Canadian trade delegation heads back to Washington, while Ford urges Carney to 'fight back'

OTTAWA — Ontario Premier Doug Ford says Canada needs to get tougher with the U.S. as two of Prime Minister Mark Carney’s top trade negotiators returned to Washington to continue trade talks in hopes of securing a deal that would see U.S. tariffs either removed or lessened.

Ford said if Canada can’t secure a trade deal soon with U.S. President Donald Trump, then “let’s start hitting him back.”

Speaking at a health-related announcement in Kenora, Ont., Ford said he would be meeting with Carney on Thursday, while Intergovernmental Affairs Minister Dominic LeBlanc and Michael Sabia, the Clerk of the Privy Council, lead talks with the U.S. in Washington, D.C.

“That guy, President Trump. He’s a real piece of work,” the premier told reporters on Wednesday. “You know something, what my message to the prime minister when I meet him on Thursday, is if you can’t get a deal, let’s start hitting him back.”

He argued that while Canada plays “nice in the sandbox,” Trump continues to levy new tariffs on Canadian products, pointing to the recent 10 per cent increase in U.S. tariffs on softwood lumber.

” I am sick and tired of sitting and rolling over,” Ford said. “We need to fight back.”

Carney’s meeting with Trump at the White House last week ended without any deal announced, but with Canadian officials expressing optimism that progress had been made regarding steel, aluminum, and energy.

The Prime Minister’s Office released a statement after the trip concluded, saying both Carney and Trump had directed their teams to “conclude this work in the coming weeks.”

“As Canada works towards an agreement with the United States, Minister LeBlanc is in Washington D.C. this week for further engagements with senior U.S. officials,” a spokesperson in LeBlanc’s office said in a statement.

Speaking to CNBC’s “Invest in America Forum” on Wednesday, U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent touched on the ongoing talks.

“The president had a very good meeting with Prime Minister Carney recently. So, I think U.S.-Canada’s back on track,” Bessent said, according to a transcript of his remarks.

Canada remains subject to 50 per cent tariffs on steel and aluminum that Trump levied under Section 232 of the U.S. Trade Expansion Act.

Copper and auto parts that are non-compliant with the Canada-U.S.-Mexico Free Trade Agreement, which is set for its first joint review next year, are also subject to U.S. tariffs.

Carney has defended Canada’s lack of a deal with Trump by pointing to the fact that goods covered by the agreement are exempt from U.S. tariffs, which account for roughly 85 per cent of products.

At the same time, Canada has been seeking specific sector relief, which is where pressure has been mounting.

British Columbia Premier David Eby recently called for the federal government to step up its support for those impacted by higher U.S. tariffs on softwood lumber and other products, such as cabinets.

The recent announcement by Stellantis that it would relocate its production of the Jeep Compass model from a plant in Brampton, Ont., to the U.S. also raised fresh concerns about job losses in the automotive sector.

In a statement Tuesday evening, Carney called the move “a direct consequence of current U.S. tariffs and potential U.S. trade actions.”

More to come …

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