Ontario's Liberals and NDP are using a pause in the tariff threat from the United States to begin a new chapter in the provincial election, focusing on issues such as health care and education, but Doug Ford doesn't appear ready to turn the page.
The Progressive Conservative leader's campaign announcement Tuesday was ostensibly about a provincial-specific issue, a promise to take on billions of dollars in costs for Ottawa's light-rail transit system, but he spent much of his time hammering home his tariff warnings.
"We've averted an absolute disaster, at least for now," Ford said in Ottawa.
"But make no mistake, Canada and Ontario continue to stare down the threat of tariffs. Whether it's tomorrow, in a month, or a year from now, President Trump will continue to use the threat of tariffs to get what he wants."
U.S. President Donald Trump announced Monday, hours before threatened 25 per cent tariffs on Canadian goods were set to take effect, that he would put them on hold for at least 30 days.
Ford had cited the threat of tariffs as the reason he called the snap, $189-million election for Feb. 27, saying he needed the "largest mandate in Ontario's history" in order to advocate for the province's interests in the face of a punishing trade war, and to spend tens of billions of dollars on provincial stimulus.
The other parties have said an election well over a year before the June 2026 fixed date is not necessary because they would support stimulus spending, and Ford already has a majority mandate to protect Ontario’s interests.
Liberal Leader Bonnie Crombie, who has suggested the election is an attempt by Ford to "cling to power," said the 30-day tariff reprieve is very revealing.
"Doug Ford lost his reason for an election," she said at a campaign stop in Brampton, Ont.
"So I'd like to understand, Doug, why did you call this election? What is your motivation behind it? The people of Ontario want to know why you called an unnecessary, expensive election in the middle of the winter, when you should be at your desk working to protect the people of Ontario, working to provide the basics for them."
The Liberals have been trying to make health care the central campaign issue, touting their promise to guarantee every Ontarian a family doctor within four years, and splashing a message about 2.5 million people having no family doctor on the side of their bus travelling the province.
"That's what I think this election is about," Crombie said Tuesday. "The failure of Doug Ford, who said he would end hallway medicine, but he didn't get it done. He said he'd cut our taxes, he didn't get it done. He said he'd build housing, and he didn't get it done. So let's get something right. Let's invest in our health-care system and ensure that everyone in this province has access to a family doctor."
Still, the Liberals took the opportunity to make hay with a caught-on-camera moment, with Ford telling supporters on Monday he was "100 per cent" happy that Trump won the American election, before he betrayed Canada on tariffs.
The Liberals quickly turned the video of Ford into an attack ad, questioning what else Ford says when he thinks members of the public are not listening.
Ford defended his comments Tuesday, saying he meant that he "thought things might be a little different," and that Canada and the U.S. were going to move forward with Trump back in the White House as the economy was strong, and he believes in those who lower taxes on people and businesses.
NDP Leader Marit Stiles was also in Ottawa, and promised to spend more money in the education system, hiring more staff, supporting students with disabilities, adding $830 million per year for school repairs, and creating a universal school food program.
Ford is trying to "con" voters into thinking the snap election is all about tariffs, but it should be about Ford's record since he was first elected in 2018, Stiles said.
"Ontarians know what it's like to live in this province after seven long years of Doug Ford and the Conservatives," she said.
"They need a government who's going to be there to try to relieve the cost of things, the burden that's on them, that's going to actually turn things around again. I don't think they're buying what Doug Ford is selling, and I think that the fact that we've got a pause right now just means that it's an opportunity for us to think a little bit more about the kind of Ontario we want."
- With files from David Baxter and Dylan Robertson in Ottawa, and Maan Alhmidi in Brampton, Ont.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Feb. 4, 2025.
Allison Jones, The Canadian Press
