Ontario Premier Doug Ford says Canada and the United States should work together to confront China, rather than engage in a devastating trade war — and he has a message for Mexico to join them.
to talk to CNN on Monday nightFord said cutting off energy exports to the United States remains “a tool we have in our toolbox” to respond if US President-elect Donald Trump follows through on his threat to impose 25 per cent tariffs on all Canadian exports when he next takes office. month.
However, “that’s the last thing I want to do,” Ford said, adding that he prefers to boost U.S. trade and counter Chinese incursions into the North American market, which he says are largely through Mexico.
“I feel like we’re not the enemy,” he told CNN. “The biggest problem, in my opinion, is China: cheap Chinese products are going through Mexico. They are putting a ‘Made in Mexico’ label on (the products) and shipping them across the United States and Canada and they are costing American and Canadian jobs.
“Mexico has to make a decision: Either it is with Beijing or it is with Washington. I will tell you that the Canadians are with them, they are with Washington.”
Ford accused Mexico of acting as a “back door” for Chinese imports, especially vehicles and auto parts, bypassing rules of origin restrictions in the Canada-United States-Mexico Agreement (CUSMA) that replaced NAFTA in 2020.
Trump himself has highlighted the issue and said he will address it when the updated free trade agreement is reviewed in 2026.
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Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said Ottawa shares concerns about Chinese investments in Mexico, which have also been raised by U.S. President Joe Biden’s administration. Last month, Trudeau suggested there may be “other options” for Mexico’s trade relations with Canada and the United States if Mexico does not address the issue, following growing calls from some prime ministers – led by Ford – to remove Mexico from CUSMA entirely.
Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum has previously mentioned the importance of maintaining CUSMA, but she told Chinese President Xi Jinping at the G20 summit last month that there was “room for a relationship with China.” Chinese automakers, such as BYD, are looking to set up factories in Mexico, which Trump has pledged to impose heavy tariffs on.
Ford’s appearance on CNN was his latest act to reach out to the US media to make clear that the tariffs threatened by Trump would hurt consumers on both sides of the border. The Ontario premier has appeared on Fox News and CNBC in recent weeks to appeal directly to Americans.
Alberta Premier Danielle Smith also appeared on Fox News and met in person with state governors in Las Vegas this month, highlighting the impact on gas prices if tariffs were imposed on Canadian energy exports.
“We (Canada) ship over 4.3 million barrels (of oil) every day,” Ford told CNN on Monday. “If there was a tariff on that, that would increase gas by a dollar a gallon,” he added. “This is not going to go very well.”
The prime ministers are scheduled to visit Washington, D.C., in February — after Trump’s inauguration — to meet with lawmakers and administration officials.
Ford said: “Our job (as prime ministers) is to go down and tell the Americans… that we are their number one trading partner, and their number one ally in the entire world.” “These supply chains are highly integrated, and we are much stronger together.
“The only people winning (in the trade war between Canada and the United States) is China. “The Americans lose, and the Canadians lose.”
Asked by CNN about Trump’s frequent jibes at Canada and Trudeau – whom he described as the “governor” of America’s “51st state” – Ford said the next president “has a sense of humor” but is more focused on preventing damage to trade. relationship.
He said he agreed with Trump’s call for Canada to strengthen its borders and increase its defense spending in line with its NATO commitments, and that meeting those demands could help avoid tariffs.
“This is very simple,” Ford said.
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