A defiant Doug Ford said the commercial his government launched last week, to the fury of United States President Donald Trump and derailing trade talks, has “achieved” its goal and will now end.
For the first time since Trump called off trade talks with Canada in response to the Ontario government commercial, the Ontario premier stood in front of journalists to proclaim the $75-million campaign a success.
“We generated a conversation that wasn’t happening in the U.S.,” Ford said. “The message is very clear: protectionism does not work and that’s the message we have for the American people.”
The Ontario commercial, which features former Republican president Ronald Reagan’s views on tariffs and protectionism, created an international stir when Trump terminated trade negotiations with Canada and applied a 10 per cent tariff on Canadian exports to the United States.
Prime Minister Mark Carney suggested the commercial was also the sole reason for the “unexpected twists and turns” in the talks, and emphasized that while he’s open to “unsolicited advice” on those discussions, the negotiations are the “responsibility of the government of Canada.”
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“There were a series of very detailed, very specific, very comprehensive discussions, negotiations … up until the point of those ads running,” Carney said during an international summit in Asia. “I would suggest you take the president at his word.”
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After talks were terminated late on Thursday night, the Ford government locked down. Two news conferences were cancelled Friday morning, and the premier didn’t appear at Queen’s Park all day to answer questions.
By Monday, however, Ford went back on the attack. He told his critics during question period the commercial was “the most successful ad in the history of North America” and faced questions from journalists.
Faced with questions about how his commercial had apparently derailed trade talks he was not officially party to, Ford said the prime minister had seen the slot before it aired.
“He saw the ad before I put it out, so did his chief of staff — they both saw it,” the premier said.
After speaking to the Queen’s Park press gallery at the legislature, Ford was scheduled to make the rounds on American television, including ABC, CNN and NBC.
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Focus Ontario: Trade Talks Terminated
As he defended the commercial, Ford hardened his stance on trade talks, repeatedly suggesting the negotiations led by Carney could hurt his province.
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“My job is to protect jobs here in Ontario, and one sector — there’s many sectors — one is our auto sector,” Ford said. “Hide nor hair, nobody’s speaking about auto, I’m speaking about auto, Lana Payne, the president of Unifor, is speaking about it.”
Ontario’s auto sector — which the federal and provincial governments have spent billions propping up — has been struggling under the weight of tariffs.
Recently, Stellantis announced it was moving 3,000 jobs from Brampton, Ont., to the United States, while General Motors announced it was ending production of electric delivery vans in the province.
The company tapped to produce the commercial that created the furor has ties to the Progressive Conservative party, Global News previously reported.
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