Canada-US trade war: Ontario Premier Doug Ford slams Trump, calls him a 'dictator' and 'king of bankruptcies'
&imwidth=600&imheight=450&format=webp&quality=medium "Canada-US trade war: Ontario Premier Doug Ford slams Trump, calls him a 'dictator' and 'king of bankruptcies'")
Trump calls Ford a 'flunky'; Canada's Ontario premier fires back: 'Bring it on' Photograph: (Combination image created using pics from AFP)
The Canada-US trade fight has turned deeply personal. Ontario Premier Doug Ford has fired back at Donald Trump with a string of insults after the US president threatened Canada with "far worse" consequences.
Ontario Premier Doug Ford launched a fierce attack on US President Donald Trump on Monday (Aug 24), calling him a "bully", "dictator" and "loser" as tensions between Canada and the United States intensified over tariffs and stalled trade talks.
Ford's comments came after Trump publicly criticised the Ontario premier on Truth Social, escalating an already bitter dispute between the two countries. Trump had described Ford as the "less charismatic, intelligent, and overall unimpressive brother" of the late former Toronto mayor Rob Ford. The post followed comments by Ford in which he told an Ottawa radio programme that Trump could "kiss my ass".
Ford hits back at Trump
Speaking at a news conference in Hamilton, Ford initially said he would not respond to a "dictator" and "bully". He then launched into a lengthy response directed at the US president.
"I have a lot of real estate on my ass, so he has a lot of room to kiss my ass," Ford said.
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He accused Trump of "tariffing his own people" and criticised the US president's record on business. "I am not going to take any advice off a guy that is the king of bankruptcies," Ford said.
Ford also told Americans that he believed Trump's trade policies would hurt US workers and urged voters to consider that when they cast ballots in the upcoming midterm elections.
Trump warns Canada of 'far worse' consequences
Trump, meanwhile, said Canada "couldn't survive" without the US and accused Ford and Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney of refusing to cooperate with Washington.
Calling them "Governor Carney and his flunky, Ford", Trump warned: "Someone should get these clowns to 'fall in line' or, the consequences for Canada will be far WORSE!"
Ford responded by saying he was ready for the confrontation. "Good. I have been in this game a lot longer than he has," he said, adding: "Bring it on."
Trade war pushes tensions higher
The personal clash comes as Canada and the US remain locked in a wider trade dispute. Trump has threatened to impose a 50 per cent tariff on Canadian vehicles by 2027, while Canada has announced retaliatory measures.
Talks on a new trade agreement broke down on Friday after Carney accused Washington of making last-minute changes that were "unfair, uneconomic" and raised questions about the reliability of any deal.
Ford backed Carney's decision not to accept what he called a bad agreement, but acknowledged that prolonged trade tensions would bring economic pain. He urged Ottawa to take steps to protect affected industries and said Canada needed to keep "everything on the table", including measures involving electricity, fuel, potash and uranium.
"This is about survival right now," Ford said.
