‘China Is the Problem,’ Ford Says as Trump Ramps Up Talk of ‘51st State’, Tariffs

Ontario Premier Doug Ford speaks to the media outside of his office in the Queens Park Legislature, in Toronto, on Dec. 11, 2024. The Canadian Press/Chris Young

Ontario Premier Doug Ford says the focus should be on China as a bad actor rather than having trade disputes between Canada and the United States as allies.

Ford made the comments in an appearance on Fox News as incoming U.S. President Donald Trump continues to maintain his pledge to impose tariffs on Canadian imports and persists in his talk of merging Canada with the United States, saying he may use “economic force” to achieve it.

“China is the problem,” Ford said during an interview with Fox News’ Jesse Watters on Jan. 7. “China is shipping cheap parts into Mexico, and then Mexico, slapping a ‘Made-in-Mexico’ sticker on them and shipping them up through the U.S. and Canada, costing American and Canadian jobs. Mexico has to make a choice: either with Beijing or Washington.”

Ford has been critical of Mexico in recent months, saying the country is acting as a “backdoor” for Chinese imports, and has urged its government to align with Canadian and U.S. tariffs on Chinese goods. Last October, Ottawa imposed a 100 percent surtax on Chinese-made electric vehicles and a 25 percent surtax on steel and aluminum, following similar tariffs introduced by Washington.

Ford repeated his criticism of China during a Jan. 8 press conference in Ontario, where he said “China is ripping off American workers by hijacking global supply chains to unfairly benefit Chinese companies at the expense of U.S. industry and American communities.”

The premier’s comments followed Trump’s Jan. 7 press conference, where the incoming U.S. president said he would consider using “economic force“ to merge Canada with the United States. He said getting rid of the “artificially drawn” border between the two countries would “be much better for national security,” adding that the U.S. “basically protect[s] Canada.”

Trump also reiterated his intention to impose tariffs on Canada and Mexico, citing concerns about illegal border crossings and the smuggling of illicit drugs and firearms into the United States from both borders.

Ford said Trump’s declarations about making Canada part of the U.S. are not supported by the Republican and Democrat governors, senators, and congresspeople he has been speaking with.

“They don’t agree with what President Trump is proposing,” Ford said. “Our country is not for sale. It will never be for sale.”

He said many of the U.S. lawmakers he has spoken with also see China as the No. 1 problem to address as it continues to “hijack” global supply chains.

“U.S. lawmakers are undertaking one of the most ambitious economic and geopolitical shifts in decades, as America decouples from China and its global proxies,” Ford said. “This won’t be easy. It will require long term thinking. It will require dedication, and most of all, it will require friends and allies, Canada is here to help.”

Trump has repeatedly quipped about making Canada the “51st” U.S. state since his November 2024 meeting with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, whom he has called the “governor” of Canada on multiple occasions.

In addition to absorbing Canada, Trump expressed interest in U.S. control over the Panama Canal and Greenland. He criticized Panama for “abusing that gift” by allowing China to operate the canal, which was built by the United States in the early 1900s. Beijing controls two of Panama’s five principal ports—at Balboa on the Pacific side and at Cristobal on the Atlantic side—through the Hong Kong-based Hutchison Port Holdings.

Fortress Am-Can

At the Jan. 8 press conference Ford proposed a new energy systems alliance between Ontario and the United States in a bid to avert a trade war between Canada and its southern neighbour.

Dubbed “Fortress Am-Can” Ford said the clean energy initiative will power economic growth on both sides of the border.

Fortress Am-Can will leverage Ontario’s resources to build out the integrated Am-Can energy and electricity grid to encourage more exports of Canadian energy and electricity to the U.S., resulting in more jobs in both countries, Ford said.

“Working together, Canada and the U.S. can be the richest, most successful, safest, most secure countries on the planet,” he told reporters from the Darlington energy complex in Courtice, Ont.

“Working together, we can usher in a new American and Canadian century, a time of unprecedented growth, job creation, security and prosperity.”

Ford stressed the benefits to both countries, saying Canada and the U.S. are better when they are seen as equal partners with unique offerings on both sides of the border.

“We have the critical minerals that they need, we have the energy they need. We have a lot of things that they need,” Ford said.

Fortress Am-Can would focus on energy of every type and would include the development of new and reinforcement of existing natural gas and oil pipelines between Canada and the U.S. to promote the flow of energy across borders, the premier said.

It would also include streamlining the approval of new small modular and large nuclear reactors, Ford said, emphasizing Ontario’s existing nuclear infrastructure and its planned small modular reactors.

Ford would also like to see the U.S. Strategic Petroleum Reserve further enhanced as part of the Am-Can energy initiative to protect both countries from global oil price manipulation.

The premier is also suggesting the establishment of a cross-border working group with U.S. and Canadian lawmakers and energy and security experts to ensure both countries adhere to best practices for power system security against foreign interference, cyber attacks, terrorism and extreme weather events.

Ford has been touting the benefits of tighter Canada-U.S. relations since Trump first broached the subject of tariffs in November. Aside from “speaking regularly” to his counterparts in the U.S., Ford has made a number of U.S. network television appearances where he emphasized the importance of the Canada-U.S. relationship.

Ford’s latest press conference comes a month after he vowed Ontario would cut off energy exports to the United States if Trump moves ahead with 25 percent tariffs on all Canadian products.