Ontario Premier Doug Ford appears to be ready to trigger an early election in the province as he now suggests the four-year term of U.S. President Donald Trump is justification enough for his government to ask voters for a “clear mandate.”
The justification is the latest in an evolution of reasons to potentially call an early election as the Progressive Conservative party rides high in the polls and Ford himself enjoys a boost in approval ratings for his role in fighting the spectre of potential tariffs.
On Monday, as Trump took the oath of office, his administration promised to announce an “America First” trade policy but stopped short of applying the 25 per cent tariffs on all goods shipped from Canada to the United States.
Instead, U.S. media reports said the president plans to issue an executive order that will direct federal agencies to investigate accusations of unfair trade and currency practices.
While Ford had initially stated that tariffs would upend Ontario’s economy, potentially impacting between 450,000 to 500,000 jobs and requiring a massive economic stimulus plan, the latest developments left Ford undeterred.
“This is going to be for four years with Donald Trump — he wants to undermine us any which way he can, he wants to take jobs away from Ontarians, he wants to attract business from Ontario to come down to the United States and I’m going to use every tool in the toolbox to protect the people of Ontario,” he said.
“We need a clear mandate, not for tomorrow, not for the next day, for four years of dealing with our American friends.”
Ford said the mandate would give Ontario a “loud voice” in both Washington, D.C., and Ottawa to push back on potential tariffs.
Ford currently serves as the chair of the Council of the Federation, enabling him to speak on behalf of Canada’s premiers – a role that won him wide recognition from his provincial counterparts and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau during a First Minister’s Meeting in Ottawa.
He is scheduled to visit Washington, D.C., in early February with the country’s other premiers.
Ford’s insistence that he needs to go to the polls to get approval for new spending comes despite the fact the province’s three opposition parties have all said they would help him to quickly pass a stimulus bill.
The Ontario NDP, Liberals and Greens have all demanded the premier rule out an early election, claiming a snap poll in the province would create unnecessary instability.
“Regardless of what the president does on his first day in office… we need stability right now and I don’t think we need an election,” said Green Party Leader Mike Schreiner.
While the premier has yet to announce a date for a potential early election, the Progressive Conservative party has been busy preparing for the campaign to come.
The party has been appointing candidates in non-incumbent ridings and some MPPs have secured campaign offices, while at least one has taken out billboards to appeal to voters in their ridings.
Even before Trump’s tariffs were a factor, the party appeared to be setting the stage for an early election by taking a clear side on controversial issues such as bike lanes, supervised consumption sites and encampments.
The Ford government also added more than $3 billion to Ontario’s deficit, enabling the province to send $200 cheques to residents and children – a move that political opponents have dismissed as a “gimmick” to help secure votes.