Ontario premier vows new strategy after heated insult exchange with President Trump amid tariff war

During a Bloomberg Television interview, Ontario premier Doug Ford acknowledged that his exchange of barbs with President Donald Trump became overly heated, describing it as "carried away." The tension follows the United States' decision to impose 50% tariffs on a wide range of Canadian imports after trade talks collapsed, prompting Prime Minister Mark Carney to announce reciprocal counter-tariffs. Ford said he would pursue a different tactic, favoring electricity surcharges over a full power cut-off, and noted Canada’s plan to double counter-tariffs on U.S. steel, aluminum, milk, furniture, clothing, video-game consoles and electronics to 50%.

He recalled a prior one-day 25% surcharge on electricity sent to three U.S. states that was later reversed to keep negotiations alive. The trade conflict has hit Ontario's manufacturing heartland hard, and the province was among the first to remove U.S. alcohol from its liquor shelves. Ford's combative style has repeatedly strained relations with the Trump administration.