Doug Ford's trip to Washington ignites fresh round of criticism
Other main party leaders accuse Ford of using trip to his advantage during provincial election
Ontario PC Leader Doug Ford's two-day trip to Washington this week in the middle of the provincial election has sparked a fresh round of criticism from other main party leaders.
Ford is making the trip as the incumbent premier and chair of the Council of the Federation, which includes all 13 provincial and territorial premiers.
He'll be part of a group meeting with American lawmakers and business leaders to make their case against U.S President Donald Trump's threatened tariffs.
"I'm going down there with a group of premiers and make sure that Ontario has a strong voice," Ford said during a campaign stop in Niagara-on-the-Lake on Saturday.
"I'll be talking to elected officials down there, business people and other people to get our message out that we're stronger together."
But Ontario's other party leaders have said the trip is an inappropriate use of his office, and defies democratic norms. They've also said Ford is making the trip to bolster his electoral prospects.
Liberal Leader Bonnie Crombie has accused Ford of ignoring the traditional caretaker convention during this election, a federal and provincial practice where day-to-day government operations continue but government decision-making is paused, except for in the case of emergencies.
Speaking with CBC radio's Fresh Air host Ismaila Alfa on Sunday, Crombie said Ford should have done more ahead of the tariff threats to build bonds with American decision-makers.
She also argued that Ford has been exaggerating his role in trade negotiations.
"This is the federal government, Dominic LeBlanc, and our Prime Minister, who will be sitting at the negotiating table," she said.
"Let's not pretend for a moment that that will be Doug Ford sitting across the table from Donald Trump, who doesn't want to meet him whatsoever."
NDP Leader Marit Stiles said Ford is using the tariff threat to his own advantage.
"Doug Ford he, as far as I'm concerned, he quit as premier when he called this election," Stiles said Sunday after meeting with volunteers in Toronto's Davenport area.
"So I don't think he's showing up for Ontarians. I think the only person he's actually in this for is himself and his job, and he sees this as an opportunity or he wouldn't be there."
In a statement, Green Party Leader Mike Schreiner also suggested Ford was capitalizing on a moment of political instability by calling the snap election.
"Instead of taking vanity trips to Washington, why doesn't he take action on the things that are hurting Ontarians every day, like the high cost of housing and groceries?" Schreiner said.
Ford's messaging about tariffs creates grey area: prof
While the tariff threat may qualify as an emergency, Ford's messaging that calling the early election was necessary because of the tariffs makes things tricky, said Zac Spicer, a York University public policy professor.
"So I can see from an opposition perspective ... this feeds into that. It makes the premier look good as long as he handles it well," Spicer said.
Ford could quell some of these concerns if he consulted with opposition leaders and if the trip was done without much fanfare, he said.
"I think the opposition probably wouldn't have much of a problem if [Ford], you know, very quietly stepped off the campaign trail for a couple of days, headed South, met with the people who he intended to meet with, tried his best to advance Ontario's agenda, then very quietly returned," Spicer said.
The Washington trip comes as Trump is set to impose 25 per cent tariffs on all steel and aluminum imports, including from Canada and Mexico, as well as other import duties later in the week.
The U.S. President had previously threatened to levy across the board tariffs on Canada and Mexico on Feb. 1, but he paused its implementation after the countries vowed to retaliate with tariffs of their own. Both Canada and Mexico agreed to bolster resources along their borders with the U.S.
Ford will be in the U.S. capital for another round of meetings on Feb. 20, a week before Ontario goes to the polls.
With files from Shawn Jeffords