Ford says U.S. tariffs could put 500,000 Ontario jobs at risk

The premier was asked how he’d flow money to those hurt by tariffs – potentially something like the Canada Emergency Response Benefit that many used during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Ford offered few firm details.

“We’ll determine that when we see the tariffs come at us,” he said.

Ford stressed he’d rather work with the U.S., but feels Ontario’s manufacturing sector is something Trump wants to hamper.

“We’re the ones with the target on our back,” he said.

Ford said he's been speaking with various government ministries to get a handle on what damage U.S. tariffs could do to the province’s labour market.

The grim news: it could cost as many as 500,000 jobs, according to Ford.

Ford has said he may need a fresh mandate from the public – see, an election – in order to spend billions of tax dollars to support various sectors affected by potential tariffs.

Ford said he thinks Trump will “slow roll” the tariffs, but still believes they’re coming.

Ford, asked if launching an Ontario election would create a leadership vacuum at the moment Donald Trump may impose tariffs, once again said he and his party “haven’t decided” to call an early vote.

He said even if there was an election he “wouldn’t stop working.”

As a reminder, Ford has currently paused work at the Ontario Legislature until the beginning of March.

Just in: Ford is set to meet with Dominic Leblanc, Canada’s finance minister, on Tuesday afternoon.

Ford is speaking again about his “Fortress Am-Can” idea on Tuesday, and urging the federal government to take eleven specific actions on the security front.

That list includes meeting the NATO target for defence spending, building new ice breaker ships to patrol the Arctic and cracking down on illegal immigration.

All of this messaging comes with Donald Trump’s inauguration less than a week away. Ford has expressed deep concern about Trump’s plan to impose a 25 per cent tariff on Canadian goods.

What is \"Fortress Am-Can\", you ask? Here's more on Ford's energy plan.

One day after Ontario Premier Doug Ford said he may have to “let the people decide” if his government should spend billions of dollars to weather the punch of potential American tariffs, he will be speaking with reporters again in Toronto on Tuesday morning.

Ford has for weeks avoided giving a yes/no answer on whether he’ll call an election this year – potentially before a federal election that’s expected sooner than later. The fixed date for the next Ontario election is in June 2026, so this would be Ford’s move.

CBC Toronto will be livestreaming the news conference and updating this story as it happens, so check back when you can.

For more on the election speculation, check out this story from the CBC's Lane Harrison.