Ontario Premier Doug Ford met with incoming prime minister Mark Carney for the first time since he was elected leader of the Liberal Party for a “positive and productive” discussion about how to face U.S. President Donald Trump’s threats.
In a social media post, Ford said the two leaders agreed they need to stand firm and strong in the face of Trump’s threats, including additional retaliatory tariffs in response to the U.S. tariffs on steel and aluminum that came into effect at midnight.
“Together, we will get through this more united than ever before. Canada won’t relent until the threat of tariffs is gone for good,” read his post.
Canada introduced nearly $30 billion in retaliatory tariffs against the U.S. on Wednesday in response to the steel and aluminum tariffs.
Federal Finance Minister Dominic LeBlanc confirmed that Canada’s retaliatory tariffs will go into effect as of 12:01 a.m. ET on Thursday and are in addition to 25 per cent tariffs Canada imposed on $30 billion in imports from the U.S. earlier this month.
Ford will be traveling to Washington alongside LeBlanc on Thursday to sit down with U.S. Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick and members of Trump’s economic team.
The meeting was set after Ford agreed to pause his 25 per cent surcharge on electricity to New York, Minnesota and Michigan. In response, Trump backtracked on doubling the tariffs that came into effect Wednesday.
Ford said he will be starting a conversation about the future of the United States-Mexico-Canada (USMCA) Agreement.
“Over the coming weeks and months, I’m going to work with Secretary Lutnick, our federal partners and every premier in good faith toward a free trade deal that’s fair for both countries.”
Meanwhile, Carney could be sworn in as Canada’s 24th prime minister as soon as Friday. His transition team is currently working its way through the logistics to get the process done quickly.