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BONUS: Ontario Premier Doug Ford Talks US-Canada Trade Tensions · Balance of Power

• 0:00
  Speaker 1: Trade tensions between the U.S. and Canada are reaching new highs.
• 0:04
  Speaker 1: Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney announcing the country will double
• 0:07
  Speaker 1: its counter-tariffs on American steel and aluminum products, along with
• 0:10
  Speaker 1: a slew of other levies to additional goods, matching the U.S.
• 0:13
  Speaker 1: tariffs announced last weekend nearly dollar for dollar. Canada's finance
• 0:18
  Speaker 1: minister addressing what went into their government's decision earlier today.
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  Speaker 2: Well, you know, I think things got a little heated, Joe,
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  Speaker 2: yesterday between both of us. He was throwing insults. He's
• 0:27
  Speaker 2: not shy to throw insults to anyone. And I hit back,
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  Speaker 2: but I think it'd be more productive if we actually
• 0:34
  Speaker 2: sit down and the prime minister and the president sit
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  Speaker 2: down and have a fair deal for everyone. Because right now,
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  Speaker 2: there's not certainty in either country. There's not stability. I
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  Speaker 2: talk to a lot of governors and senators and congresspeople.
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  Speaker 2: They need certainty. Their constituents need certainty. And the way
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  Speaker 2: you do it is by signing a fair trade deal.
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  Speaker 2: And I told the prime minister, no deal is better
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  Speaker 2: than a bad deal. And we have to go tariff
• 1:02
  Speaker 2: for tariff and dollar for dollar. And it's unfortunate. We
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  Speaker 2: had an attack from President Trump on our sovereignty, on
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  Speaker 2: our country, on the economy that were so integrated. Both
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  Speaker 2: countries were both each other's number one customer. And it
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  Speaker 2: just doesn't make sense to attack... attack each other.
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  Speaker 1: Well, we understand Ontario is disproportionately impacted by these tariffs
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  Speaker 1: when you look across.
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  Speaker 2: The country of Canada.
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  Speaker 1: Will you move, if this is the direction we're going in,
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  Speaker 1: to cut off electricity to the United States as you threaten?
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  Speaker 2: Well, I wouldn't say cut it off, but surcharges for sure.
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  Speaker 2: It doesn't make sense to the Ontario people that when
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  Speaker 2: we're under attack economically, that we'd be sending electricity down
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  Speaker 2: to companies and residents to keep their power going. I
• 1:55
  Speaker 2: have an idea, Joe. I'd like to send more electricity
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  Speaker 2: down there. I'd like to create Fortress North America and
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  Speaker 2: keep an eye on people that may not see eye
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  Speaker 2: to eye with both countries like China and Russia. But
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  Speaker 2: right now, it seems like the president's treating communist China
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  Speaker 2: better than his closest friend and ally for over 200 years.
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  Speaker 2: It's not productive. And a tariff on Canada is nothing
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  Speaker 2: more than a tax on the American people. And we've
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  Speaker 2: seen that. They're going to be paying thousands of dollars
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  Speaker 2: more in cost. The president ran on reducing unemployment and
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  Speaker 2: it's actually, he lost jobs last month. We gained 52,000
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  Speaker 2: in Ontario alone, 120,000 in four months. We're diversifying our trade.
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  Speaker 2: And once that train leaves the station, And we're dealing
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  Speaker 2: with other countries around the world, which we've seen increases
• 2:44
  Speaker 2: of 100, 150 percent of new trade. It's hard to
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  Speaker 2: turn that train around. So we're going to continue working
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  Speaker 2: with the administration. And I'm confident the prime minister and
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  Speaker 2: the president, hopefully the president will come to their senses
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  Speaker 2: and actually make a fair deal.
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  Speaker 1: Well, I'll tell you, I've been watching the president's truth
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  Speaker 1: social feed, as I am sure you have. He's been
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  Speaker 1: saying a lot, posting a lot about Canada, including this one.
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  Speaker 2: The U.S.
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  Speaker 1: Is giving serious consideration, he says, to changing the name
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  Speaker 1: of Lake Ontario to Lake America, in that we don't
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  Speaker 1: expect to be doing much business with.
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  Speaker 2: Ontario much longer.
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  Speaker 1: How much of this is serious, Premier? How much of
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  Speaker 1: this is chest thumping around the negotiating table that will
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  Speaker 1: actually end up in a deal?
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  Speaker 2: Well, you know something, that's up to the president if
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  Speaker 2: he wants to change Lake Ontario to Lake America. I
• 3:39
  Speaker 2: know Canadians, we're always going to call it Lake Ontario.
