Premier of Ontario Doug Ford after speaking at the Canadian Association of Defence and Security Industries in Ottawa on Thursday. Mr. Ford is set to visit D.C next week.Justin Tang/The Canadian Press
Opposition parties are pushing Ontario Premier Doug Ford to justify his upcoming trip to Washington, casting doubt on whether the visit will benefit the province as they criticized his interventions into U.S. politics as unhelpful.
Mr. Ford is set to visit D.C next week, a trip that will include co-hosting a business reception on June 8 with American billionaire Ross Perot Jr., who chairs the board of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce.
The Premier is also expected to meet with business leaders from the auto, aerospace and agriculture industries during the two-day trip, as well as with U.S. senators and members of Congress.
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Ontario’s opposition parties accused Mr. Ford of ignoring the problems in his own province, and said his sojourns to the U.S. have yielded few tangible results.
“He’s going to take his dog and pony show south of the border,” Interim Liberal Leader John Fraser said.
“Every intervention has failed, flopped or fizzled.”
Mr. Ford’s office said the D.C. visit is intended to make the case against American tariffs and protectionism. The Premier will launch his new vision for a “Fortress North America,” showcasing how Canada, the U.S. and Mexico can work together on shared economic priorities and security.
The Premier was also in Texas in April, where he struck up a friendship with Mr. Perot, a real estate developer and son of the former presidential candidate of the same name.
“The premier’s mission to Texas laid the groundwork for billions of dollars in new investment, more good-paying jobs and stronger economic ties between Ontario and the United States,” Mr. Ford’s spokesperson, Hannah Jensen, said in a statement on Monday.
“His upcoming trip to Washington will build on that momentum, meeting with elected officials and business leaders to protect jobs, grow investment and strengthen the hundreds of billions of dollars in annual two-way trade that supports workers on both sides of the border.”
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The U.S. Chamber of Commerce said the reception, which it is calling a private meeting, will focus on broader Canadian topics as opposed to Ontario-specific ones.
Ontario NDP Leader Marit Stiles called the trip the latest “junket” that Mr. Ford has taken to the U.S. on the taxpayers’ dime.
“And what results have we seen?” she said to reporters at Queen’s Park.
“I hope he comes back with some sort of deal. I hope he will be transparent for the first time with Ontarians about the details of those deals that he’s making, if he’s making any. I hope he comes back with more than just some billionaire’s autograph.”
Mr. Fraser added that Mr. Ford’s previous attempts to involve himself in U.S. politics have not helped the country’s cause. He pointed to the province’s anti-tariff commercial featuring the late U.S. president Ronald Reagan, which U.S. President Donald Trump cited as the reason he cancelled trade talks with Canada last fall.
“It’s just another opportunity for the Premier to get in front of the cameras and next to his new billionaire friend, and tell us all that he’s fighting for Canada, but there are no results,” Mr. Fraser said.
“At the same time, people can’t afford groceries here, people can’t get a family doctor, people can’t afford their rent, our schools aren’t working.”
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Green Party leader Mike Schreiner said he wants the Premier to return from the trip with results for his own residents.
“Let’s just hope the Premier can actually deliver something that benefits everyday people,” he said.
Mr. Ford travelled to Washington twice during the February 2025 provincial election campaign, which saw his Progressive Conservatives win their third majority.
During his recent trip to Texas, Mr. Ford told the Globe there are 175 companies that do business in both Ontario and Texas and it’s important to speak with them directly. He said one of the businesses, a Texas-based waste-management company, has committed to investing $462-million in Ontario, and he said the trip will yield a total of $1-billion in investments in the province.