Ford pushing for a ‘businessman to businessman meeting with Trump

Will there be dinner at Mar-a-Lago?

 

Premier Doug Ford says he’s pressing U.S. contacts for a face-to-face meeting with Donald Trump to persuade the president-elect his threat of 25-per-cent tariffs is a bad idea on both sides of the border.

 

“I have a lot of pokers in the fire, a lot of people that know him. Talked to a senator, a very important senator yesterday, saying ‘Hey, we’ll set up a meeting with him,’” said Ford, who has been campaigning hard against the threatened levies that would devastate Canada’s auto, manufacturing and energy exports and put jobs at risk.

 

The premier had several telephone conversations this week with senators, members of Congress, governors and other U.S. officials in the fight to pre-empt damaging tariffs when Trump returns to the White House on Jan. 20.

 

“So I just look forward to sitting down with him eye-to-eye, businessman to businessman, and saying, ‘you know, we need to cut a deal that’s going to be beneficial for Americans and Canadians,’” added the premier, who ran his family’s printing, label and decal business for years.

 

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and a small group of top advisers, including Dominic LeBlanc, who was named finance minister on Monday, flew south for a Nov. 29 dinner and three-hour meeting with Trump at his Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida — a state where Ford has a winter home.

Within days, Ford launched a pre-planned, multimillion-dollar ad blitz in the United States highlighting Ontario’s importance to the American economy. He noted that Ontario is America’s third-largest trading partner and the top export destination for 17 states, which means the tariffs would put millions of American jobs on the line.

 

Ford said his message is getting through in the wake of Trump’s Nov. 25 social media threat to impose the tariffs on all Canadian and Mexican products unless the two neighbouring countries tighten security at their borders to stem the tide of deadly fentanyl and illegal migrants.

 

“It’s hitting the kitchen tables of Americans. I’m getting calls from people I know down there saying, ‘boy … your ads are working,” said Ford, who has advocated for retaliatory Canadian tariffs and threatened to cut off electricity exports to New York state, Michigan and Minnesota if necessary.

 

“I’ve talked to senators and governors and congresspeople every single day and I’m not hearing the same story that’s coming out of president-elect Trump … they know how important Ontario and Canada is.”

 

Ford took to social media regularly this week to reveal which U.S. officials and media he has been speaking with.

The list includes Sen. Kevin Cramer of North Dakota and Congressman Adrian Smith of Nebraska, chairman of the trade subcommittee of the House Ways and Means Committee. Both are Republicans.

 

“I emphasized the need to take a Fortress Can-Am approach that stops China from using Mexico as a back door for cheap auto parts and other products to enter our markets,” said Ford.

 

He also spoke to outgoing U.S. Ambassador to Canada David Cohen, New York Gov. Kathy Hochul and Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, both Democrats, as well as CNN, the Wall Street Journal, the New York Times, Bloomberg news service and the Associated Press.

 

As well, he met in person with former CIA director and retired General David Petraeus “to discuss Canada’s critical military and economic partnership with the United States and the need for Canada to step up by meeting NATO’s military spending target of at least two per cent of GDP.”

 

Ford, who on Monday hosted a meeting of premiers and territorial leaders in Toronto to discuss the tariff threat, said they all pledged to keep the tariff fight front and centre.

 

“We have to get over this hurdle. We’re their closest friend and ally and we need to be treated that way,” he added.

 

“We’re going to ramp it up in January.”

 

 

 

 

 

This article was first reported by The Star