VIDEO: Ontario Premier Doug Ford talks Trump tariff threats, 51st state joke on Fox News

While experts say Canada needs to take U.S. president-elect Donald Trump’s threat of 25 per cent tariffs to heart, Ontario Premier Doug Ford went on Fox News to tell the American public both countries are “so much stronger together.”

Following a decisive win in month’s U.S. presidential election, Trump took to social media to say he would sign an executive order slapping a broad 25 per cent tariff on all products coming into the U.S. from Canada and Mexico.

The president-elect has also ruffled feathers north of the border with what’s been described as a joke about Canada becoming the 51st American state.

With questions surrounding what the relationship between the two countries will be once Trump takes office again, Premier Ford went on Fox News on Wednesday to share his thoughts on Trump’s threats of 25 per cent tariffs, the president-elect’s apparent joke, and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s recent visit to Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate.

“We’ve always had an incredible relationship – Canada and the U.S. – and we want to continue that,” Ford told Fox’s Neil Cavuto in the interview.

Ford called it “unfortunate” that Canada has been lumped into the tariff conversation with other nations, saying he wants to “build a CanAm Fortress.”

“The real focus should be on China, it should be on Mexico,” Ford said, pointing to Chinese imports he says are brought into the U.S. and Canada through Mexico that are “costing Americans’ and Canadians’ jobs.”

“That’s what we should focus on,” Ford said. “We’re so much stronger together.”

When asked about Trudeau’s trip to visit Trump in Florida, Ford says it was the right call.

I had a great time chatting with @TeamCavuto on @FoxNews about how the U.S. and Canada are so much stronger together. Whether it’s critical minerals, oil and gas or nuclear energy, no one is better positioned to help America’s growing economy than Canada. Let’s build Fortress… pic.twitter.com/yoWFCKimzM

— Doug Ford (@fordnation) December 4, 2024

“Right now it’s Team Canada, and I’m glad that the prime minister went down there,” Ford said, noting Trudeau was “the first leader of the G7” to visit the incoming president.

Canadian business leaders say Trump’s threat to impose a 25 per cent tariff on all Canadian goods would be a “lose-lose” scenario, with local companies facing pressure to lower costs while their American counterparts pay more.

Ford said Canada is “part of the family” and the No. 1 trading partner with the U.S., with “nine million Americans wake up every single morning to produce products that get shipped up to our province.”

“I think it’s a great partnership, it’s a great friendship that’s gone on for many, many generations and we want to keep it that way.”

Trudeau flew to Florida on Friday to meet with Trump, where the president-elect made an apparent joke about Canada joining the U.S.

Fox News reported on Monday that Trump made the comment to Trudeau about Canada becoming the 51st American state in response to Canadians raising concerns that tariffs would hurt the economy.

When asked about the quip, Ford laughed it off calling it “a funny comment” from the president-elect who he said “has a good sense of humour.”

The Ontario premier fired back with a jab of his own, alluding to the War of 1812 fought between the fledgling U.S. and the United Kingdom, including soldiers from the Canadian Militia.

“I guess he’s still upset that, you know, in 1812 we burned down your White House and he’s holding a grudge after 212 years,” Ford joked back.

“But I understand (the comment), he’s a funny guy,” Ford said.

Ford said he doesn’t think the threat will escalate into a tariff war with Canada and other countries.

“Ontario alone does $500 billion of two-way trade, and I might add, it’s equally split down the centre…the supply chain is very connected,” Ford said, pointing to the auto industry as an example.