As premiers meet with U.S. colleagues in D.C., Ford says China is ‘laughing’ at potential Canada-U.S. trade war

Canada's 13 premiers and territorial leaders are planning to present a unified front to U.S. officials in Washington D.C. Judy Trinh has the details.

With the still-looming threat of U.S. President Donald Trump’s steel and aluminum tariffs, Canada’s premiers are in Washington, D.C. to defend against a widening trade war.

“The world is watching carefully,” Ontario Progressive Conservative Leader Doug Ford told the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, the largest lobbying group in the United States, in a speech on Tuesday.

White House says 25% tariffs on steel, aluminum would stack on other tariffs

“A lot of the world is saying ‘we’re next,’ and a lot of the world is sitting back and laughing,” he added. “And I’ll tell you, sitting back and laughing, is China. China’s sitting back and thinking, ‘we couldn’t ask for a better plan than this.’”

Ford, the current chair of the Council of the Federation, is leading Canada’s 13 provincial and territorial leaders in a united effort to stave off an economic war with a trade mission to D.C. this week, meeting with American lawmakers and industry leaders.

One of Trump’s latest executive orders — set to take effect on March 12 — imposes 25 per cent tariffs on steel and aluminum imports from all countries. Canada is the top exporter to the U.S. of both metals and sells about $35 billion to American companies annually.

Last week, the president pressed paused on a separate threat of punishing 25 per cent tariffs on all Canadian imports until March 4, pending progress on border security efforts.

The Canadian Press is reporting the steel and aluminum levies would be stacked on top of other levies on Canadian goods, adding up to a 50 per cent tariff on those imports.

In a series of meetings this week with U.S. lawmakers and CEOs, the premiers hope to persuade them to apply pressure to the Trump administration to exempt Canada, their biggest customer, from tariffs.

“It’s so important to remember everything we’ve achieved together,” Ford said, pointing to the Canada-U.S. relationship as longtime friends and allies. “But now more than ever, we need to focus on the future, and we need to be very clear-eyed about the real risk we’re facing right now, about the true trade war we’re waging, which is in my opinion, totally unnecessary.”

Ford said both countries need to stay focused on what he called the “common economic enemy,” which he says is China.

“Let’s stick together, and please get the message to President Trump, this is not a good idea for both countries,” Ford said Tuesday.

The Ontario premier also elaborated on his pitch for “Fortress Am-Can,” which he says would build upon Ontario’s existing nuclear infrastructure to deliver more power south of the border. On Tuesday, he called it a potential “beacon of stability, security and long-term economic growth” for both countries.

While in D.C., Ford is also meeting with Representative Lisa McCain of Michigan, Congressman Rob Wittman of Virginia, and Senator Kevin Cramer of North Dakota.

As part of Ford’s American outreach, Ontario also took out an ad buy during the Super Bowl on Sunday, with a 30-second spot on the Fox Sports streaming app.

Meanwhile, Finance Minister Dominic LeBlanc is set to travel to D.C. to meet with U.S. Secretary of Commerce nominee Howard Lutnick late Wednesday morning, CTV News has learned.

Who are the premiers meeting with?

While Ford addressed the Chamber of Commerce ahead of a fireside chat and media availability, the other premiers also fanned out to meet with politicians and industry players that are key to their respective provinces.

Speaking to reporters on Tuesday, Quebec Premier François Legault says the tariffs on aluminum imports don’t “make sense” for Trump. According to Legault, the U.S. only produces enough aluminum to meet 14 per cent of its needs, while Quebec supplies 60 per cent.

Legault added there is plenty of demand from other countries for Quebec aluminum, so there’s “not much of a risk” to the industry in the province, whereas the U.S. could struggle to import enough of the resource to meet its needs, factoring in the significant added cost to American importers paying a 50 per cent tariff.

“He would like to have more manufacturing jobs in United States, but for sure, it won’t be in the aluminum business,” Legault said.

Saskatchewan Premier Scott Moe arrived Monday to meet with a U.S. law firm that lobbies on behalf of the prairie province’s interests. Despite Trump’s broken promise of a 30-day reprieve, Moe says Canada should not immediately levy retaliatory tariffs at this point, but instead should continue focusing on diplomacy.

“What’s far more effective is us ensuring that everyone that is close to President Trump or involved in the administration, whether from us as sub-national leaders or industries that do business on both sides of the border, that they understand the full impact of what tariffs will do,” Moe said in an interview with CTV National News.

The premiers will also meet with Cramer to get insight on Trump’s reasoning and other ways to fend off tariffs. Cramer, according to his website, is a “strong advocate for the free market system.”

Cramer also chairs the Airland Subcommittee, which oversees the U.S. Air Force and Army. He is a Trump supporter and represents a state with several military bases and recruiting stations.

Trump has previously stated that NATO allies should contribute five per cent of their GDP on military spending, more than double the current two per cent commitment.

Canada’s current military spending amounts to 1.37 per cent of the country’s GDP, and the federal government has committed to reaching the two per cent target by 2032. Some Liberal leadership hopefuls, however, are promising to reach the decade-old two per cent pledge sooner than that, during Trump’s second presidential term.

Why the tariffs?

As Trump shakes up global trade, the best explanation for his tariff moves may be in a policy document written by Stephen Miran, Trump’s pick to lead his Council of Economic Advisors.

Miran believes the protectionist policies will lead to a stronger U.S. dollar, which will offset any immediate risks that new tariffs could pose to American consumers.

According to Miran, tariffs can be used by the U.S. to generate revenue, but also wielded by the administration to protect domestic industries and extract concessions from other countries.

Meanwhile, since his inauguration, Trump has repeatedly threatened to annex Canada, saying last month he would use “economic force” to do so.

Last week at a Canada-U.S. economic summit in Toronto, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau told an audience of 200 Canadian business executives and labour leaders that Trump is not joking when talks about making Canada the “51st state,” adding that the commander-in-chief wants access to Canada’s trove of critical minerals.

With files from CTV News’ Spencer Van Dyk