Ford dismisses critics that he’s too close to Carney

Article content

Damn the critics, Ontario Premier Doug Ford is defending his decision to speak in favour of Canada’s new Liberal Prime Minister Mark Carney. Ford says that “some right-wing radicals” might take issue with the Premier of the country’s largest province working with the just elected PM, but most voters don’t see it that way, he says.

Article content

Ford hosted premiers from across the country at the Deerhurst Resort, not far from his cottage in Ontario’s Muskoka region. Ford said that he and Carney, and some other premiers, stayed up around the fire until after midnight on Monday chatting about how to fix the problems of the nations. According to a couple of sources, all them were decked out in Ford Nation hoodies as they stood around the campfire.

Article content

Article content

“That’s where you get the work done. You have heart-to-heart conversations one-on-one,” Ford said.

“I have a lot of respect for Prime Minister Carney, a very bright individual, a very smart business person. We share the same values. We have to run the government like a business, and we’re going to get things done no matter if it’s bail reform or dealing with President Trump on the trade deal.”

Article content

Article content

Ford said that he has more conficence in the new Prime Minister than he did in the last one. That’s not a comment that is unique to him; in conversations public and private, premiers such as Alberta’s Danielle Smith, Saskatchewan’s Scott Moe or Nova Scotia’s Tim Houston have said the same.

Voters who wanted Poilievre to win the last election want to blast Ford, but Carney is seen as a breath of fresh air by the premiers. Sure, the bar was lowered by Justin Trudeau so much that showing up on time for a scheduled meeting is seen as a positive, but that is where we are.

Recommended video

We apologize, but this video has failed to load.

Play Video

Speaking with one official at the meeting of the premiers on Tuesday, they described how Trudeau would show up 45 minutes late to meetings with the premiers, lecture them and then not pay attention to their issues. Carney is not only on time but several premiers say that he’s listening to them and looking for solutions.

Article content

Ford answered those critics who said the meetings between the premiers and with the PM could have been conducted virtually over Skype or Zoom.

“It’s all about relationships. Business is about relationships. Work is about relationships. And nothing’s better than looking someone square in the eyes and reading them,” Ford said.

There’s something to be said for that, being able to see someone face to face gives you a sense of whether you can trust what they said in a way that is different than a phone call or online conference call. Premiers are also able to speak more candidly when they know that it’s just them in the room and that a staffer isn’t lurking in the background recording everything that is said.

That matters.

Asked if the meetings in Huntsville will lead to a deal or if he thinks one is possible, Ford went off on Trump signing a deal with Japan.

Article content

“Let’s put it in perspective, Japan buys $79 billion of products off the U.S. We buy $359 billion of products,” Ford said.

“We’re their largest customer, they need to start, Donald Trump needs to start respecting his largest customer.”

Ford went on to talk about onshoring production to Canada and diversifying our markets away from the United States. That last part may sound good, but history will tell you it is wishful thinking.

Pierre Trudeau talked about diversifying away from the United States in the 70s and 80s and nothing came of it. Successive governments have tried, none more than Stephen Harper’s government who signed trade deals with dozens of countries in trying to diversify Canada’s economy.

Canada now has trade deals with 51 different countries, and the majority of our exports still go to the Americans. Mark Carney likes to talk about diversifying our trade, even talks of closer ties with the European Union where 10 of 27 countries still haven’t ratified our trade deal with them almost a decade after it was signed.

Doug Ford clearly has a lot of faith in Mark Carney to deal with these issues; the public will only have that kind of faith in Carney if he starts delivering — and delivering soon.

Article content