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Ontario Premier Doug Ford is set to make an announcement Wednesday morning, less than 24 hours after appearing on another U.S. network to rebuff incoming president Donald Trump’s threat of acquiring Canada as the 51st state.
“I get it. President-elect Trump is a real estate tycoon. He’s made billions. But that property is not for sale. It’s as simple as that,” Ford told Fox News’ Jesse Watters Tuesday night.
Ford has made a number of U.S. network television appearance touting the importance of the Canada-U.S. trade relationship in recent weeks, including another appearance on CNN on Monday night.
His appearance on Fox News came after a Tuesday press conference in which Trump said he was considering using “economic force” to acquire Canada as a U.S. asset and later shared a map of the two countries with the American flag covering both on social media.
Trump also referred to the U.S.-Canada border as an “artificially drawn line.”
In the interview, Watters told Ford that Canada should “consider it a privilege to be taken over by the United States of America” and even said that he finds it “personally offensive” that Canadians seem to find that concept “repellant.”
But Ford pushed back and said that what the countries need to do is work more closely together.
“I have a better idea, Jesse. Why don’t we create Fortress Am-Can and make sure it’s the richest, wealthiest most prosperous jurisdiction anywhere in the world. We have the critical minerals, we have the energy, we have the electricity that America needs,” Ford said.
Trump has threatened to impose a 25 per cent tax on Canadian and Mexican goods on the day he takes office and many economists have warned that the effect of that could be particularly devastating on Ontario due to the nearly $500 billion in two-way trade done between the province and the U.S. last year.
Ford, for his part, has threatened to cut off Ontario’s energy supply south of the border, among other retaliatory tariffs, if Trump follows through with his threats.
The premier is expected to speak in Darlington, Ont., east of Toronto, at 11 a.m.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has said there isn’t a “snowball’s chance in hell” that Canada would ever become part of the United States in response to Trump’s comments. Trudeau’s retort came after he announced Monday that he would step down as Liberal leader, but stay on as prime minister until a new leader is chosen.
