Ontario Premier Doug Ford calls Donald Trump 'funny guy' in Fox News interview

Ontario Premier Doug Ford is seen in Toronto on Friday, May 24, 2024. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Christopher Katsarov

Ontario Premier Doug Ford called U.S. President-elect Donald Trump a "funny guy" on Wednesday in an interview with Fox News for his comment that Canada should become the United States's 51st state.

The premier spoke with Fox News host Neil Cavuto to discuss the incoming president's plan to impose 25 per cent tariffs on all imports from Canada and Mexico unless both countries halt the flow of illegal drugs and migrants to the U.S., as well as Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's impromptu visit to Mar-a-Lago last Friday.

Outside of the two bordering countries, Trump also said he would enact an additional 10 per cent tariff "above any additional tariffs" on Chinese imports.

Ford, who recently launched an American ad campaign touting the province as an "ally to the North" in the wake of the tariff threat, has already articulated that Trump should focus his attentions on Mexico and questioned why the U.S. would "attack (its) closest friend," likening the potential move to a "family member stabbing you right in the heart."

The ad highlights how Ontario is America's third-largest trading partner and number one export destination for 17 states.

"We've always had an incredible relationship between Canada and the U.S., and we want to continue that. We want to make sure that we build the Can-Am Fortress per se, if you want to call it that," Ford told Cavuto Wednesday afternoon.

"The real focus should be on China, it should be on Mexico, trying to bring in cheap products through Mexico, slapping stickers that they [are] made in Mexico and shipping it up to America, and/or Ontario and Canada."

Imposing these tariffs would mean the Canadian economy takes an annual real GDP hit of around 2.6 per cent, costing Canadians about $2,000 per person, according to University of Calgary economist Trevor Tombe. Mexico also criticized Trump's tariffs, with President Claudia Sheinbaum suggesting they would retaliate with tariffs of their own.

Ford also called it "unfortunate" that Canada is part of the same tariff threat bucket as China, noting how Canada does $1.3 trillion in trade with the U.S.

"Ontario alone does $500 billion in two-way trade, and I might add it's equally split down the centre," Ford said. "Parts can go back-and-forth across the border up to eight times, so the supply-chain is very connected."

Trump's a 'funny guy': Ford

Then the conversation steered to Trudeau's surprise visit with Trump, which came right on the heels of the president-elect's threat of tariffs on Canadian goods. Cavuto questioned the premier about what he thought of Trump's joke that Canada should become a U.S. state if the tariffs are going to be so debilitating to the local economy, to which Ford said Trump simply has a "good sense of humour" and likened him to a "funny guy."

"I guess he's still upset that in 1812 we burnt down the White House and he's holding a grudge after 212 years," Ford said, referring to when British troops set fire to the White House, then called the Presidential Mansion, on Aug. 24, 1814, the final summer of the War of 1812.

Trump also later shared an artificially generated image of himself standing on a mountaintop right next to a Canadian flag on his social media platform, Truth Social, with the caption: "Oh Canada!"

Kirsten Hillman, Canada’s ambassador to the U.S., told CTV New Channel's Power Play she found it "reassuring" that the president-elect was cracking jokes.

"People were making jokes, which, actually, I have to say, I find to be reassuring that people are that comfortable with each other, that they're teasing," Hillman, who was part of the Canadian delegation to Mar-a-Lago, said Tuesday.

"Any good joke always hits a little bit of a nerve, and certainly, president(-elect) Trump is one who likes to hit a nerve," Hillman said. "So here's what I would say to Canadians: let's focus on the work that we have ahead of us and the work that has already started with the Trump administration."

With files from CTV News Toronto's Phil Tsekouras and CTV News Parliamentary Bureau Writer Spencer Van Dyk