(Bloomberg) -- Ontario’s premier is calling an early election, saying his government needs a fresh mandate to help Canada’s fight against potential tariffs from U.S. President Donald Trump.
Doug Ford confirmed Friday that citizens in Canada’s most populous province will go to the polls in late February. It’s the second big political shakeup in Canada tied to Trump’s return to power in Washington. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced his resignation on Jan. 6 after his finance minister quit, citing differences over how to prepare for the new US administration.
Ford has been aggressive in his calls for Canada to retaliate if Trump starts a trade war. “You can’t let someone hit you over the head with a sledgehammer without hitting them back twice as hard, in my opinion,” he said earlier this month.
He has suggested curbing energy exports to the US, if necessary, and accused Mexico of being “a backdoor” for Chinese goods.
“We need a mandate from the people to fight against Donald Trump’s tariffs,” Ford told reporters Friday. “He’s coming against our businesses and communities, and with a strong mandate, we will be able to fight with Donald Trump to make sure we stop the tariffs.”
Trump’s threat to impose 25% tariffs on Canadian goods has upended the outlook for Ontario, which accounts for about 40% of Canada’s economic output. The province of 16 million people is the heart of the country’s financial and manufacturing industries, with an automotive sector that is tightly integrated with plants in Michigan, Kentucky and other US states.
In an effort to appeal to Trump’s stated policy goals of greater security and more energy, Ford has released plans to strengthen security within Ontario near the Canada-US border and to build out a critical minerals supply chain.
He has also spent the past two months touting the mutual benefits of trade on US television networks and in conversations with American officials. “The only people that win is China on a disagreement between Canada and the US,” Ford told Bloomberg News in December.
Conservatives ahead
Ford, 60, has led Ontario since 2018 and his Progressive Conservative Party has held a majority in the provincial legislature the whole time. The next election wasn’t due until mid-2026, but he is trying to capitalize on a polling lead his party enjoys.
One of his main opponents, Bonnie Crombie, of the Liberal Party of Ontario, has accused him of using the fear of Trump and a trade war for political gain.
The premier “has spent the 76 days since Trump was reelected preparing for an unnecessary early election rather than coming up with a plan to help you and your family,” Crombie said in a statement earlier this week.
Crombie, 64, has worked for the Walt Disney Co., McDonald’s Corp. and the Insurance Bureau of Canada, according to her website. She’s also been a federal and municipal lawmaker, serving as mayor of Mississauga, a neighboring city to Toronto, until she resigned that role to become Liberal leader in 2023.
Ford’s other major opponent is Marit Stiles, the leader of the New Democratic Party, which has only governed Ontario once in its history, in the early 1990s. It’s currently the official opposition.
“The premier needs to focus on the 500,000 jobs at risk, not his own,” Stiles, 55, said in a social media post, referring to an estimate of the employment cost of a trade war.
The election call means Ontarians will probably be voting twice in a matter of months, given that a federal election is likely to be called soon after Canada’s Parliament resumes sitting at the end of March.