Ontario is set to use the threat of U.S. President Donald Trump’s tariffs to reshape the provincial economy, Premier Doug Ford’s speech from the throne confirmed, with ambitions to reduce internal barriers and completely overhaul approval processes in a bid to unlock valuable minerals.
Lt.-Gov. Edith Dumont delivered Ford’s speech from the throne inside the legislative chamber, a ceremonial moment that outlines the government’s agenda for the next four years and officially kicks off the new legislative session.
The speech began and ended with stirring references to the first members of Ontario’s legislature and the threat the United States posed to them, contrasted with Trump’s current 51st-state rhetoric.
“These new Canadians confronted the question of how to protect their new homeland,” Dumont said, reading from the throne speech, which is written by government staff.
“They had come to a land of enormous potential but faced the immediate and urgent risk of invasion and annexation by their American neighbours.”
The theme of shielding Ontario from the economic turmoil emanating from the White House is how the government wants to define the mandate it won during the recent winter snap election.
On Tuesday, the government telegraphed its plans to use the U.S. threat to double down on its existing auto strategy, reorder internal trade in Canada and massively speed up the development of certain projects.
Autos and trade
During his second term as premier, between 2022 and 2025, Ford began drawing auto investments to Ontario in conjunction with the federal government. Trump’s tariffs on the auto sector, and walkback from incentives the Joe Biden administration had offered, put that strategy in jeopardy.
Ford’s throne speech looked to calm fears over job losses in the sector as some assembly lines implemented pauses and rumours swirled that one company could be considering leaving altogether.
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“Your government will continue to stand firmly behind and maintain its financial contributions to the electric vehicle and battery auto pact that attracted $46 billion in new investments,” the speech from the throne said.
The Ford government is also promising to work to reduce its economic reliance on the United States, a relationship perhaps best symbolized by the auto industry, where the car parts cross the border multiple times between the U.S. and Canada during assembly.
To insulate Ontario, the government wants to open access to the province’s rich and inaccessible supply of critical minerals.
The speech from the throne promised a “radically different approach” to governance and infrastructure, including a continued attack on “unnecessary bureaucracy and red tape,” which has been a rallying cry for Ford since he was first elected in 2018.
Eliminating internal trade barriers between Canadian provinces is at the top of the government’s efficiency list.
Interprovincial trade is set up with a number of protectionist barriers that Ford says makes trade easier with the United States than the rest of the country and also makes labour mobility difficult.
The speech from the throne compared internal trade barriers to tariffs. “They increase costs, slow growth and hurt everyday, hard-working people,” it said.
The government plans to table a bill to begin eliminating interprovincial trade barriers as its “first order of business” on Wednesday. That law will treat goods and services from other Canadian provinces as identical to those made in Ontario — on condition other provinces match the change.
Major projects and mining
The government is also eyeing ways to get mining projects underway faster and how to finally get a years-old dream to build a road to the mineral-rich Ring of Fire started.
“The front line in Canada’s battle against President Trump’s economic threats rests in the Ring of Fire,” the speech from the throne said.
The government believes the minerals in northern Ontario have been “trapped, locked and held back by red tape and duplicative federal approval processes” for years.
Ford has promised his “second order of business” will be legislation aimed at unlocking the remote area for further development. That legislation will allow the government to dedicate areas as “regions of strategic importance,” where permitting requirements will be reduced.
“Your government will ensure that northern communities reap the benefits of critical mineral development, including for First Nations communities through equity partnerships that offer generational economic opportunities,” the speech from the throne said.
The newly elected Ford government also said it plans to lobby the next government to build new railways, highways, airports and seaports. It is also looking to see more oil and gas pipelines built across the country.
Cross-party agreement and controversial promises
Opposition parties have promised a collegial relationship with the government on issues relating to tariff-proofing the economy and supporting workers laid off as a result of tariffs.
Liberal Leader Bonnie Crombie said she felt the previous two Ford-led governments had had “the wrong priorities” and urged the Progressive Conservatives to treat the new session as a reset.
“They spent a lot of time battling scandals that they found themselves in and we need to remember that many of these problems existed before the election and they still exist now,” she said.
Crombie repeated her election priorities, saying family doctors, child care and education would be key issues she is watching for solutions on.
“We need Doug Ford and the government to show some initiative on getting through the priorities of the people of Ontario,” she said.
Ford himself has dismissed the idea of a cross-party working group to tackle tariffs but said he would sit down with any party leader who wanted.
Crombie said her team has asked for a meeting but has not yet heard back.
Ontario NDP Leader Marit Stiles, who had been talking about working together, sounded less sure on Tuesday.
“We’ll see what the legislation looks like but I will say there are some concerns there for sure,” she told reporters. “For one thing, we don’t believe that workplace standards, safe workplaces are red tape. We’ll see if the government agrees with that.”
Perhaps hinting at a legislative agenda the NDP, Liberals and Greens will struggle to support in its entirety, the speech from the throne also included other election promises.
Ford’s plan to build a tunnelled expressway beneath Highway 401 remains a government priority, as does removing bike lanes from major, big city roads. The government separately repeated its plans to “appoint tough-on-crime judges and justices of the peace that put the interests of victims ahead of criminals” and build new jails.
For municipalities, a fresh overhaul of how housing is planned. The government plans to look at ways to lower the fees paid by developers and to standardize the studies and other requirements homebuilders must meet to begin construction.
“The province will leverage these growing investments to work with municipalities to lower their costly local development fees that add hundreds of thousands of dollars to the cost of a new home for Ontario families,” the speech from the throne said.
The legislature will convene on Wednesday morning for the first question period of the new session.
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