In recent days, the premier of Ontario has appeared on American television networks, made public comments, and appealed to patriotism in response to events overlapping Canada’s relations with the U.S. At the best of times, Premier Doug Ford has trouble reining in his raw reactions to matters that run counter to his instincts or undermine his agenda. Lately, he appears ruffled about the United States, President Donald Trump, and Americans themselves. Raging forest fires, presidential tariffs, and the movement of resources motivate his increasingly agitated state. Contrasting this, underestimating the influence of his Liberal allies in Ottawa, Justin Trudeau and, more so, Mark Carney, would be a serious omission. Figuring out the real Doug Ford has become more challenging as recent events imply.
FOREST FIRES
Every summer, forest fires burn out of control. This summer, hundreds of these fires went rogue in Northern Ontario. Ford took great exception to Trump’s assertion that poor forestry management in Canada authored the problem and Canada would have to pay for its sins. Blaming the fires on forest management unlocks a host of problems that are best left to experts like Andrew Vander Yacht, a professor of applied forest and fire ecology at the SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry in Syracuse, New York. Vander Yacht explained that climate change and forestry management are two important factors when analyzing North American wildfires, but with the most recent infernos, remoteness played the leading role. An area known as the Boreal Shield Ecozone of Canada hosted over 100 fires in this hard-to-reach area spanning provinces from Saskatchewan to Newfoundland. As Vander Yacht suggested, saying that Canada had failed to manage the area properly is “discounting the issues with managing such a broad landscape; it’s discounting how remote that landscape is. These fires are occurring in areas where it takes six hours for a helicopter to get in with firefighters.”
Other experts, like Michael Flannigan from Thompson Rivers University in British Columbia, told the New York Times, “To be blunt, even if we spent a lot more money, I don’t think we could stop these fires.” Joe Kaplan, a professor at the University of Calgary, told the Atlantic, “You can’t control these fires. You cannot put personnel, fire engines, over an area that is the size of the entire American South, or something like that. It’s just way too big an area.” And climatologist Zeke Hausfather explained on his Substack that fires are burning “across enormous remote areas that have never been logged, thinned, or effectively suppressed.” Ford has a point, and Trump may be exaggerating Canada’s culpability, but did Ford need to blast the administration, calling criticism “totally unacceptable,” characterize Trump’s threats as a “bunch of rubbish” or try to compare the fires in California with those in Canada? Some will say he was merely advocating for his province, our nation, and the country’s firefighters and rangers who are doing yeoman’s work trying to keep a lid on the blazes. No doubt he was, but the forest fires ironically ignited more outbursts.
TARIFFS & TRUMP
The day after his conniption over the fires, upon hearing of Trump’s threats to tariff Canada an additional 50 per cent, Ford intimated that Canada could and should take on the United States economically. “We have to hit back,” the premier said. “We are an energy powerhouse and we could dismantle the U.S. if we wanted to, if we all work together. They need to feel the pain, rather than us constantly feeling the pain.” There are reasons to sympathize with Ford’s frustrations, but the premier of Canada’s most important province needs to raise his game in a crisis, not exude unrestrained irritation. To suggest that Canada could overwhelm the American Economic powerhouse sounds desperate, if not delusional. I imagine he knows that the U.S. occasionally supplies Canada with hydroelectric power? As well as crude oil, refined petroleum products, and natural gas.
He would have been better off following the lead of our phlegmatic prime minister, who, amid the chatter of the president’s musings, indicated that while Trump’s actions directly violate the United States-Mexico-Canada (USMCA) trade agreement, several steps should be taken in response. First, ramp up the talks. There are thirty days before the tariffs take effect (Aug. 19), so time remains for a deal. Refuse to give in to the temptation to counter-tariff (or make empty threats). Project a willingness to keep everything on the table, for better or worse. All options must be in play. Present a united Canadian front, organizing a “synchronized national strategy” so that the Americans do not detect weak links where they can sow division or create discord. Call out the unnecessary costs to American families and individuals who will have to pay more for tariffed items, and promise to decline a bad deal, not “worth the paper it’s written on.” Trump shows little interest in Canada’s concerns. He wants to make a deal he thinks will serve Americans well and make him look smart. Carney will meet him halfway, maybe more (see the Gordie Howe Bridge). Fueling the fire seems counterintuitive and unhelpful. Before erupting, the premier should think about using Carney as a sounding board. When he goes public, he might at least know the federal game plan and use the prime minister’s talking points as a guide. Otherwise, he could take a page from some of his fellow premiers like Scott Moe of Saskatchewan, who asked, “Why would you want to fight with your largest trading partner?”
GORDIE HOWE BRIDGE
Before the new bridge linking Ontario and Michigan opened, lengthy negotiations had to occur. The Epoch Times reported that, “According to the agreement, Canada and the United States will divide net revenues equally for the bridge’s first 15 years of operation after operating costs such as maintenance have been paid.” Canada will have to secure American consent to raise tolls beyond a certain threshold during the first 15 years (protecting the privately owned Ambassador Bridge), even though Canada financed the construction of the bridge for $6.4 billion. Seeing the imprint of Trump’s hand on these negotiations does not take a detective. He held up the opening, claimed the deal initially agreed to was unfair, and used the bargaining to force the prime minister and the government to compromise. On this one, Ford suddenly sounded conciliatory. When asked by a reporter if Canada had failed to stand up to Trump, he replied, “We need to make sure Gordie Howe Bridge is open. I don’t believe in one bridge having a monopoly, which we’ve had for years” (referencing the existing Ambassador Bridge between Windsor and Detroit). His admirable self-control in this matter should be noted. The Moroun family of Detroit built and owns the Ambassador Bridge and are large Trump donors and supporters. They have opposed the new bridge since the Harper government first proposed it in 2012. Surprisingly, Ford kept quiet about this complication, presuming he knew a bit of the bridge’s history and why Trump took such an interest in it, beyond Michigan’s importance in electoral politics.
The Howe Bridge will relieve traffic congestion for trucks and cars. It will provide revenue for Canada and will mean competition for the long-standing monopoly the Morouns have held for the past century. It will help with the movement of goods and grease the skids for easier trade between the nations and from Ontario. Ford was wise to hold his tongue, but our premier has a penchant for sounding off when he doesn’t like a policy or thinks something is unfair. While his policies have been aligning more with Carney, his personality still reminds many of the man he was early in his premiership, which often led to comparisons with Trump. Who is the real Doug Ford?
Dave Redekop is a retired elementary resource teacher who worked part-time at the St. Catharines Courthouse as a Registrar until being appointed Executive Director at Redeemer Bible Church in October 2023. He has worked on political campaigns since high school and attended university in South Carolina for five years, earning a Master’s in American History with a specialization in Civil Rights. Dave loves reading biographies.
