TORONTO — Ontario is about to go on a “charm offensive” in the USA within the coming weeks now that Donald Trump has gained the presidential election.
Premier Doug Ford and Financial Growth Minister Vic Fedeli mentioned authorities representatives will head down south to guard jobs and promote commerce.
“I call it a charm offensive to remind them that we need each other for both economies to grow,” Fedeli mentioned Wednesday.
Trump has vowed to renegotiate the Canada-United States-Mexico Settlement, which Ford mentioned will probably be essential to the province’s fortunes.
“We’re going to work with president-elect Trump as we did at the beginning of the administration and we just want to work and have a fair trade deal,” Ford mentioned.
Fedeli is about to go to Washington, D.C., in December and once more in January, adopted by a tour of three states.
He mentioned Ontario is the highest buying and selling accomplice to 17 states and second to 11 different states.
“And we have something that they’ll always want, and that’s our critical minerals and our energy,” he mentioned.
Trump has additionally criticized electrical automobiles and has mused about ripping up authorities subsidies, together with the Inflation Discount Act that President Joe Biden put in place in 2021.
These offers helped lure automakers to construct EV-related vegetation within the U.S. whereas Canada was compelled to match these manufacturing tax credit in offers with Stellantis and Volkswagen, each of that are constructing EV battery vegetation within the province.
Ford mentioned he’s not nervous about it.
“I believe that’s going to be the way of the future: EV vehicles,” he mentioned.
“We have a tremendous amount of investments involved in the sector, but we have the critical minerals that the U.S. needs.”
Ontario and the federal authorities have guess massive lately on the electrical automobile market. Ford envisions an end-to-end manufacturing chain that sees essential minerals mined up north, then processed and introduced south for use to make EV batteries.
Ford mentioned he spoke with Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland Tuesday night time about defending Ontario and Canadian jobs.
“We’re united with the federal government and we’re going to be united with all the premiers,” he mentioned.
Ford handled the Trump administration for a couple of years after his Progressive Conservatives gained the 2018 Ontario election. He mentioned he visited Trump’s former commerce guru, Robert Lighthizer, who was considering tariffs on Canadian items. Ford mentioned he advised him to not do it.
However Trump and Lighthizer didn’t hear and put tariffs on Canadian metal and aluminum.
“I went back and said (to Freeland): tariff everything,” Ford mentioned.
Canada responded with tariffs on a laundry record of products, which ultimately compelled Trump to again down on the metal and aluminum tariffs.
“This is about a Can-Am approach, a Canada-America approach, making sure that we’re doing the best thing to protect Canadian and Ontario jobs and American jobs,” Ford mentioned. “We’re the closest allies in the world.”
This report by The Canadian Press was first revealed Nov. 6, 2024.
Liam Casey, The Canadian Press
