Doug Ford’s personal views about U.S. President Donald Trump bubbled to the surface of Ontario’s snap election campaign after candid comments by the Progressive Conservative party leader were picked up at a campaign stop.
Speaking to a small group of people at his local campaign headquarters, Ford appeared to explain his initial admiration for Trump in a moment caught on hot mic.
“On election day, was I happy this guy won? One hundred per cent I was,” Ford can be heard saying in the clip. “Then the guy pulled out the knife and f****** yanked it into us.”
On Monday when Ford made the comments, Trump was planning to level 25 per cent tariffs on Canadian exports to the United States. By dinner time the same day, that threat had been pushed off until at least early March.
Ford’s team did not respond to questions from Global News in time for publication.
The campaign trail was dominated by the threat of Trump’s tariffs with the PCs, Liberals and NDP all unveiling promises to tackle the fallout on Monday.
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The PC leader unveiled billions in new promises for job protection funding and business relief if re-elected, while defending his decision to call an early election. Ford has said he needs a fresh mandate to deal with Trump but his opponents contend it hamstrings the province’s tariff response and was just called to benefit the PCs.
The election is “an attempt to cling to power,” Liberal Leader Bonnie Crombie said in Kitchener, Ont., on Monday.
“Why, when you know there’s a threat coming with an incoming president rattling the sabre of punitive economic measures including tariffs, would you choose this moment to go to an election call?” she said prior to the tariff reversal.
Green Party Leader Mike Schreiner said Ford is “playing politics” with tariffs and it’s wrong.
NDP Leader Marit Stiles said Ford should cancel a $100-million deal with Trump ally Elon Musk to provide Starlink satellite internet in northern Ontario as part of a plan to future-proof the province to potential tariff threats later in Trump’s administration.
Ford had been supportive of Trump in past public comments before he was elected Ontario premier, but maintained during the 2024 presidential election he would be happy with whichever candidate won.
During a news conference Monday, Ford also expressed his disappointment with Trump’s tariff approach.
“I’m sure there’s millions of Canadians that thought, ‘Oh okay, this might be a good change down in the U.S.,’” he said.
“It’s been a disaster, I’d never support that guy in my entire life. He goes up and just stabs you right in the heart, forget that… unprovoked, by the way — we aren’t the bad guys.”
He added, “(I’d) never support that guy again — ever.”
— with files from The Canadian Press
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