Doug Ford’s anti-Trump politics could win him votes in Canada’s latest election

Ontario Premier Doug Ford has become an example of Canadian resistance to Donald Trump and his new administration ever since Trump announced the possibility of imposing a harsh 25% tariff on all Canadian goods imported to the United States. 

Ford threatened provincial retaliatory responses that included removing all US alcohol products from Onatarian shelves, cutting energy exports to America, and banning all US companies from all Ontario provincial government contracts. 

Trump’s tariff threat almost became a reality, and the situation provided Ford with the perfect opportunity to ask for a new mandate from voters. Ford called an election early on this premise, and it may be the key to another victory. 

Photo Credit: Facebook @fordnation

“To protect Ontario, I’m asking the people for a strong mandate — a strong, stable, four-year mandate that will outlive and outlast the Trump administration,” Ford explained in an opinion piece in the National Post.

“President Trump needs to know that for as long as he is president, I will be on the other side of the table ready to protect Ontario,” Ford added. However, despite his strong and angry messaging, Ontario voters aren’t very impressed with Ford's track record. 

Recent polling from Angus Reid discovered that Ford’s strategy to tap into anger over Trump’s tariffs could bring Ford another electoral win. The Progressive Conservative Party in Ontario is polling well ahead of its rivals, despite Ford's unpopularity. 

Doug Ford proved to be the most unpopular provincial leader among the five parties in the mix. He scored a net approval rating of -27 against candidates who have relatively low profiles in Ontario according to Angus Reid’s analysis. 

Photo Credit: Facebook @fordnation

“At least three-in-10 say they don’t know enough about Liberal leader Bonnie Crombie (28%), NDP leader Marit Stiles (30%) or returning Green leader Mike Shreiner (37%) to say if they have a negative or positive impression,” Angus Reid explained. 

Photo Credit: Facebook @fordnation

“Three-in-five (59%) say they’re supporting who they are now because they don’t like the other options on the ballot, while two-in-five (41%) say they “really like the party” they’ve chosen and what it stands for,” Angus Reid added. 

Angus Reid asserted that Ford's recent pro-Canada messaging has done little to help boost his popularity with voters, one-third (32%) of which noted they didn’t approve of Ford’s performance in office. This was similar to results from the past two years. 

However, despite Ford’s unpopularity, his negative view in the eyes of voters “has done little to impact his party’s electoral fortunes over the years since the last election,” noted Angus Reid. The Progressive Conservatives lead their rivals by a significant margin. 

“If an election were held today, more than two-in-five (43%) say they would support Ford’s party, while the Ontario Liberals (26%) and Ontario NDP (21%) fight for second place,” Angus Reid explained, though it is likely isn’t due to his stand against US tariffs. 

A similar poll from Pallas Data was conducted on behalf of The Trillium, a Village Media website that covers Ontario politics, found that Ford’s Progressive Conservatives have a significant lead over Ontario’s other parties. 

Pallas Data found that 45% of Ontario voters would cast their ballot for their Progressive Conservative candidate while 28% would choose Bonnie Crombie's Liberals, 21% Marit Stiles' NDP, and 5% the Green Party. 

Where Pallas Data’s polling differed from Angus Reid’s was in what it found about Ford and US tariffs. The poll discovered Ford was the most trusted provincial leader when it came to US tariffs with 50% of respondents thinking so. 

Brombie was second with 24% of respondents believing she was the best candidate to handle the tariff issue and 19% said the same for Stiles. These findings could mean that Ford’s tariff politics are winning him some support at the moment. 

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