Moments after U.S. President Donald Trump revealed his intention to apply steep tariffs to Canadian exports, Ontario Premier Doug Ford’s office fired off an internal email to Progressive Conservative staffers saying the government needs an even stronger mandate to effectively battle the American president.
The internal memo, obtained by Global News, is yet another sign that Ford is set to dissolve his majority government and ask voters for another mandate, with more than a year left in his current term.
The memo, sent by Ford’s chief of staff Patrick Sackville, called the announcement “unnecessary and wrong headed” and said the measure would have a “devastating impact” on hundreds of thousands of people in the province.
“Moments ago, on live television, the President openly commented about his plan to bring 25% tariffs against Canada as of February 1st,” Sackville said in the internal email.
“Make no mistake: this is only the beginning of what will be a long, hard fight.”
The email, however, also makes it clear that the Ford government intends to call an early election and use the backdrop of tariffs as the ballot box question.
“As we enter a period of unparalleled economic risk and critical negotiations, our government will need a strong mandate from the people to stand up for Ontario with President Trump, Canada’s federal government, and other provinces to ensure we can effectively respond to, outlast and, ultimately, win this fight,” Sackville said.
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“The stronger the mandate the better.”
The Ontario Progressive Conservative party, which was re-elected in 2022 with 83 seats, currently has 79 MPPs on the government benches. A political party requires 63 seats for a majority in the Ontario legislature.
On Monday, Ford said he required a new “clear mandate” to tackle “four years with Donald Trump” and said a renewed mandate would give Ontario a “loud voice” in both Washington, D.C., and Ottawa to push back on potential tariffs.
Opposition parties scoffed at the suggestion that the premier requires a new mandate to handle American tariffs, pointing to his role as the chair of the Council of the Federation representing Canada’s premiers.
“If you have a majority government in Ontario, you have a mandate,” Green Party Leader Mike Schreiner said. “You have a sufficiently loud voice.”
Ontario Liberal Leader Bonnie Crombie called for calm and said an election would represent an “abdication” of Ford’s responsibilities as premier.
“The answer to chaos is not more chaos,” Crombie said. “What we need is leadership not more showmanship.”
While the premier has yet to announce a date for a potential early election, the Progressive Conservative Party has been busy preparing for the campaign to come.
The party has been appointing candidates in non-incumbent ridings, some MPPs have secured campaign offices, while at least one has taken out billboards to appeal to voters in their riding.
Even before Trump’s tariffs were a factor, the party appeared to be setting the stage for an early election by taking a clear side on controversial issues such as bike lanes, supervised consumption sites and encampments.
The Ford government also added more than $3 billion to Ontario’s deficit, enabling the province to send $200 cheques to residents and children – a move that political opponents have dismissed as a “gimmick” to help secure votes.