Ontario Premier Doug Ford speaks to media at a housing development in Hamilton, on Monday.Nick Iwanyshyn/The Canadian Press
Ontario Premier Doug Ford, appearing on CNN Tuesday morning, struck a conciliatory tone a day after he and U.S. President Donald Trump exchanged a series of public and personal insults amid the escalating Canada-U.S. trade war.
The segment of The Situation Room began with tape of Mr. Ford’s Monday outburst on a Toronto talk radio station, when he said Mr. Trump could “kiss my ass.” The Ontario Premier acknowledged Tuesday that it would be wiser to lower the temperature.
“Things got a little heated, it got a little personal yesterday between the President and myself,” Mr. Ford said, speaking to co-host Wolf Blitzer remotely from Queen’s Park, against a backdrop of Canadian flags. “But I want to make a deal, a good deal for the American people, a good deal for the Canadians.”
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Earlier Tuesday, Mr. Trump had added more of his own fuel to the fire. In a post on social media, the President said he was “giving serious consideration” to changing the name of Lake Ontario, because the United States doesn’t expect to do ”much business with Ontario any longer.” He followed with a post showing a map with the body of water renamed “Lake America.”
Asked about these latest comments, Mr. Ford dismissed the post as “a lot of rhetoric,” saying that Ontario is the No. 1 customer of 17 U.S. states, and No. 2 of another 12. He also said an estimated nine million Americans are employed producing goods bound just for Ontario. And he defended Canada’s actions in the face of U.S. tariffs.
“We’re stronger believers in being a sovereign country, and when President Trump wants to attack our sovereignty and attack, you know, our people and business in Ontario, I can’t roll over,” Mr. Ford said.
Speaking to reporters in Hamilton on Monday, Mr. Ford said that all options for Canadian retaliation were on the table, mentioning that he could cut off electricity exports or apply a surcharge to them – the latter of which he did for just 24 hours last year, before attracting Mr. Trump’s ire – or restrict critical-minerals exports. He even suggested using oil as a bargaining chip, an option rejected once again by Alberta Premier Danielle Smith.
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In Tuesday’s CNN interview, among remarks peppered with assertions that he and other Canadians love the American people, Mr. Ford alluded to Canada’s supplies of potash, oil and uranium, and said Canadian electricity keeps the lights on in 1.5 million U.S. homes.
“What I was saying, you know, Wolf, is that everything is on the table right now, but would I rather send more electricity to power your plants and power your data centres and power other areas and homes, that you don’t have?” Mr. Ford said. “We have the electricity that the U.S. needs, and I am more than happy to send them more if we get a fair deal.”
Mr. Ford made a series of other appearances on U.S. media outlets on Tuesday. He declined to stop and speak to reporters and TV cameras waiting in the hall at Queen’s Park.
On Fox Business, Mr. Ford sounded a similar tone as he did on CNN. He said he supports Canada’s retaliatory moves, as the country faces an “unprovoked attack” from Mr. Trump. But he also said the two countries would be stronger if they worked together.
Speaking to Bloomberg, Mr. Ford said he was considering an electricity surcharge rather than cutting off electricity exports.