As the US and Canada are again at loggerheads over tariffs after recent talks between trade negotiators, Ontario Premier Doug Ford rebuked US President Donald Trump with his typical choice of cringe-worthy words.
The 61-year-old Ford, whose official name is Douglas Robert Ford Jr., had earlier told reporters that Trump could “kiss your ass”. When asked by reporters if Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney had urged him to reduce his remarks on Trump, Ford said on Monday, August 25: “I have a lot of real estate on my ass, so he has a lot of room to kiss my ass.”
Ford is a Canadian politician and businessman who has served as the 26th premier of Ontario and as leader of the Progressive Conservative Party of Ontario since 2018. Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney abruptly ended the negotiations with the USA on Friday, August 21, leading to Trump impose a 50% tariff on some Canadian exports. This prompted Carney to announce that he would match that “dollar for dollar” on US exports.
“Loser”, “dictator” and “bully” are some of the other words Ford has chosen to describe Trump as. The US President has also mounted personal attacks on Ford, calling him the “less charismatic, intelligent, and overall unimpressive brother” of the late former Toronto mayor Rob Ford.
Rejecting Trump’s criticism of his leadership, Ford said he would communicate directly with US governors, senators and members of Congress to make the case against Trump’s tariff policies. As the USA and Canada remain locked in discord over US tariffs, Ford has expressed apprehensions that the steel, auto and manufacturing sectors of Canada could receive a blow due to the tariff impositions.
Trump, who has been accusing Canada of taking advantage of the US, said Tuesday, August 25, that he was considering changing the name of Lake Ontario to “Lake America”. This announcement has caused loads of resentment in Canada as many are reminded of Trump’s unilateral action last year of issuing an executive order to rename the Gulf of Mexico the Gulf of America.
