We won’t be calling you names. I can guarantee that,' Ford said, adding: 'What's disrespectful is we never started this trade war
Ontario
premier Doug Ford is standing his ground in his quest for a fair trade deal,
countering recent insults from U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick with a
broader view that free trade is good for both Canada and the U.S.
“I’ll never
back down from fighting for a fair trade deal that helps workers and families
on both sides of the border,” Ford posted on
X on Thursday.
In an
interview with CNN’s Wolf Blitzer that Ford shared on X, the premier also
proclaimed the love that Canadians have for Americans and professed an
understanding that Americans also love Canadians.
However,
that didn’t change his defiant response to Lutnick and his disparaging comments
on Wednesday about Canada, ahead of Canada-U.S.-Mexico trade negotiations.
“Mr. Lutnick
can say whatever he wants,” Ford said in the CNN interview. “We just have
He addressed
allegations that Canada has taken advantage of the U.S. by citing several
numbers about any “imbalance” favouring Canada. “If we didn’t ship four million
barrels down to keep people moving in their cars and trucks, there’d be a
$30-million (American) surplus.”
With regard
to U.S. trade interactions with Ontario, he said “nine million American wake up
every morning to produce a product…or service just for Ontario. And the more
tariffs that come, you’re just taxing American people.”
Listing the
oil, cars and goods being sold to the U.S., he argued that the cost of
“everything is increasing because of the tariffs.”
Ford
advocated for an even better trade deal than the one already in place. Contrary
to Lutnick’s recent insults, such as saying Canadians
“suck” Ford countered: “We won’t be calling you names. I can guarantee
that.”
As
previously reported by National Post, there was a tense exchange Wednesday between
Lutnick and U.S. Senator Jeanne Shaheen, during his testimony before the Senate
appropriations subcommittee.
U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick testifies
during a subcommittee hearing with the Senate Committee on Appropriations in
Washington, DC, on April 22, 2026. Photo by Anna Moneymaker /Getty
Images
Shaheen has
been a Democratic senator from New Hampshire since 2009 and was the state’s
governor between 1997 and 2003. She noted that tourism is the second-largest
industry in New Hampshire, but it has suffered with decline in international
visitors, particularly from Canada, which fell 30 per cent last year.
She pinned
the drop on “the loss of trust and goodwill because of this administration’s
rhetoric around Canada … and because of the insults from (the) president, and
comments like yours.”
She insisted
that a good trade deal will be predicated on good relations: “(W)e are not
going to get agreement when we keep insulting people. When we have allies and
partners, we should try and work with them, not insult them.”
They clashed
over the decision taken by Canadian provinces, in the wake of U.S. tariffs, not
to stock U.S. alcohol on provincial liqour store shelves. Lutnick called
the policy “insulting and disrespectful to America.”
Asked about
that, Ford said: “What’s disrespectful is we never started this trade war.” Nor
did the American people, he added. Instead, he insists it was Lutnick and Trump
“who attacked our joint economies … we are so integrated.”
Senator Jeanne Shaheen speaks during
a press conference following a vote on Capitol Hill on Nov. 9, 2025 in
Washington, DC. Photo by Anna Rose Layden /Getty Images
He
illustrated that by pointing to the positive impact of Canadian oil and uranium
for the American energy economy, as well as Ontario nickel for U.S.
manufacturing. He also added the fact that Ontario sends electricity to 1.5
million homes and businesses in New York state, Michigan and Minnesota.
Meanwhile,
he added that “no country” buys more from the U.S. than Canada “and vice-versa.
We are each other’s number one customer.”
Yet, when
one “particular family member (President Trump) attacks our country, that’s a
problem, but we don’t hold it against the American people.” However, he noted
“it’s unfortunate” Canadians feel the need to boycott the U.S. and not spend
“tens of billions of dollars” in tourism in the U.S.
“This can
come to a quick end. Everyone can thrive and prosper.”
Ford made
the same arguments later on Thursday during an interview on ABC News.
The host
stated that “politics with Trump always gets personal every single time” and
when asked whether his “beef” with Trump is “too big” to repair, Ford responded
he is not interested in getting personal.
Instead, he said, he would simply counter with “facts.
As with the
CNN interview, Ford urged Trump to “take a page” out of late U.S. President
Ronald Reagan’s book and push for “opening up” trade and boosting economies.
Reagan
“wasn’t about killing trade. (He) was about expanding trade … the whole world
would be better, (as well as) the relationship between Canada and the U.S.”