It’s a question of when, not if Doug Ford will call an early election. Ford has slowly moved from being hesitant to seek a new mandate from voters to stating bluntly that in the face of Donald Trump’s tariffs he has to go to the people.
Speaking to reporters Monday — just after Trump said he would make America rich by imposing tariffs — Ford said Trump is gunning for Ontario and he needs to be able to respond.
“We need a clear mandate, not for tomorrow, not for the next day, for four years of dealing with our American friends,” Ford said.
NDP Leader Marit Stiles and Liberal Leader Bonnie Crombie have both said Ford doesn’t need a new election to respond to Trump. Both Stiles and Crombie have said they would work with Ford on any plans to spend money supporting Ontario workers and companies hit hard by Trump’s tariffs.
Ford has said that he believes that if he’s going to spend tens of billions of dollars dealing with the impact of these tariffs, that he needs to seek approval from voters. Last week, Ford said that government officials have estimated that if across the board tariffs of 25% are imposed, as many as 500,000 jobs could be lost.
Crombie accused Ford of only caring about his own job in plotting the early election.
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Campaign buses aren’t quite idling yet but whispers about cabinet ministers cancelling meetings and putting plans on hold are filling the air at Queen’s Park. There was also a memo sent by the premier’s chief of staff, Patrick Sackville, to the chiefs of staff for all of Ford’s cabinet members.
“Make no mistake: this is only the beginning of what will be a long, hard fight,” Sackville said.
“Ontario’s workers and businesses will look to us to step up with the financial aid and leadership they need to support them in outlasting and overcoming these existential threats.”
He went on to say that in order to deliver, the government needs a new mandate.
“The stronger the mandate the better,” he wrote.
When the memo was leaked, it set off speculation that the election call was imminent, perhaps as early as Wednesday morning. While a senior aide to Ford denied that the election call would be Wednesday, there was no clarity on when that will be.
“The sooner the better,” said one of Ford’s political advisors.
None of the parties have candidates nominated in every riding. There are still lawn signs and campaign literature to design, and campaign buses to be wrapped in party colours.
With the PC Party having secured a campaign office just blocks from Queen’s Park, the other parties better step into high gear.
“If Doug Ford insists on doing this, I will be ready,” Stiles said in a speech to the Rural Ontario Municipal Association on Monday.
“And this is the commitment I am making to you, and all Ontarians: I will fight to protect every single job, in every single community.”
While Ford has made it clear that Trump’s tariff threat is why he feels he needs to go to an election, he’s being careful not to attack Trump personally.
Ford has said that he believes in matching any American tariffs dollar for dollar and said he’ll order all American booze be removed from the shelves of the LCBO. He’s still trying to convince Trump that Canada and the U.S. should work together.
“President Trump seems intent on starting a trade war that will create the kind of economic uncertainty that only benefits China. There’s a better way. Let’s beat China with Fortress Am-Can,” Ford posted Tuesday morning.
Ford has been pushing the Fortress Am-Can (America and Canada) message for the past several weeks in government announcements. Expect to hear even more of that kind of messaging whenever the election officially kicks off in the coming days.