A high-stakes meeting between Canadian and U.S. officials on Thursday ended without any agreement on removing tariffs, but Ontario Premier Doug Ford said it was “productive,” and another talk is set to take place next week.
“I’m feeling very positive,” Ford said after he exited the U.S. Department of Commerce building at the conclusion of a nearly two-hour long sit-down with Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, which the premier described as the “best meeting I’ve ever had.”
Ford was joined by federal Finance Minister Dominic LeBlanc, Industry Minister Francois-Philippe Champagne and Canada’s ambassador to the U.S., Kirsten Hillman.
“We were having very productive conversations, and it turned out very, very well. And I just look forward to again continue communicating next week,” the premier said.
“We got a lot on the table, back and forth, but it was very, very good, very civil.”
Ford expressed that he felt the “temperature” had come down after it escalated this week when Ontario imposed a surcharge on the electricity it supplied to three states. The premier later suspended the surcharge when Lutnick offered him an “olive branch” in the form of Thursday’s meeting.
For LeBlanc, he said the meeting gave him and other Canadian officials an opportunity to understand the Trump administration’s “America first” economic and trade policies.
According to LeBlanc, U.S. Trade Representative James Greer and senior officials from the commerce and trade departments were also at the meeting.
“Obviously, we reiterated the long-standing position of our government that the tariffs are unjustified, that we think it’s much more constructive to build a strong North American economy by working together, by dealing with issues as important as China and other issues that frankly should be dealt with by economic partners working together, not in the context of applying tariffs to one another,” LeBlanc said at a later news conference.
LeBlanc added that both countries agreed to maintain dialogue.
When pressed if any tangible changes were coming as a result of the meeting, Champagne told reporters that “the fact that we’re engaging is a tangible outcome.
He echoed Ford’s sentiments, calling the discussion “constructive.”
“We made sure that they understand that we’re here to defend Canadian interests, that there’s potential for reset as well, where you have now a new prime minister that is going to be sworn in tomorrow to make sure that we engage constructively, that we engage in respect, and that we make sure that we look at the opportunities for us to do more together,” Champagne said.
He added that they left the meeting with a better understanding of the Trump administration’s policies. He said knowing “the rules of the game” will help Canada win the trade war.
As for the “vibe” of the meeting, Champagne repeated that it was constructive but admitted that there were “disagreements.”
“As long as you have dialogue, you’re making progress. That’s how I see it. Obviously, they understand our position. We understand their position, but there’s a dialogue,” he said.
Minutes before the meeting began, Lutnick struck an adversarial tone, saying the proper approach the U.S. should take with Canada was to demand concessions.
“We are going to come in and talk, but what should you expect? You should expect exactly what you heard President Trump say today; ‘What are you doing for us. I know what we are doing for you but what are you doing for us?’” Lutnick said in an interview on Fox News.
“I think that is the right way of looking at it. It is our president’s way of looking at it, and that is what you should expect.”
Lutnick also suggested that Ford had been put in his place by Trump’s threats to raise tariffs.
“Imagine a provincial leader, so the equivalent of a governor, deciding that they are going to attack America and put a 25 per cent increase on energy prices to teach Donald Trump a lesson,” he said ahead of the meeting. “Guess what happened. He learned a lesson.”
Ontario’s premier has been sparring with the U.S. in a series of back-and-forth threats, which culminated in Lutnick’s invitation.
On Monday, Ford said he would impose a 25 per cent surcharge on electricity Ontario sells to 1.5 million U.S. customers in response to steel and aluminum tariffs imposed by the U.S.
Trump hit back, threatening to raise the tariffs to 50 percent. Ford agreed to pause the surcharge after Lutnick reached out to offer a meeting.
Still, Trump characterized it as a victory, claiming to reporters that Ford “withdrew his little threat” because of the possibility of higher steel and aluminum tariffs.
At the same time, he called Ford a “very strong man” and said he respected the decision to pause the surcharge.
For his part, Ford said Thursday he was hoping for a “constructive meeting” but made it clear he won’t be bullied.
Ford made the comment in an in-studio appearance on Fox News ahead of the meeting in Washington, D.C.
“We want a constructive meeting. I just have to remind the American people, the President and Secretary Lutnick; we’re your largest customer. There’s no one that buys more products off the United States than we do.”
Ford cautioned that Americans are “going to be paying a lot more for everything, right across the board” if the tariffs persist and pointed to the chaos seen in stock markets amid the uncertainty.
He said the “world is watching” to see how the U.S. treats its closest ally and trading partner, and he’s hoping that the meeting will help “bring down the temperature.”
Still, he vowed to stand strong in negotiations, despite his past support for Trump.
“Now he (Trump) wants to attack our families, take food off our table, shut down our manufacturing facilities, and as the Premier of Ontario, I’m supposed to roll over? I can tell you, I’ll never roll over, never ever,” Ford said.
Referencing a recent shouting match that took place in the oval office with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Ford quipped, “I’ll make sure I thank him.”
On Wednesday, Ford spoke by phone to the other premiers and also met with Prime Minister-Designate Mark Carney ahead of the meeting.
Leblanc said Wednesday that the focus of the meeting would be removing the steel and aluminum tariffs and that the delegation would not be renegotiating the USMCA.
