Ford, Ontario’s premier, reacted on Monday to the U.S. Supreme Court’s Friday decision, arguing that legal constraints and political pressure were narrowing Trump’s options. In an interview that also looked ahead to the November midterms, Ford said Trump is facing growing resistance after the court struck down much of the tariff program.
Ford said Canada is in an “economic war” and argued that Canada should not accept unfavorable terms, saying “no deal is better than a bad deal with Trump.” He said he was “pretty staggering” that a single person could create “so much turmoil around the world,” adding that he was waiting for the U.S. midterms as a factor that could further limit Trump.
The Supreme Court’s ruling followed Trump’s use of an emergency powers law to impose tariffs on nearly every country in the world, a legal basis the court rejected in a Friday decision. The AP reported that Trump said he would pursue a different legal authority going forward, even though it was described as more limited.
Ford said the tariffs are taking a toll on parts of Canada’s economy, particularly aluminum, steel, autos and lumber. He said the broader trade relationship between Canada and the U.S. is largely governed by the United States-Mexico-Canada trade pact, but he warned that tariffs outside USMCA coverage were still affecting specific sectors and contributing to inflation.
Ford also said he warned that Trump could scrap the free trade deal that is under review this year. He said other countries—including Japan and the U.K.—had “rushed in to get a deal” and that Trump later turned on them, and he said Canada was going to “be cautious.”
Addressing U.S. politics, Ford said many Republican seats could be up for grabs in the November elections for control of the House and Senate, including seats in Michigan. He said the House voted earlier this month to slap back Trump’s tariffs on Canada, a rebuke that he described as unusual even if largely symbolic, with Republicans joining Democrats to support the resolution.
Ford pointed to the Supreme Court decision as another factor tightening the political situation for Trump, saying “You saw him lose the vote and six Republicans crossed the floor with Congress and then you saw the Supreme Court.” He also said he believed the tariffs are contributing to inflation, adding that “Down in the U.S. people are feeling the crunch” and that they do not see prices falling because of uncertainty Trump created.
The AP said Trump recently threatened to impose a 100% tariff on goods imported from Canada after Canada proposed a China trade deal, escalating a feud with the longtime U.S. ally and Prime Minister Mark Carney. Daniel Béland, a political science professor at McGill University in Montreal, said on Monday that it can carry “a diplomatic risk” for foreign politicians to criticize Trump “so bluntly and publicly,” noting an episode from last fall involving an Ontario anti-tariff ad that featured Ronald Reagan.
Béland said Ford’s comments fit with what he said many Canadians think, describing Trump as highly unpopular in Canada and arguing that Ford’s remarks matched that sentiment.