One has some sympathy for Ontario Premier Doug Ford’s recent attempt to purchase a provincial jet, given his hectic travel schedule.
So far, he has travelled to Washington to release his latest proposal for a renewed Canada-U.S. trade relationship and met with various elected officials and media outlets. He is also heading to South Carolina for the Southeastern United States-Canadian Provinces Conference later this month and then to Utah for the Western Governors Association annual meeting.
Opposition critics, are of course, having a field day. NDP Leader Marit Stiles criticized the travel, calling his Washington trip “peacocking” and a “glorified photo op” and claiming that the Premier had nothing to show for it.
But Ford is doing his job. Ontario’s economy, not to mention Canada’s, are facing an existential threat from a tariff-happy U.S. president who is threatening to rip up the Canada-United States-Mexico trade agreement (CUSMA).
And too many American officials, not to mention too many Americans in general, just do not know about the depth or value of the trade relationship between our two countries.
Just to take one recent example: Ontario has just signed a new agreement with the state of Pennsylvania to expand trade in energy, critical minerals, manufacturing, life sciences and more.
Last year alone, goods traded between the two jurisdictions were worth over $20 billion with Ontario being the state’s number one export customer. This marks the eighth economic cooperation agreement that Ford has signed with American states – Indiana, Michigan, Nevada, Illinois, New Jersey, Maryland, New York, and now Pennsylvania.
President Donald Trump’s tariff policy threatens both Canadian and American jobs, but he and his key trade officials are locked into the belief that somehow, we have taken advantage of our relationship, that, in Trump’s words, they don’t need anything from Canada, that we have treated them badly.
Reaching out to influential Americans is an important part of Canada’s strategy as we try to negotiate a new trade deal before CUSMA’s existing rules expire on July 1. To reinforce the message, Prime Minister Mark Carney last week called a first minister’s meeting to encourage the premiers and territorial leaders to reach out to their contacts to make Canada’s case.
“He’s encouraged all the premiers – and we are doing this – to go down, continue building relationships with governors and senators and congresspeople,” Ford told reporters.
The approach is not without its risks, however.
Trump is notoriously thin-skinned and has taken offense at some of Ford’s comments on U.S. media and particularly over a television ad Ontario ran that used clips from former president Ronald Reagan praising free trade. Various reports blamed last year’s abrupt cancellation of U.S.-Canada trade talks on Trump’s anger over the ads.
Many Americans are also skittish about provoking the president, given his tendency to exact revenge for real or perceived slights. On Ford’s recent Washington trip, a major reception arranged by the influential U.S. Chamber of Commerce for Ford was cancelled at the last minute.
American officials cited a scheduling conflict, but as one observer wryly observed to the Toronto Sun, “that’s not the sort of thing you accidentally double-book and notice at the last minute.” Speculation credited pressure from the White House or fear of incurring Trump’s irritation as the probable cause of the snub.
Ford has also attracted criticism from American politicians over his decision to react to Trump’s initial tariff attacks by pulling American booze products from their biggest foreign market – Ontario’s LCBO.
When asked about it, Ford was clear – trade deal first, and then he would restore the products to Ontario’s shelves.
It is a challenging situation to navigate for both Ford and Carney. Experience has shown that capitulating to Trump or hanging tough can generate equally negative and unpredictable responses.
The next few weeks will be turbulent, no doubt. But jet or no jet, continuing to keep the communication lines open, meeting face-to-face with American leaders to table the facts about the mutual value of our long-standing trade relationship while negotiators search for a new deal, is the right strategy.
Janet Ecker is a former Ontario Finance Minister, Minister of Education, Minister of Community and Social Services and Government House Leader in the governments of Premier Mike Harris and Premier Ernie Eves. After her political career, she served as the founding CEO of the Toronto Financial Services Alliance, a public-private partnership dedicated to building Toronto region into an international financial centre. She currently sits on a number of corporate and non-profit boards, agencies and advisory committees.
Ms. Ecker received the Order of Canada for her public service contributions and was recognized as one of the “Most Influential People in the World’s Financial Centres” by Financial Centres International. She also received a “Canada’s Most Powerful Women: Top 100 Award” from the Women’s Executive Network and the Richard Ivey School of Business, among other awards. She is also one of the founders of Equal Voice, a national, multi-partisan organization working to elect more women.
