After days of trading insults with President Donald Trump, Ontario Premier Doug Ford said it was crucial for the American and Canadian economies that the countries strike a trade deal.
He appealed for an effort to work out the trade differences during an interview that aired Sunday on the ABC News program “This Week.” And while Ford continued to criticize Trump’s recently announced tariffs on Canadian goods, he spoke warmly of the American people and said the trade dispute was harming people on both sides of the border.
“We’re allies. We’re best friends. Our trading is so integrated. We need to get a deal that’s beneficial for both countries,” he said.
After Canada-U.S. trade talks collapsed on Aug. 22, Trump announced 50 percent tariffs on about $20 billion in Canadian goods, including whisky, dairy products and clothing.
Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney vowed to retaliate “dollar for dollar.”
Ford, the top political leader of Canada’s most populous province, has emerged as a Trump foil, with the two mocking one another and exchanging barbs on social media.
Trump last week referred to the Ontario premier as “Flunky, Ford” and said he was “unimpressive.”
Ford called Trump last week a “dictator,” “king of bankruptcies” and a “bully.”
In an ABC segment aired Sunday, ABC’s Martha Raddatz asked Ford if “insults flying” over the weekend is “really the way to handle this.”
In response, Ford said “we got heated” but added that one has to “eventually stand up” to someone who “continuously attacks” and “insults our country.”
“It’s unfortunate that he stoops down to that level. And, unfortunately, I did that day,” Ford said. “But I just think that we need to focus on a free trade agreement.”
The new tariffs on Canada come about two months before the midterms, posing challenges for Republican candidates amid ongoing voter concerns about inflation. Maine, Michigan and Iowa are states that depend heavily on international trade. They are also at the forefront of the midterm battleground map.
On Thursday, sitting in front of a sign labeled “Making The Great Lakes Even Greater,” Trump signed an order requiring the U.S. Interior Department to update geographic information systems to change the name of “Lake Ontario” to “Lake America.”
The Ontario premier responded on Saturday by unveiling a blue billboard by the water near the Canadian-U.S. border with the words “Lake Ontario — Now and Always.”
Late Saturday, Google announced that because Google Maps updates its applications to reflect name changes in official government sources, people in the United States will see the body of water called “Lake America.” People in Canada will see “Lake Ontario,” and the rest of the world will see both.
Google Maps rolled out similar dual labeling after Trump ordered a change in the name of the “Gulf of Mexico” to the “Gulf of America.”
On the Sunday ABC segment, Ford spoke of his love for the U.S., and he appealed to Americans, saying: “We believe in Canadian sovereignty. And I know Americans believe in having a sovereign Canada as well.”
“It’s just so, so disappointing because I love the U.S., I love the American people,” he said. “Canadians love the American people. We differentiate between the great American people and the president.”
Ford ended the segment with a thank you to the host followed by “God bless America. God bless Canada. We’ll get through this.”
On Sunday afternoon, Trump repeated his criticism of Canada, saying the country has been “ripping us off for decades, and it’s got to stop.”
“I deal with the Leadership of many Countries, but I find Canada to be the worst. They are entitled no longer!” Trump wrote on Truth Social on Sunday afternoon.
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