A snap Ontario election appears imminent even though U.S. President Donald Trump’s tariff threat is on the back burner for now.
Premier Doug Ford, who has been setting the stage for an early vote by warning Trump levies would require tens of billions of dollars in stimulus spending to keep the province’s economy afloat, said there is a rationale for an election.
“This is going to be for four years with Donald Trump. He wants to undermine us any which way he can. He wants to take jobs away from Ontarians. He wants to attract businesses from Ontario to come down to the United States,” Ford told reporters at Queen’s Park on Monday.
“We need a clear mandate, not for tomorrow, not for the next day, for four years of dealing with our American friends,” he said.
The next scheduled Ontario election is not until June 2026. A provincewide vote, which could be held as early as Feb. 20, will cost about $175 million. Ford’s Progressive Conservatives have also been considering Feb. 27 and March 6.
Even though Trump did not follow through with his threatened 25-per-cent tariffs on all Canadian and Mexican goods, the premier noted the new president highlighted the levies in his inaugural address.
“It’s a lot worse today than it was yesterday. I need a clear mandate from the people of Ontario to fight against these tariffs, to make sure that we have a loud voice,” said Ford, who last week predicted tariffs could cost 500,000 jobs in the province.
“He’s creating the department to go after countries on tariffs. This gives more uncertainty,” he said, referring to Trump’s “External Revenue Service,” which appeared to duplicate work already done by the U.S. Commerce Department and Customs and Border Protection.
Ford said he was alarmed by the new president’s speech.
“No mistake about it, he’s coming for us,” he said, adding it’s “night and day” between Trump’s first term that ended four years ago and now because he is much more “aggressive” toward Canada.
“Donald Trump 1.0 is a lot different than Donald Trump with a massive mandate, with (the) popular vote, controlling the Senate, controlling Congress and the White House. There’s a big, huge difference.”
While NDP Leader Marit Stiles and Liberal Leader Bonnie Crombie have said a provincial election is not necessary because their parties support Ford’s plans for any stimulus spending, the Tory premier brushed that aside.
“My opposition, I’m glad they have confidence in our government. But when you go out there and you’re going to spend billions of dollars, it’s the people, it’s not about the politicians,” said Ford.
“Politicians don’t give other politicians a mandate, the people who give a mandate are the people of Ontario.”
Crombie, on her part, said Ford “has spent the 76 days since Trump was re-elected preparing for an unnecessary early election rather than coming up with a plan to help you and your family.”
“Doug Ford is selfishly creating chaos to justify going to the polls a year-and-a-half early for one reason: to outrun an RCMP investigation into his Greenbelt scandal,” said the Liberal leader.
“Right now in Ontario, unemployment is already at a 10-year high. Taxes are far too high. There are 2.5 million people waiting for a family doctor. Evictions and defaults are rampant because homes are unaffordable. A million people are using food banks and a record number of people in Ontario are homeless,” she said.
Stiles said “the premier needs to focus on the 500,000 jobs at risk, not his own.”
“The moment we’re in calls for unity of purpose. We need to stay focused on what we can do here in Ontario to support every sector at risk and defend every single job in the face of this tariff threat,” said the New Democratic leader.
Earlier Monday, Ford told delegates at the Rural Ontario Municipal Association conference he was prepared to remove American booze from LCBO stores if Trump slaps levies on Canadian products.
The premier said the U.S. “will feel the pain” because he would instruct the Crown liquor monopoly, one of the world’s largest purchasers of American wines and spirits, to “clear off every bit of U.S. alcohol off the shelves.”
Ford said he spoke recently with Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear, whose state produces bourbon exported around the world, and told him: “‘you’ve got to talk to your president because the first thing we’re doing is we’re getting the bourbon.’”
It is unclear if Beshear, a Democrat who campaigned against Trump in last November’s U.S. election, will be able to persuade the new president to hold off on tariffs.
In sharp contrast to Alberta Premier Danielle Smith, who has sought a “carve out” from tariffs for her province’s oil and gas exports and opposes retaliatory tariffs, Ford said Canada must fight back against the new U.S. administration.
“I promise you as premier of Ontario that if President Trump’s tariffs make retaliation necessary, I will stand shoulder to shoulder with the rest of Team Canada to fight back using every tool in our tool kit.”
That’s a message shared by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and all the other premiers except Smith.
