Doug Ford says Trump tariffs mean Canada must fight back
Ontario Premier Doug Ford told CBS News that Trump’s planned 50% tariffs on Canadian goods will raise prices in both countries.
By Frankie Delgado · News Reporter
3 min read
Ontario Premier Doug Ford said the latest Doug Ford Trump tariffs clash is not a fight Canada picked, telling CBS News that President Trump’s trade measures are pushing prices up for Americans after he campaigned on bringing them down.
In an interview Friday with CBS News senior White House and political correspondent Ed O’Keefe for “The Takeout,” Ford said Canada and the United States remain close allies, but argued Trump’s approach is damaging both sides of the border.
CBS News reported that Trump announced 50% tariffs earlier this week on several Canadian goods, including hockey sticks and alcohol. The new duties are scheduled to start in late August and would apply to almost $20 billion in Canadian products, including down feathers, hockey equipment, milk, honey and alcohol, according to the report.
Ford told CBS News that Trump chose to target Canada, which he described as America’s top customer, and said the result has been higher costs and less certainty for businesses and consumers in both countries.
Why is Doug Ford fighting Trump tariffs?
Ford said he has urged Canada’s prime minister to answer U.S. tariffs with matching measures, telling CBS News the response should be “dollar for dollar, tariff for tariff.” He also acknowledged that such retaliation would hurt people in the United States, Canada and Ontario.
The Ontario premier framed the dispute as Canada standing up to repeated economic pressure. “We didn’t start this trade war,” Ford told CBS News, adding that Canada had to “fight back” if it was being hit again and again.
The Trump administration said the new levies were a response to Canadian retaliation against earlier U.S. tariffs, CBS News reported. Those Canadian actions included tariffs on auto imports and moves by Ontario and other provinces to remove U.S. liquor from store shelves.
Ford said he had not yet seen the full list of Canadian goods the Trump administration plans to tariff in late August. He told CBS News that protectionism does not work and described the U.S. and Canada as countries with the world’s largest open border and a deep trading relationship.
What is the Gordie Howe Bridge dispute?
The tariff fight has also spilled into the opening of the Gordie Howe Bridge, the long-awaited crossing between Detroit and Windsor, Ontario. CBS News reported that Canada this week withdrew invitations for U.S. officials to attend the bridge’s official opening.
The bridge was funded by Canada, according to CBS News. Once construction debts are paid, the United States is set to receive half of the toll revenue for the first 15 years.
Ford told CBS News that the bridge would support jobs on both sides of the border and said more than $52 billion in two-way trade moves back and forth. He said the project could create tens of thousands of jobs in both countries.
Shortly before Ford’s CBS News interview, Trump posted on Truth Social criticizing Canada over trade and the bridge deal, according to CBS News. Ford said the broader trade fight is unnecessary and warned that the tariffs are working against the lower prices Trump promised voters.
This story draws on original reporting from CBS News.