Ontario’s U.S. ‘charm offensive’ has ended amid new auto tariffs, trade representative says

Hours after U.S. President Donald Trump again blindsided Canada with the announcement of tariffs on its growing auto sector, Ontario Premier Doug Ford received a call from the U.S. secretary of commerce.

The call, which Global News can confirm and was first reported by the Globe and Mail, wasn’t a heads up but instead a belated explanation of how Trump’s “permanent” auto tariffs will work when they return on April 2.

During the phone call, Ford and Howard Lutnick discussed the impact of the tariffs on Ontario’s auto manufacturing sector, the integrated pan-North American supply chain and a possible fine-tuning of the 25 per cent tariff.

Before the call, Ford said he was caught off guard by the tariff announcement after Canadian and American officials stressed there would be “no surprises” when the two sides had a face-to-face meeting earlier this month.

“We thought we’d be informed,” Ford said at Queen’s Park on Wednesday. “The American administration some days can’t predict what President Trump’s going to say.”

Speaking on Thursday, Ford said Lutnick had given him an idea of how the tariffs would work on April 2 — but that there were still plenty of questions.

“When I asked Secretary Lutnick, ‘What is coming April 2m, outside of the auto?’ His answer was, ‘I don’t know,'” Ford recounted. “I don’t know about that answer but I’ll tell you, and I say it all the time, we have to fight like we’ve never fought before.”

Under the current executive order, set to take effect on April 2, auto parts won’t be affected, only finished cars.

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Vehicles that are 50 per cent American parts, will only be tariffed on the Canadian portion, which would amount to a 12.5 per cent tariff. For vehicles where more than 50 per cent of the parts are American, Ford’s team was told the U.S. would apply no tariff.

Ford said Lutnick claimed there would be no plant closures as a result of the tariffs.

While Ford and Lutnick stay connected, Ontario’s representative in Washington, D.C., is conceding that its charm offensive to try and convince Trump not to levy tariffs on Canada is “over” — despite yielding few results.

Shortly before Trump was re-elected to the Oval Office in November 2024, Ford began focusing on solidifying relationships with American lawmakers who could echo the province’s concerns in the event of a trade war.

Those meetings, with both state and congressional levels, were designed to remind American politicians of the historical trading relationship. They were also used to promote Ford’s “Fortress AmCan” strategy, a pitch to offer the United States wider access to Canadian critical minerals and other crucial exports.

The meetings were accompanied by a massive campaign of commercials that aired on major news networks and during sports games. Ford himself also appeared across U.S. channels like Fox News and CNN.

David Paterson, Ontario’s representative on Capitol Hill and a former executive at General Motors Canada, told Global News that that phase appears to be over.

“I think the charm offensive has been over for quite a while,” Paterson said. “We’re talking business and we’re talking mutual economic development.”

He suggested Ontario has accepted that it has struggled to change U.S. policy.

“We do it with respect. We treat the United States as a sovereign country that can make big decisions, and we try and make sure that we understand the motivation for those decisions so that we can act in a respectful way,” Paterson said.

The change in strategy appears to be a recognition of the fact that Trump alone is the key driver of the changing landscape.

“Whether you’re talking with the commerce secretary, the U.S. trade representative ambassador, whether you’re talking to the secretary of state, the president will decide on these key things that he has promised and that he has as his plan to move forward with,” Paterson said.

Asked on Wednesday whether he was reconsidering the Fortress AmCan strategy, Ford said he didn’t think the province should “ever pull it.”

“I think we’re stronger together — if we work together — and that’s the message to the American people,” Ford said.

Paterson said Ontario officials are also taking Lutnick’s advice at face value.

“Be pragmatic, be data-focused,” he said. “In other words, share the facts. And let’s be outcome-oriented.”