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  Speaker 2: But that's a lot of rhetoric again. And he's saying
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  Speaker 2: he won't do a lot of business with Ontario. Well,
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  Speaker 2: let me remind the president, 9 million Americans wake up
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  Speaker 2: every single morning. to produce a product, a widget, or
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  Speaker 2: a service for Ontario. If we were a standalone country,
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  Speaker 2: which I never recommend, we'd be your third largest trading
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  Speaker 2: partner in the world, Ontario alone. Canada is your number
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  Speaker 2: one customer. Ontario is a number one customer to 15
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  Speaker 2: states and number two to 12 others. So it would really,
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  Speaker 2: really affect a lot of states. I'll give you an example, Joe.
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  Speaker 2: You know, already the auto sector has been hit by
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  Speaker 2: $ 110 billion. That's $ 110 billion in And I feel for
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  Speaker 2: the auto workers in Ontario, but I also, because I
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  Speaker 2: love the Americans, I love the U.S., I think about
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  Speaker 2: the workers in Texas and Kentucky and Michigan and Illinois
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  Speaker 2: and Ohio that are going to lose their job because
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  Speaker 2: we buy 400% more vehicles than anywhere else in the
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  Speaker 2: entire world. And so it's going to be unfortunate if
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  Speaker 2: we go down this road.
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  Speaker 1: Bring us inside to the extent that you can. What
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  Speaker 1: happened on Saturday night? There was a lot of Ink
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  Speaker 1: spilled in the days before this to suggest that a
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  Speaker 1: deal was at hand. We know things fell apart at
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  Speaker 1: the 11th hour. There has been reporting that Howard Lutnick
• 4:58
  Speaker 1: might have been the one who pulled the plug on things.
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  Speaker 1: Who are you looking at on the other side of
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  Speaker 1: the table who is walking away from the table?
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  Speaker 2: Well, what happened, I mentioned where the engine of Canada,
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  Speaker 2: Ontario is, and I told the prime minister, this is
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  Speaker 2: an absolute terrible deal. It's a terrible deal for auto sectors,
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  Speaker 2: for steel workers, for manufacturing.
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  Speaker 1: But did the terms of that deal change at the
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  Speaker 1: last minute? We understand that there was some real miscommunication
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  Speaker 1: on the way these messages were sent.
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  Speaker 2: It was. What I understand, you know, they kept changing
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  Speaker 2: the goalposts constantly right up to the last minute. And
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  Speaker 2: you can't negotiate when you change a goalpost in the
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  Speaker 2: last minute. You have to have trust and faith in
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  Speaker 2: your partner.
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  Speaker 1: Do you have trust and faith in Howard Lutnick?
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  Speaker 2: Well, you know, Howard is a shrewd operator, and I've
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  Speaker 2: talked to him a few times. He's trying to protect
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  Speaker 2: the United States, and the best way to protect the
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  Speaker 2: United States is make a deal. In the auto sector,
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  Speaker 2: I always say you can't unscramble an egg that's been
• 6:00
  Speaker 2: around since the 1960s, the auto pack. You have to
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  Speaker 2: make the omelette larger. And when we see Chinese vehicles
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  Speaker 2: coming in, That's really challenging for auto workers in the
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  Speaker 2: US and in Canada. There's one way to fix this,
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  Speaker 2: just like Ronald Reagan. Ronald Reagan never believed in tariffs.
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  Speaker 2: He believed in making sure that he created an environment
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  Speaker 2: and conditions for Americans to have more jobs, more exports,
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  Speaker 2: more trade around the world. And unfortunately, President Trump has
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  Speaker 2: taken a different avenue that just does not work. It's
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  Speaker 2: going to cost Americans thousands and thousands of dollars. And
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  Speaker 2: it's unfortunate. So we're the number one customer when it
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  Speaker 2: comes to steel and aluminum and oil, 4.1 million barrels
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  Speaker 2: of oil and potash that takes care of your agricultural sector,
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  Speaker 2: high-grade nickel. I could just keep listing it off, and
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  Speaker 2: it's going to hurt the American people. I love the
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  Speaker 2: American people. I love the U.S. Unfortunately, we've been put
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  Speaker 2: in this position when you attack our sovereignty and call
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  Speaker 2: us a 51st state and call the prime minister a governor,
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  Speaker 2: it's unfortunate. But that's who we're dealing with, and we'll
• 7:13
  Speaker 2: get through it. And hopefully the American people will see this,
• 7:17
  Speaker 2: voice their opinion, and we'll see what happens in the midterms.
