Ontario Premier Doug Ford is betting big on Prime Minister-designate Mark Carney to thaw the icy Canada-U.S. trade relations that plagued Justin Trudeau’s tenure. Speaking to reporters Wednesday after a breakfast meet-up with Carney at an Etobicoke diner, Ford predicted a smoother rapport between Carney and U.S. President Donald Trump. “Mark’s a sharp business mind—him and Trump speak the same language of numbers,” Ford said, nodding to their shared financial roots.
The optimism comes as a tit-for-tat trade war heats up. Canada slapped reciprocal tariffs on $29.8 billion worth of U.S. goods—matching Trump’s 25% steel and aluminum levies that kicked in Wednesday—prompting Carney to pledge support for affected workers with tariff proceeds. Fresh off his Liberal leadership win Sunday, Carney signaled openness to a Trump sit-down, but only “with respect for Canadian sovereignty.” Meanwhile, Ford heads to Washington Thursday with federal heavyweights Dominic LeBlanc and Francois-Philippe Champagne to push for a speedy United States-Canada-Mexico Agreement redo. “We need certainty, not just for us, but the world,” Ford insisted.