Doug Ford, the Premier of Ontario, is emerging as the 'Canada Captain' among Canadian citizens. This is due to Ford's strong response against U.S. President Donald Trump's economic threats toward Canada and his comments about making Canada the 51st state of the U.S.
Ford said during a press conference after Trump threatened to impose tariffs on Canada following his election victory, "It felt like something was stabbing my heart." He then began wearing a baseball cap that reads "Canada Is Not For Sale" and a hockey shirt that says "Never 51."
Furthermore, Ford removed all American alcoholic beverages from shelves in liquor stores across Ontario. Ontario, which has the largest population in Canada, is one of the main buyers of American alcoholic products. Ford also canceled a government contract with Starlink, the Internet service company led by Elon Musk, a close associate of Trump.
According to The New York Times (NYT), Ontario spent millions of dollars broadcasting a 60-second advertisement targeting Trump across the U.S. at the end of last year. The advertisement emphasized the relationship between the U.S. and Canada and warned of the pain tariffs would cause to Americans, airing in Washington D.C. airports and during National Football League (NFL) games.
Ford's aggressive measures do not stop here. Canada has a connected power grid with the U.S., and Ford temporarily imposed an additional 25% charge on three states—New York, Michigan, and Minnesota—that receive power from Ontario. He also warned that if the trade war with the U.S. continues, he could fully suspend electricity supply to the U.S.
Ford's hardline approach has also caught Trump's attention. Trump told reporters last week, "There is a very strong figure in Canada." This statement came just after Ford paused the implementation of additional charges on U.S. electricity rates before meeting with officials from the Trump administration to discuss tariffs.
Ford's strong remarks against Trump continue. He regularly appears on U.S. broadcasting programs like Fox News and MSNBC, stating, "If our economy falls into a recession, that is caused by one person," adding, "That would be called Trump's recession."
In fact, Ford, who comes from a conservative political family, initially welcomed Trump's re-election. Ford's father, Doug Senior, was elected as a member of the Ontario legislature in the early 1990s, and Rob Ford served as the mayor of Toronto. However, after Trump began imposing tariff attacks post-inauguration, Ford turned into an anti-Trump figure.
The reason Ford attacks Trump is that American tariffs lead to an economic recession in Ontario. Ontario is the center of Canada's manufacturing and automotive industries, and as of 2023, the trade volume between Ontario and the U.S. reaches $350 billion (approximately 514 trillion won). Earlier, Ford warned that if the U.S. imposes a 25% tariff on Canadian goods, 500,000 residents of Ontario, which has 16 million inhabitants, could lose their jobs.
Having established himself as the 'Canada Captain,' Ford secured his third term by winning 80 out of 124 seats in the parliament during the election held at the end of last month. According to The Guardian, there has never been a leader who has won a majority of votes in Ontario three consecutive times. Ford, who successfully achieved his third term, stated, "Trump thought he could bring us down, but he was mistaken."