(TORONTO) — Ontario Premier Doug Ford said Wednesday that President Donald Trump’s tariffs against Canada are the “craziest idea.”
The premier spoke with ABC News Live to share his reaction to Trump slapping a 25% tariff on goods coming from Canada on Tuesday, which Ford said “caught everyone off guard.”
Ford first responded to the tariffs on Tuesday, saying he will implement a 25% export tax on electricity powering homes in the United States and will remove American liquor and beer off Canadian shelves.
“That’s the last thing I want to do. I want to put more alcohol on the shelves. I want to give you more electricity. I want to do everything I can to have a great relationship with our closest friends that we absolutely love,” Ford told ABC News.
Ford said on Tuesday his government would end a contract with Elon Musk-owned satellite internet service Starlink and shut off power to the U.S., impacting millions on homes in Minnesota, Michigan and New York.
“It’s not the people of America, it’s not the elected officials, it’s one person that has caused this issue, and that was President Trump,” Ford said. “We have to retaliate — as much as we don’t want to — to our closest friends and allies.”
Ontario sends a “tremendous amount of electricity” to the United States, Ford said, adding he must “protect our country” after Trump’s attacks on their economy.
“We look at the U.S. as a family member,” Ford told ABC News. “It’s like we’re their little brother or little sister and it’s been going on for 200 years. Now we have to protect our country against our great ally.”
Ford said he met with the U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick on Tuesday, calling him a “super bright individual.” Ford told Lutnick to not “attack your closest friend and ally,” and that he wants to have a “fair trade agreement.”
“We help each other,” Ford said. “We send lumber, aluminum, steel and high-grade nickel to keep your manufacturing going. Along with electricity and oil, the list just keeps going on and on. That’s the way it’s been for over a century. We want to continue doing that.”
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau also spoke out against the tariff decision on Tuesday, calling it a “dumb” policy that does not “make sense.”
During Trump’s joint session of Congress on Tuesday night, he said he would implement additional reciprocal tariffs starting in April, a decision that Ford said will “hurt Canadians and Americans” and will cause inflation on both sides of the country.
“You’ll see plants close in the U.S., possibly assembly lines in the auto sector will close in the next five days, and for what reason? I do not understand, I think it’s the craziest idea someone could ever come up with,” Ford said.
Ford reaffirmed his love for Ontario’s American neighbors, calling them the “best in the world,” and that this retaliation to the tariffs is not directed toward them.
On Feb. 27, Trump alleged fentanyl had continued to enter the U.S. through Mexico and Canada despite agreements reached last month to address the issue. However, only 1% of the fentanyl confiscated by U.S. Customs and Border Protection actually enter through the Canadian border.
“We cannot allow this scourge to continue to harm the USA, and therefore, until it stops, or is seriously limited, the proposed TARIFFS scheduled to go into effect on MARCH FOURTH will, indeed, go into effect, as scheduled,” Trump said in a post on Truth Social.
“They misjudged the will of the Canadian people and the strength of the Canadian people,” Ford said. “Let’s get through this.”
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