Ontario Premier Doug Ford just blasted U.S. President Donald Trump live on American television over Trump’s tariffs on Canadian goods.
Ford appeared on CNN’s The Situation Room with Wolf Blitzer on Thursday to discuss the impact of Trump’s economic tariffs would have on both Canada and the U.S.
In the clip, Ford called Trump the “most disliked politician in the world,” as trade and diplomatic relations between both countries continue to sour under the U.S. president’s administration.
It comes just days after Trump officially escalated trade tensions with Canada, enforcing a 35% tariff on all imports that don’t meet CUSMA (Canada-U.S.-Mexico Agreement) requirements. Trump negotiated the trade agreement between the three countries during his first term as a replacement for the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) in 2020.
According to the BBC, Canadian goods account for 12.6% of U.S. imports, the third-highest share after China (13.4%) and Mexico (15.5%).
In the CNN segment, Ford called a tariff on Canada a “tax on the American people,” referring to a study from The Budget Lab at Yale, which revealed that the tariffs would cost American households an average of $2,400 per year and result in the loss of manufacturing jobs in the U.S. The lab found that the average overall tariff rate in the U.S. is now 18.6%, the highest since 1933, during the Great Depression.
“Over 37,000 people since April have lost their jobs. It’s the lowest rate in five years, and it’s just not working,” said Ford.
The Ontario premier’s comments come after Trump’s decision last week to fire Commissioner of Labor Statistics Erika McEntarfer just hours after her department released its July jobs report, which revealed a weakened U.S. jobs market.
The report, released last Friday, August 1, showed that the total “non-farm” payroll employment changed little in July, and the unemployment rate, at 4.2%, also mainly remained unchanged in the month. The total number of new jobs in May and June was also revised downward by 258,000.
Taking to Truth Social, Trump accused McEntarfer of being a “Biden Appointee” who “faked” the job numbers before the 2024 U.S. presidential elections to “try and boost Kamala’s chances of Victory.”
Blitzer asked Ford what the ramifications would be if Trump were to withdraw the U.S. from CUSMA.
“We directly employ, just in Ontario alone, 9 million Americans. Across the entire country of Canada, it’s probably closer to 20 million Americans rely on Canada for jobs, and vice versa,” the premier said.
“This is hurting the American people, as the rest of the countries, including Canada, are diversifying our trade. We’re seeing a 25% increase in trade with the European Union; the U.K. is up by 30%. So as we’re diversifying and ‘on-shoring’ products, the American people are losing their jobs.”
Blitzer then referred to the numerous instances in which Trump had said he wanted Canada to become the 51st state of the U.S. Ford vehemently opposed this notion.
“I’m not worried about that, because that’s never going to happen. We’ll be your closest ally and closest friend forever, as we have been for 200 years. We will outlast the Trump administration, and we’ll continue working with our great American partners.”
When asked about Canadians’ opinion of Trump, Ford didn’t hold back.
“He’s probably the most disliked politician in the world, in Canada, because he’s attacked his closest family member, and that’s the way we look at it,” he commented.
“When I talk to the governors and senators and congresspeople, even Republicans totally disagree, but they’re too scared to come out and say anything, because the president will go after them.”
He continued, “We love the Americans. It’s just unfortunate that President Trump decided to go down this road.”
If Ford’s comments are anything to go by, Canadian-U.S. relations are likely to continue straining over the last three and a half years.
