Canada · 04 September, 2026 · 3 min read
Doug Ford Says Trump’s 50% Tariffs Would Be Devastating for U.S. and Canada
Ford opposes tariffs, warns trade war would devastate US and Canada. Canada retaliated with tariffs on about $20 billion in US goods.
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7 of 9 outlets skipped it: ontario hardest hit with tens of thousands of manufacturing job losses..
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Tariffs escalate Canada-US fight
Ontario Premier Doug Ford said a trade war would be "devastating" for the U.S. and Canada as President Donald Trump announced 50% tariffs on many Canadian goods after trade talks between the two countries fell apart.
“Ontario's premier says trade war would be 'devastating' for US and Canada”
Ford told ABC News' "This Week" co-anchor Martha Raddatz that "Everyone's feeling bullied by President Trump, and this is the worst thing you could do for the American economy," and he called Trump's renaming of Lake Ontario "disappointing."
Canada responded by adding retaliatory tariffs on many U.S. goods starting Sept. 8, while Trump also said he would double auto tariffs on Canada starting Jan. 1, 2027.
ABC News reported that more than 70% of total exports in Canada go to the U.S., and nearly 60% of imports to Canada come from the U.S., with Prime Minister Mark Carney pointing to oil as a major driver of the trade deficit.
In the same dispute, Carney said Canada makes up 60% of the United States' crude oil imports, and Raddatz asked Ford whether the U.S. deal for a majority stake in more than 65 billion barrels of Venezuelan oil reserves gives Washington leverage.
Carney urges seriousness, not memes
Prime Minister Mark Carney told the Trump administration to “stop doing memes, stop throwing shade and stop trying to be tough,” as he pushed back against a fresh wave of attacks from Washington during the U.S.-Canada trade fight.
Carney said trade talks could resume if Washington became serious about negotiations, but he accused the United States of pursuing terms that could leave Canadian industries “gradually wound down in Canada and wiped out.”
Carney’s comments came after Trump moved to rename Lake Ontario “Lake America” and after U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said Canada could not go “tit for tat” with a U.S. economy 13 times larger.
The BBC reported that last week the U.S. imposed an additional 50% levy on about C$28bn ($20bn; £15bn) of Canadian goods, while Canada announced counter-tariffs it called a "dollar-for-dollar" and "strategic" retaliation.
In Toronto, Carney also said Washington sought an “uncompetitive” deal for key industries including autos, and he said “Canada is a sovereign state. We will strike free trade deals with the countries we wish to strike free trade deals,” as tensions continued after talks collapsed Aug. 21.
Retaliation hits goods and budgets
Canada retaliated on Tuesday with tariffs on about $20 trillion in U.S. goods, including steel, dairy products, appliances, and farm equipment, as the trade war threatened one of the world’s largest trade relationships.
“Canada responded on Tuesday to the United States with retaliatory tariffs on about $20 trillion in U.S. goods”
French-speaking Finance Minister François-Philippe Champagne said, “We did not choose this conflict, but when our economic integration is used as a weapon rather than the basis for a partnership in which everyone wins, we need to stand up,” calling it an “unprecedented challenge imposed on Canada.”
The ABC7 Los Angeles report said tariffs would take effect on September 8 with rates of 15%, 25%, and 50%, and it said Canada would match the corresponding U.S. tariff rate on more than 700 products.
In Ohio, CBC reported that Joe Koch said, "People are just going to not build that house this year. They're going to wait 'til interest rates lower. They're going to wait 'til the tariffs subside or the political landscape changes," describing the uncertainty as a microcosm of what’s happening in his carpentry business.
CBC also reported that Ohio exported $17.5 billion US in goods to Canada last year, including $2.7 billion US in engines and turbines and $1.8 billion in auto parts, while Ohio imported $3.2 billion US in Canadian crude oil and $1.1 billion in vehicle parts.