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  Speaker 1: Well, speaking of what Canada buys, you buy a lot
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  Speaker 1: of booze as well. And American booze has not been
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  Speaker 1: on the shelves in Ontario since March of 2025. which
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  Speaker 1: I know was your decision at the time. And there
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  Speaker 1: have been questions about what it might take to get
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  Speaker 1: it back. Would that need to be a full deal
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  Speaker 1: with Canada?
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  Speaker 2: Yeah, I've said over and over again, Joe, you get
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  Speaker 2: a full deal, that booze is coming back on the shelves.
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  Speaker 2: It's really symbolic. It's about a billion dollars compared to
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  Speaker 2: the auto sector and the steel is worth over $ 100 billion.
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  Speaker 2: So yeah, I'd put the booze back down, back on
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  Speaker 2: the shelves and in a heartbeat if we had a
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  Speaker 2: fair deal. And I've been saying that over and over again.
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  Speaker 2: This does not work. We buy more agriculture products than any, well,
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  Speaker 2: actually we're tied with Mexico about $ 30 billion each. So
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  Speaker 2: there's a lot of things at play right now that
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  Speaker 2: just hurts two closest friends and two closest allies. I've
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  Speaker 2: been getting a lot of calls from the governors and
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  Speaker 2: senators and congresspeople saying this is terrible what's happening between
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  Speaker 2: our friendship and our two great countries.
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  Speaker 1: I'm struck by the tone of this whole conversation, Premier.
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  Speaker 1: And look, I know sometimes things get out of hand
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  Speaker 1: and you were feeling hot yesterday and so was the president.
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  Speaker 1: But I'm hearing a real conciliatory tone after all the
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  Speaker 1: fire yesterday. Did something happen overnight? Did you get a
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  Speaker 1: phone call or did you just wake up feeling that way? No.
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  Speaker 2: No. No, you know something? I love America and I
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  Speaker 2: love the U.S. And I'm thinking this is crazy. I
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  Speaker 2: spent 20 years of my life in the U.S. And
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  Speaker 2: I'm thinking, you know, President Trump has put two great
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  Speaker 2: countries in a position that we're fighting right now. And
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  Speaker 2: it's just not worth it. Yeah, it got heated yesterday,
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  Speaker 2: but let's move on. That's all part of going back
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  Speaker 2: and forth, but it got carried away, and I'm not
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  Speaker 2: innocent by any means. But I'm going to take a
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  Speaker 2: different approach. I'm going to move forward. I never got
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  Speaker 2: any calls from anyone. I just want to get a
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  Speaker 2: deal made. When I'm hearing from the American public, I
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  Speaker 2: get my phone number out publicly. It's on the Internet.
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  Speaker 2: I get a lot of calls from the U.S., but
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  Speaker 2: I get a lot of calls from elected officials down
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  Speaker 2: in the U.S., So let's just make a deal. Let's
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  Speaker 2: make this happen. Let's get both countries to prosper and
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  Speaker 2: grow and create jobs and stability and certainty. That's what
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  Speaker 2: we need. No one wins in a trade war.
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  Speaker 1: What are the odds we see you at the White
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  Speaker 1: House for a beer summit with President Trump when this
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  Speaker 1: is all, well, I guess not a beer summit, maybe
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  Speaker 1: a poutine summit, Premier?
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  Speaker 2: Yeah, well, you know, neither of us drink. So I
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  Speaker 2: don't know. This falls under the prime minister. They'll make
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  Speaker 2: that deal. And let's hope one day that the prime
• 10:10
  Speaker 2: minister can sit down and maybe have a poutine, a beer,
• 10:13
  Speaker 2: whatever it is, and sort this all out. Because it's
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  Speaker 2: really disappointing right now being attacked by President Trump because
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  Speaker 2: it just hurts the American people. That's all this is doing.
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  Speaker 2: We'll get through it. Both countries will get through it.
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  Speaker 2: But it's not going to be good. It's going to
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  Speaker 2: hurt the American people.
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  Speaker 1: Well, I'll tell you what, we'd love to talk with
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  Speaker 1: you after September 8th, whether tariffs are going into effect
• 10:44
  Speaker 1: or not. and see how you're feeling then, Premier Doug Ford.
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  Speaker 1: Thank you so much for being with us again on Bloomberg.
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  Speaker 2: Joe, thank you. God bless America. God bless Canada. Let's
• 10:52
  Speaker 2: make a deal. Simple as that. But thank you for
• 10:55
  Speaker 2: having me on. Let's make a deal.
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  Speaker 1: That was Ontario Premier Doug Ford.