U.S. President Donald Trump is chastising Ontario for using electricity as a bargaining tool to fight off his tariff threats as Premier Doug Ford is set to meet with the U.S. commerce secretary in Washington Thursday.
“We had a problem with Ontario and they dropped that (surcharge threat),” Trump told reporters in the Oval Office Wednesday during a meeting with Ireland’s prime minister. “When I let them know what we were going to be doing, they dropped it immediately.
“So I am glad because electricity, you shouldn’t be playing with electricity. It affects people’s lives. Actually their life – depending on weather, it can affect their life – so we cant do that.”
Ford said earlier this week that Ontario would impose a 25 per cent surcharge on electricity the province sells to 1.5 million customers in three U.S. states, vowing not to drop the measures until the tariff threats are removed completely.
However Ford suspended the plan Tuesday after receiving an “olive branch” from the U.S. administration in the form of a meeting with for a meeting with U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick.
The decision to pause the electricity surcharge followed a turbulent few days of heated public statements on both sides of the border.
Ford appeared on a flurry of U.S. news programs to state his case Tuesday, making clear that he “loves the American people” but needs to stand firm against the tariffs.
Trump had dismissed Ontario’s electricity surcharge, saying the U.S. doesn’t need Canadian energy, only to rage about the move later on Truth Social, saying Canada was “stooping so low” as to threaten access to a resource “that so affects the life of innocent people.”
He threatened to double the tariffs on steel and aluminum, but backed off after Ford said he’d pause the surcharge because of Lutnick’s offer to meet.
Speaking with reporters toward the end of the day, Trump referred to Ford as “a very strong man” and said “I respect that,” referring to Ford’s decision to pause the surcharge.
Ford told reporters Wednesday that he appreciates Trump’s words.
“We have to go and negotiate properly and sit down at the table. I’m grateful for those comments,” he said.
However while Trump said Ford had dropped the surcharge, the premier clarified Wednesday that it has been paused, but remains an option.
“We suspended it, not got rid of it,” he said.
Ford and Federal Finance Minister Dominic Leblanc expected to meet with Lutnick on Thursday.
“Our message down there tomorrow is, ‘let’s stop this.’ It’s going to hurt both economies,” Ford said. “It’s American people that are going to get hurt. Canadians are going to get hurt. Let’s sit down and start moving forward on what you want to see in the USMCA and what we want to see in the USMCA.”
He later said he doesn’t want to give the impression that the meeting will produce a new deal, but said he’s hoping rather to “look into their eyes” and “find out where their bar is at” rather than having a goal post that keeps moving.
In a news conference in Ottawa Wednesday, Leblanc said the focus of the meeting will be on lifting the 25 per cent tariffs on steel and aluminum that remain in place, as well as broader tariffs that went into effect on March 4. He said the meeting would not be a renegotiation of the trade deal, but would focus on the immediate threats.
Ford says Ontario pausing U.S. ad campaign ahead of meeting
Ford also said Wednesday he is putting a U.S. ad campaign targeting tariffs on hold as a “good faith” measure as he prepares to head down to Washington, D.C. Thursday to meet with Lutnick.
“We’re gonna put that on hold right now in good faith. So let’s just put that on hold and show them good faith, and then we’ll see how it goes,” Ford told reporters at Queen’s Park.
However he added that the ads are part of a toolkit that can be used “at any given time” in the trade war.
Ford said earlier this week that Ontario would unleash a fresh volley of ads on U.S. networks to let Americans know how Trump’s tariffs could impact them.
Ford meets with Carney, says he’s ‘not Trudeau’
Ahead of Thursday’s meeting, Ford met Wednesday with prime minister-designate Mark Carney at a diner in Etobicoke.
Carney won the Liberal leadership race on Sunday and could be sworn in as Canada’s new prime minister within the next week. However, a federal election is expected to follow weeks later in the spring.
Images released by Ford’s office showed the two men laughing and sitting down together for a discussion at the diner.
In an interview with ABC News, Ford praised Carney as “a very, very astute businessperson” and “extremely, smart” when asked about the meeting.
“He’s going to do well. I truly believe that he can talk to President Trump and have a good conversation,” Ford said. “He’s not Prime Minister Trudeau. We need to move on from Prime Minister Trudeau and move forward and get this deal done.”
Earlier in the day, Ford told reporters that while there has been “a little bit of uncertainty” in Ottawa, he can work with anyone.
“I’d encourage all parties, let’s bring certainty to the table,” Ford said. “Let’s let the people of Canada decide who they want to lead this country for next four years. We’re gonna work with anyone, I don’t care what – NDP, Liberal, Conservative – I work with anyone, as long as they have the best interests of Ontario (at heart).”
Carney posted about his breakfast meeting with Ford on X afterward, thanking him and including a video of the two men laughing together.
“Thanks for the breakfast meeting, Premier @fordnation — and for standing up for Ontario,” Carney wrote in the post. “We’ve got a big fight ahead of us, and we’ll be working together every step of the way. We’re strongest when we’re united.”
