Against the backdrop of U.S. President Donald Trump’s trade war with Canada, Doug Ford says premiers and New England governors are having a “lovefest” in Boston.
Ford and his counterparts from the Atlantic provinces are stateside Monday to boost ties with between the two countries.
Provincial Politics Doug Ford returning to U.S. to fight Donald Trump’s tariffs
Premier Doug Ford and his counterparts from the Atlantic provinces are headed stateside to
“We’re all working together. It’s a lovefest in the room and there’s a mixture of everyone in the room,” the premier told Ford told CNN’s Pamela Brown and Wolf Blitzer, referring to the confab with Democratic and Republican governors.
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“And we just want to get things back on track and move forward. We’re just two great countries, great trading partners. Let’s move forward, because everyone in that room knows Canadians love Americans,” he said.
Ford — who is doing another media blitz with U.S. cable news channels to lobby against Trump’s hefty tariffs on Canadian steel, aluminum and autos — said “a lot of the governors are saying it’s insulting” when Trump talks about Canada becoming the 51st state.
“It’s insulting to your closest friend and allies. We love the U.S. I love the U.S. Canadians love Americans. There’s one person that is causing this issue, and that’s President Trump,” he said.
“Hopefully he’ll take another avenue and start mending fences, because right now, as the governors have told us here, they’ve seen a drastic decline in Canadian tourism.”
To strengthen ties, Ford, Nova Scotia Premier Tim Houston, New Brunswick Premier Susan Holt, Newfoundland and Labrador Premier John Hogan and Prince Edward Island Premier Rob Lantz are all in Boston.
They’re meeting with Massachusetts Gov. Maura Healey, Maine Gov. Janet Mills, Rhode Island Gov. Dan McKee, Vermont Gov. Phil Scott and Connecticut Gov. Ned Lamont.
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During the Feb. 27 election campaign, which Ford’s Progressive Conservatives successfully framed as a referendum on who could best deal with Trump, the premier twice visited Washington, D.C., to meet with U.S. lawmakers.
On June 6, he hosted Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp at Queen’s Park and has held meetings with U.S. ambassador to Canada Pete Hoekstra.
Ford told CNN that the premiers and governors are closely watching Trump’s bilateral meeting with Prime Minister Mark Carney at the G7 summit in Kananaskis, Alta. on Monday.
“We have all the confidence in the world in Prime Minister Carney. He’ll be … obviously very polite being the host, but he also has to be stern. It’s hurting both the U.S. and Canada — as always say, President Trump’s tariffs attacks on Americans. That’s unacceptable. We have to send a message to the rest of the world.”
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