As leaders around the world try to figure out how best to deal with the new Trump administration, one Canadian official has come out swinging.
Ontario Premier Doug Ford, a regular on major US networks where he has addressed Americans directly, was among the first in Canada to pull US alcohol off the shelves as a trade war between the two neighbours ramped up.
He has also ripped up a multi-million dollar contract with Elon Musk’s Starlink, and has been unafraid to use energy exports to the US as a bargaining chip – all in a bid to get President Donald Trump to withdraw his tariff threats against Canada.
This week, it appeared that Ford’s tactics had garnered Trump’s attention.
Speaking to reporters on the White House lawn on Tuesday, the US president described Ford as a “very strong man” as he addressed Ontario’s threat to slap a 25% surcharge on US-bound electricity.
Ford has since shelved that plan pending further discussions with the Trump administration. But his threat to hike the price of electricity on Americans seems to have earned him a grudging nod of respect from Trump, who later backed off from doubling tariffs on aluminium and steel to 50%.
It also helped Ford score a meeting with US officials in Washington to discuss the future of the Canada-US trade relationship.
Ford is expected to sit at the negotiating table on Thursday with US Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick. The meeting will also be attended by Canada’s Finance Minister Dominic LeBlanc.
It is unclear whether Ford’s defiant stance will earn Canada more favours from Trump. It is also an approach that is not unanimously agreed on, with Premier Danielle Smith of the oil-rich Alberta vehemently refusing to withhold any of her province’s energy exports to the US.
Trump’s recent willingness to turn down the heat, however, signals that Ford may be succeeding in grabbing the attention of the US, said Shakir Chambers, a Canadian Conservative strategist at the Toronto-based Oyster Group.
“That’s how you deal with Trump, through a position of strength,” Mr Chambers told the BBC. “Ford understands the language of Trump’s people and inner circle.”
It at least earned him a rare compliment from the US president, who for several months has berated Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau repeatedly by calling him “governor,” while expressing his desire to absorb Canada and make it “the 51st state”.
Also rare is seeing the Oval Office pay attention to the premier of a Canadian province, whose day-to-day is ordinarily preoccupied with domestic matters such as infrastructure projects, healthcare funding and co-operating with the federal government.
But these are no ordinary times in Canada. The country is in the middle of a transfer of power, from outgoing Trudeau to Prime Minister-designate Mark Carney.
It is also facing what has been referred to as an “existential threat” from its neighbour and long-time ally to the south.
Announcing his intention to pause energy tariffs pending trade talks, Ford vowed to Canadians that he will not “roll over” and warned that using Ontario’s energy supply as a bargaining chip remains on the table.
But he said he will not ignore the chance to resolve this dispute with Americans.
His emergence as the face of Canada’s fight is, in many ways, understandable. As Ontario premier, he is at the helm of a province that is home to 16 million people and Canada’s large auto manufacturing sector, which is deeply intertwined with that of the US, leaving it vulnerable to any broad tariff threats.
He is also chair of the Council of the Federation, a multilateral congress that includes all of Canada’s provincial and territorial premiers.
On Wednesday, Ford kept busy ahead of his meeting with the Americans. He sat down for breakfast with incoming Prime Minister Carney, where the two discussed the need to “stand firm and strong” to Trump.
Americans will undoubtedly see more of Ford in the coming weeks and months. The premier just decisively secured four more years in office after campaigning on standing up against the US president.
For Ontarians, Ford is a well-known figure. He has led the province since 2018 and is only the second premier in its history to secure three consecutive majority government wins.
He is the product of a Toronto political dynasty known as “Ford Nation”. For many years, he was overshadowed by his younger brother, the late Rob Ford, who was the mayor of Toronto from 2010 to 2014 before he was ousted after a crack cocaine scandal.
Locally, the Fords are infamous for their “authentic” and approachable style of politics, said Mr Chambers, who was coached high school football by the younger Ford.
Premier Ford is known for handing out his personal cell phone number to constituents, encouraging them to contact him directly. During a news conference on US tariffs last week, he urged people to be patient as he worked to respond to more than 4,000 text messages he has received lately.
Despite his popularity, the premier is also embroiled in several controversies. Chief among them is an ongoing police investigation into a now-scrapped deal his government made that would have allowed the development of environmentally-protected land.
On the national stage, he has run up against Alberta Premier Smith, who has called for a more measured and cautious response to Trump and his tariffs.
That caution has also been practiced by other leaders, namely France’s Emmanuel Macron and UK Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer, both of whom struck a more diplomatic tone in their February visits to the White House.
But Ford’s defiant stance against Trump is widely supported in Canada. Polls show the majority of Canadians support retaliating against the US, and a swell of nationalism has since emerged across the country.
While Ford has been forceful, he has also been careful in his direct appeals to Americans.
“Believe me when I say I don’t want to do this,” he said earlier this week when he announced his plan to hike electricity prices, before underscoring that his priority is to protect Ontario jobs.
Mr Chambers said he expects more of that consolatory but firm tone at Thursday’s meeting.
