TORONTO (AP) 鈥� The leader of Canada鈥檚 most populous province said Monday 鈥渢he walls are closing in鈥� on President Donald Trump after the many of 罢谤耻尘辫鈥檚 tariffs and said he鈥檚 also looking forward to the U.S. midterm elections in November which could further constrain Trump.
Ontario Premier Doug Ford said Canada is in an 鈥渆conomic war鈥� right now and said no deal is better than a bad deal with Trump.
鈥淚t鈥檚 very challenging right now. I just sit back some days, and I am not the only one. Everyone in the world sits back. How can one person, one man, create so much turmoil around the world? Not just here in Canada but around the world. It is pretty staggering. So I can鈥檛 wait for the midterms,鈥� Ford said.
The court鈥檚 decision Friday struck down tariffs Trump had imposed on nearly every country in the world using an emergency powers law. Trump now says he will use a different, albeit more limited, legal authority.
鈥淚t was a positive message from the Supreme Court,鈥� Ford said.
Most of Canada鈥檚 exports to the U.S. are covered by the pact , or USMCA, but some tariffs are of Canada鈥檚 economy, particularly aluminum, steel, autos and lumber.
Ford warned Trump could scrap the free trade deal that is under review this year.
Ford said other countries like Japan and the U.K. 鈥渞ushed in to get a deal and all of a sudden, he turned on them like a rattle snake. We鈥檙e going to be cautious.鈥�
Ford noted many Republican seats will be up for grabs in for control of the House and the Senate, including a number of them next door in Michigan.
The premier also noted the House voted earlier this month to slap back tariffs on Canada, a rare if largely symbolic rebuke of the as Republicans joined Democrats over the objections of GOP leadership. The resolution seeks to end the national emergency Trump declared to impose the tariffs, though actually undoing the policy would require support from the president, which is highly unlikely. It next goes to the Senate.
鈥淭he walls are closing in on President Trump,鈥� Ford said. 鈥淵ou saw him lose the vote and six Republicans crossed the floor with Congress and then you saw the Supreme Court.鈥�
Ford said the tariffs are causing inflation.
鈥淒own in the U.S. people are feeling the crunch. They don鈥檛 see the prices going down with food and other goods. That all has come down to the uncertainty that he鈥檚 put around the world and his number one customer in the world,鈥� Ford said.
Trump recently threatened to impose a 100% tariff on goods imported from Canada over that country鈥檚 proposed , intensifying a feud with the longtime U.S. ally and its .
鈥淭here is always a diplomatic risk for foreign politicians to criticize President Trump so bluntly and publicly, as his thin skin is now legendary,” said Daniel B茅land, a political science professor at McGill University in Montreal. “For instance, last fall, the president reacted very negatively to an Ontario鈥檚 anti-tariff ad featuring Ronald Reagan by suspending trade talks between Canada and the United States.鈥�
B茅land said Ford’s comments are consistent with what Canadians think, noting Trump is highly unpopular in Canada.
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