Ontario Premier, mayors prepare for upcoming ‘tariff war’

Premier Doug Ford says the upcoming tariff war is going to be a matter of survival for provinces like Ontario.

Ford and other leaders from the region are vowing to “take the fight to the U.S.” to protect the economy and jobs in the province and the country.

The trade war could be so damaging to Canadians and Americans that there was a lot of skepticism about whether Trump would actually do it.

Ford says Donald Trump doesn’t know what he’s getting into with this tariff fight and, “to the president, I’m a different type of cat – I’m not going to roll over and get annihilated.”

“I’ll fight right to the death, not that there’s going to be any deaths, but the economy – he has no idea, he has absolutely no idea,” he said.

Monday afternoon Trump announced that the 25 per cent tariffs put on Canadian and Mexican imports would go into effect Tuesday.

READ MORE: Economy-wide tariffs to hit Canada Tuesday, Trump says

Ford says those tariffs could leave Ontario and its huge manufacturing economy fighting for its life.

“This is survival mode. If we want to survive these tariffs literally we need to make sure we move forward,” he said.

For starters, Ford says he is implementing a government buy-Ontario and buy-Canadian policy.

He is also ready to make stores mark their products so that people know when they’re buying Canadian or not.

“I’m asking politely before we implement it: every retail shelf, we need to see a Canadian flag on that price. Please work with us, or we’re going to legislate it,” he said.

Local worries about the incoming tariff war

While Ford is gearing up for a fight, mayors of Great Lakes cities on both sides of the border are heading to Washington to fight Trump’s tariff plan.

Mat Siscoe, the mayor of St. Catharines, describes the entire tariff war situation as “mindboggling.”

“We’ve got nine thousand jobs in the city that are dependent on exports to the U.S.,” he said. “I’ve had meetings from the local automotive sector, the shipping sector, and none of us can really understand where this is coming from.”

Niagara Falls is trying to walk a tightrope between protecting its manufacturing economy and welcoming American tourism.

Jim Diodati, the mayor of Niagara Falls, says they don’t want to see public sentiment become an “anti-American” thing, as around 25 per cent of visitors to Niagara Falls are American, who also represent 50 per cent of local revenue.

“We’re talking billions of dollars, we want to prepare for the tariffs and protect ourselves, and at the same time make sure the people come to visit us,” he said.

Hamilton Mayor Andrea Horwath says the Great Lakes cities will be sending a collective Canada-U.S. message to Trump.

“Having these meetings jointly with reps from cities on both sides of the border is the goal, so that you can send the message that this isn’t just about Canadian cities or the Canadian economy, and having our counterparts in the U.S. saying the exact same thing,” she said.

But with tariffs coming into effect, Premier Ford says he’s ready to do whatever it takes to win a tariff war, even cutting off Ontario electricity to the U.S.

The mayors are heading to Washington Tuesday to make their case to senators, congress members and others.

While the Premier says he is already hearing from officials in Kentucky that they’re upset about the LCBO being told take American alcohol off the shelves.

READ MORE: Hamilton mayor to attend tariff discussion in Washington, D.C. this week