Premier Doug Ford and his counterparts from the Atlantic provinces are headed stateside to promote trade with New England governors.
Ford, who quietly met with Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp last week at Queen’s Park, has been stepping up the lobbying of U.S. leaders against President Donald Trump’s tariffs on Canadian goods.
“You can keep tariffing everything, but it’s hurting the American people,” the premier told a Toronto business conference last Monday.
That’s a reference to the fact that U.S. companies importing products from Canada are already passing along their higher costs to consumers.
Ford also noted Ontario alone does $500 billion in annual two-way trade with the U.S., and the province is the largest trading partner with 17 of America’s 50 states.
“I’ve had an opportunity to speak to many governors and senators and congresspeople — Republicans or Democrats … (and) every single person I speak to says we can’t pick a fight with everyone in the world — and especially you can’t pick a fight with your number-one customer,” he said.
Along with another wave of appearances on American cable news shows to underscore the importance of trade with Canada, the premier is moving to further strengthen ties with state governors.
To that end, Ford, Nova Scotia Premier Tim Houston, New Brunswick Premier Susan Holt, Newfoundland and Labrador Premier John Hogan and Prince Edward Island Premier Rob Lantz will be in Boston on Monday.
The premiers will be meeting with Massachusetts Gov. Maura Healey, Maine Gov. Janet Mills, Rhode Island Gov. Dan McKee, Vermont Gov. Phil Scott and Connecticut Gov. Ned Lamont.
During last winter’s provincial election campaign, which the governing Progressive Conservatives successfully framed as a referendum on which party could best deal with Trump, Ford twice visited Washington, D.C., to lobby U.S. lawmakers.
