Ontario Premier Doug Ford says he is suspicious of a 30-day tariff reprieve for automakers, which he believes could be used to try and tempt companies to move their operations south of the border.
Speaking at Queen’s Park on the second day of Canada’s tariff battle with the United States, Ford said he and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau were aligned in their demand that tariffs be scrapped, not reduced or delayed.
On Tuesday, 25 per cent tariffs were slapped on the vast majority of Canadian imports to the United States. Later that same day, U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick said the White House could potentially meet Canada “in the middle” on tariffs.
Ford said he and Trudeau were “on the same page” in rejecting that offer and insisting on “zero tariffs” on Canada.
“There’s no such thing as half pregnant, we either have zero or we’re going to get on with the show here,” Ford said Wednesday.
Lutnick called Ford on Tuesday and spoke to him about the tariff situation after the premier’s threats to cut off energy to homes in the U.S. and ban American alcohol.
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Sources with knowledge of the call confirmed to Global News that it had taken place, and said the premier’s office remained unsure of exactly what the Trump administration actually wanted.
Then, on Wednesday afternoon, the White House confirmed it would exempt automakers from tariffs for 30 days after meetings with the leaders of major vehicle producers.
Ford said the reprieve did not sit well with him.
“I always worry when someone says 30-day reprieve that gives them a chance to start lining things up and planning their next move,” he said. “As we all know, what the president says today may change tomorrow. We’ve seen this pattern; the goalposts change constantly.”
The Ford and Trudeau governments have collectively spent tens of billions of dollars attracting auto manufacturers to build new and expanded facilities in Ontario, with a focus on electric vehicles and battery manufacturing.
Over the past few years, the two governments have announced over $50 billion in support for a slew of auto companies investing in Ontario, including Stellantis, Volkswagen, Ford and Honda.
Those auto plants were a key part of both Ford and Trudeau’s job creation strategies but have been in Trump’s sights for some time. The U.S. president once mused about a 100 per cent tariff on Canadian vehicles and said he wanted to see the companies move to the United States.
“If you look at Canada, Canada has a very big car industry. They stole it from us. They stole it because our people were asleep at the wheel,” Trump said in February.
The tariff reprieve could be part of a strategy to convince Ontario automakers to relocate to the United States, Ford suggested.
“When someone says, ‘Give us 30 days to ramp up as we move south of the border,’ that’s unacceptable,” he said. “We need certainty, businesses need certainty, across the board.”
Trudeau’s office also confirmed the prime minister spoke with Trump by phone Wednesday afternoon.
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