Friend or Foe? Doug Ford lines up to fight Trump and win more power

Ontario Premier Doug Ford was once touted by the right as Canada’s version of Donald Trump. But Ford has shed that identity over the years. President Trump’s recent attacks on Canada have led Ford to issue some hard assaults of his own. 

Ford plans to hurt Trump with his own type of international political justice if Trump does issue his the blanket 25% tariffs he’s been threatened since November 2024. Premiers aren’t in charge of federal trade policy, but Ford has a few ideas.

When Trump first floated 25% tariffs on all Canadian goods, Ford was one of the first Premiers in Canada to suggest that Ontario could cut off crucial electricity exports to the United States as a way to retaliate against Trump’s proposed tariffs. 

“It would turn off the lights to a million-and-a-half Americans,” Ford stated in December 2024 according to Global News. “If they come at us we have to stand up for Canadians, we have to stand up for Ontarians.” His proposal was a realistic one. 

According to Global News, a spokesperson for Ontario's Independent Electricity System Operator, a regulator organization in the province, the group was in discussions with the government about the possibility of Ford’s electricity proposal. 

However, limiting electricity to the United States isn’t the only proposal that would hurt Americans. Businesses south of the border could be impacted by another measure that Ford intends to pursue if Trump hits Canada with tariffs.  

Ford ordered the Liquor Control Board of Ontario (LCBO), the brick-and-mortar government-run shops that sell liquor and spirits in Canada, that they should clear any US products from their shelves if and when Trump's tariffs are issued, according to CTV News. 

“We are the largest purchaser of alcohol in the world. They will feel the pain. I will make sure I communicate this to our other premiers that they should be following suit,” Ford said while addressing the Rural Ontario Municipal Association Conference in mid-January. 

Ford has become one of the primary Canadian political leaders guiding the fight against Trump and his newfound animosity toward Canada, and he’s doing so in a nationalistic way that has roused the ire of right and left Ontarians toward the United States. 

One of Ford’s most recent stunts saw him use a tactic straight out of Trump’s playbook. Ford dawned a MAGA-like hat that read “Canada Is Not For Sale” during a recent press conference and pledged to target red states dollar for dollar according to Politics.

Photo Credit: X @fordnation

However, while speaking with Politico, Ford said that he did not want to carry out any of his threats against the United States. “That’s the last thing I want to do. I want to work with President Trump,” Ford explained. 

“There’s no one that loves the U.S. up here in Canada more than I do,” Ford said. It was a sentiment that many Canadians are likely feeling as they prepare to face whatever the Trump administration and the President will throw Canada’s way in the coming months. 

All of Ford’s recent nationalistic bravado may have been genuine, or it may have been a partially politically motivated response to an opportunity that would put Ford in the good graces of Ontario voters as they prepared for federal and provincial elections. 

Photo Credit: Facebook @fordnation

Canada is set to go to the polls by October 25th at the latest for new federal elections, which are now destined to come earlier following the resignation of Justin Trudeau as Prime Minister and leader of the Liberal Party. 

Ontario was also set to head to the polls in June 2026. However, on January 29th, Ford called a snap election and his campaign launch speech focused on fighting Trump’s tariffs, something he said needed a new four-year mandate to do according to AP News. 

Photo Credit: Facebook @fordnation

“The people of our province, like people across Canada, are facing unprecedented times,” Ford said in Windsor, a key border town. “I am asking the people of Ontario for their trust. I’m asking... for a strong, stable, four-year mandate to do whatever it takes to protect Ontario.” 

Photo Credit: Facebook @fordnation

The forthcoming election, which will take place on February 27th, will likely be framed around Trump’s tariffs, which could put Ford in a good position to defeat his opposition rivals and win while his government’s past issues are sidelined by voters. 

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