EDITOR’S NOTE: This article originally appeared on Parliament Today, a Village Media website devoted exclusively to covering federal politics in Ottawa.
Ontario Premier Doug Ford says he plans on texting Prime Minister Mark Carney, who will be heading to China for a week-long trip today, to reiterate his opposition to lifting tariffs on electric vehicles from the country.
“I’m absolutely 100 per cent dead against this,” he told reporters at Queen’s Park Tuesday, flanked by government representatives of Michigan, who were in the province to discuss “the situation between our two great countries.”
“I'm very concerned, and so are my friends in Michigan.”
The comments come amid reports that Beijing could lift tariffs on Canadian canola products in exchange for the easing of levies on Chinese-made electric vehicles (EVs). Carney is heading overseas Tuesday night, where he’s scheduled to meet with Chinese President Xi Jinping, among others.
It will be the first time a Canadian prime minister has visited China since Justin Trudeau in 2017.
Carney has publicly said he is “looking at” his predecessor’s decision to impose 100 per cent tariffs on all EVs and certain hybrid passenger cars, trucks, buses and delivery vans from China; although very little else has been said about whether it's actually on the table.
As a result of Trudeau’s tariffs, Beijing applied a 100 per cent tariff on Canadian canola oil and meal, and a 75.8 per cent tariff on canola seed. Saskatchewan Premier Scott Moe, whose province has been particularly impacted by the canola levies, is joining Carney on his trip.
Moe has previously called on the federal government to lift the EV tariffs, arguing that Canada can’t fight two trade wars, a nod to the tariffs imposed south of the border ahead of the impending review of the Canada-United States-Mexico Agreement (CUSMA).
U.S. President Donald Trump has made it clear that he’s unwilling to move on sectoral levies on steel, aluminum and lumber.
On Tuesday, while visiting an auto factory in Detroit, he told reporters that the United States doesn’t need Canada’s products.
“We don't need cars made in Canada. We don't need cars made in Mexico. We want to make them here. And that's what's happening, everybody's moving here,” Trump said, adding that he doesn’t “really care about” CUSMA.
It’s a statement Ford echoed Tuesday, who said that if a Chinese auto maker wants to set up shop in Ontario, he would support the removal of tariffs.
“Now we're on a whole different page,” he said, adding it would have to benefit Ontario through the creation of union jobs.
Trump also said that China has taken over the European auto sector, noting that the United States’ 100 per cent tariff on Chinese EVs has helped other automakers compete.
Ontario’s premier has also previously argued that continued levies against China could be “critical to securing a trade agreement with the U.S.,” which was first to impose such tariffs.
Meanwhile, Ford also continued to call for his “Fortress AmCan” on Tuesday, which would see Canada and the United States further integrate their economies.
“As everyone knows, those (auto) parts go back and forth between Ontario and Michigan seven, eight times, and get assembled in Michigan or get assembled here in Ontario,” he said. “And this is nothing against the folks in the canola business or soybean. We have a thriving soybean business here too. So, it's not about them. I fully understand why Premier Moe is concerned, but he's protecting Saskatchewan. I'm protecting Ontario.”
“It would not be good for Ontario and Canada, and sure the heck wouldn't be good for the U.S., and it wouldn't be good when it comes to negotiating with President Trump.”
Ford said that he hasn’t spoken to Carney recently about the tariffs, but added, “He knows how I feel.”
“I will reach out to him and text message him and just tell him our concerns,” Ford said.