skirt the 'Buy Canadian' labelling push in grocery stores.
'You know a company called Campbell Soup? They told me that Campbell Soup is putting a Canadian flag on their cans. They closed their plants here. They moved everything down to the U.S., and they put 'recipe made in Canada,'' he thundered.
'What sort of nonsense is that? Don't let them hoodwink you. I'm going to call them out again. I'm going to show you one of their cans. It's unacceptable that they do that. Don't try to pull one over people's eyes,' said the premier.
'Canadians are too smart for that. So please, when you go shopping — I know it's not always possible — buy Canadian as you as much as you can.'
Ford and Carney have become close political allies thanks to Trump's threats. Both leaders won elections this year promising to stand up against American tariffs.
Last week, the prime minister not only accepted the premier's invitation to attend the Council of the Federation meeting at Deerhurst Resort, but he also ended up staying at Ford's cottage south of Huntsville.
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