Premier Doug Ford stepped into the escalating transatlantic trade confrontation Monday with language that married political fury to concrete leverage, telling The Associated Press that U.S. President Donald Trump has “declared economic war against his closest friend and ally” and that former president Ronald Reagan would be “throwing up” at the current tariff strategy. The remarks come as Trump administration moves toward 50-per-cent duties on Canadian automobiles, auto parts and steel, and as trade talks between Ottawa and Washington collapsed last minute amid demands Ford and Prime Minister Mark Carney have called unacceptable.
Ford, speaking from Toronto, said the stakes extend far beyond economics. “He underestimates Canada. We’re all in,” Ford said. “Up here, we’re at a fever pitch, everyone’s in for an economic war. They know they’re going to have to sacrifice.” His comments follow the United States imposing 50-per-cent tariffs Saturday on roughly US$20-billion worth of Canadian goods, with Carney announcing dollar-for-dollar retaliation beginning Sept. 8. Ford, however, suggested the counter‑measures could intensify, pointing to electricity and critical minerals as potential weapons.
Ford’s Fiery Warning and the Reagan Echo
The Ontario premier’s most striking remarks centred on a personal and historical rebuttal to the U.S. approach. Ford revealed that Trump keeps a portrait of Ronald Reagan near his desk, and suggested the 40th president would be disgusted by the current confrontation. “He’d be throwing up on him from the picture if he knew what was going on, spinning around in his grave right now,” Ford said. “He should maybe take that picture off the wall and move it somewhere else. Because right now, Ronald Reagan would be disgusted with President Trump.”
The comment revives a dispute from last year, when Ontario funded U.S. television advertisements featuring excerpts from a 1987 Reagan address warning that tariffs provoke retaliation and trade wars. Trump abruptly ended negotiations at the time, accusing Ontario of misrepresenting the former president. Ford later paused that campaign to allow talks to resume, but said the underlying tension remains. “He doesn’t respect anyone,” Ford said. “Yet despite the increasingly hostile rhetoric, Canada should remain willing to negotiate. I never believe in walking away from the table.”
The Auto Sector at the Epicentre
The automotive industry, already deeply integrated across the Canada‑U.S. border, has become the most immediate flashpoint. Trump’s threatened 50‑per‑cent tariff on Canadian vehicles and parts would strike at the heart of Ontario’s manufacturing base, where plants owned by Ford, General Motors and Stellantis are tightly linked with factories in Michigan and other U.S. states. Parts routinely cross the border multiple times during assembly, meaning a duty at one point can ripple through the entire production chain.
U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer defended the move by pointing to the 1960s Auto Pact, under which Canada granted market access to encourage vehicle production north of the border. “If he thinks the Canadian people are going to roll over and just continue buying American‑made vehicles, it’s not going to happen,” Ford countered. The tariff threat has already prompted warnings from industry analysts that price increases and supply‑chain disruption could affect tens of thousands of jobs across Ontario’s south‑west corridor.
Ford has been explicit about his opposition to any deal that compromises provincial sovereignty. He disclosed that he opposed the preliminary agreement Carney was considering before walking away from negotiations, citing clauses that would have restricted Canada’s ability to strike independent trade pacts. “I wasn’t going to put the booze back on the shelves,” Ford said, referring to a condition involving American liquor returns, “and I was ready to go out there and call a press conference … and say I’m not buckling over.” He was equally blunt about the sovereignty clause: “Who does he think he is? You gotta be kidding.”
Energy, Minerals and the Leverage Play
Beyond the showroom floor, Ford outlined a suite of economic levers Ontario could deploy if the dispute deepens. Critical minerals—particularly high‑grade nickel shipped to the United States and uranium refined in Ontario—are increasingly flagged by the Pentagon as vital to military aircraft, missiles, munitions and electronics. “What would they do without the high‑grade nickel that we ship down to the U.S.?” Ford asked. “I’ll cut them off,” he said of mineral exports. “You won’t get a grain of sand out of Ontario.”
Ford also threatened to adjust electricity exports, noting that Ontario powers 1.5 million homes and businesses in the United States. During an earlier phase of the dispute, the province imposed a 25‑per‑cent surcharge on
