TORONTO — Ontario Premier Doug Ford says he and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau are on the same page with a position that Canada will not be compromising on tariffs.
His comments come one day after U.S. President Donald Trump imposed 25 per cent tariffs on Canadian goods, with a lower 10 per cent levy on Canadian energy.
Canada responded with 25 per cent retaliatory tariffs on $30 billion worth of American products, and said tariffs on another $125 billion in goods would follow after three weeks.
U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick has raised the possibility of a tariff give and take Tuesday, and on Wednesday the White House announced a one-month tariff exemption for any vehicles coming through the Canada-U.S.-Mexico Agreement.
But Ford suggested Canada will not be removing any of its retaliatory tariffs unless all American tariffs are removed.
"On tariffs, zero compromise," Ford said Wednesday after a cabinet meeting.
"This attack was not started by our country. It was started by President Trump. He decided to declare an economic war against our country and our province, and we're going to hold strong."
Ford said he believes stock market declines Tuesday got the president's attention, as did a threat from the Ontario premier to cut off the electricity the province supplies to 1.5 million homes in three border states.
"There's many things that they need," Ford said, citing the United States' reliance on Ontario's critical minerals. He repeated a threat to stop shipping them nickel that gets used in the American military and aerospace sectors.
"Our key area, I'm telling you, it's a key area, is those critical minerals," Ford said.
"That's our linchpin, right there. And he says, 'Oh, well, let's wait.' No ... There's no such thing as half pregnant. We either have zero (tariffs) or we're going to get on with the show here."
Trudeau's office said he spoke with Trump by phone Wednesday afternoon.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published March 5, 2025.
Allison Jones and Liam Casey, The Canadian Press
