TORONTO — Doug Ford said Friday that he told Justin Trudeau he stands with the prime minister in a trade dispute with the United States, emphasizing Ontario's ties with the federal government a day after leading his Progressive Conservatives to a majority.
Trudeau and U.S. President Donald Trump have exchanged tough words after the U.S. imposed hefty tariffs on steel and aluminum from Canada, Mexico and Europe. Canada has countered with a plan to impose tariffs of its own on U.S. metals and other consumer goods.
Ford was asked a day after the election what he thinks of how Trump is handling trade issues.
"I talked to the prime minister yesterday," he said. "I said we'll stand united against our neighbours to the south and I'm very sincere when I say that. United we stand as a country and I'll work hand in hand with the prime minister."
Ford said he will keep all of his election promises, including to repeal the Liberals' updated sex-ed curriculum.
But he declined to discuss specifics when asked about the timing of that, as well as when and how he would scrap the Liberals' cap-and-trade program, or if he will introduce back-to-work legislation to end a months-long strike at York University in Toronto.
Ford also would not say if he will lower the legislature's threshold for official party status to accommodate the Liberals, who were decimated at the polls. The bar is currently eight seats, but the Liberals were reduced Thursday night from a majority to holding just seven seats.
Thank you, Ontario! The party with the taxpayers' money is over. Together, we will get this province back on track. #pcpo #onpoli #onelxn pic.twitter.com/LeB5asxlkt
— Doug Ford (@fordnation) June 8, 2018
Spending some time with my family before watching the 2018 Ontario election results! Thanks to everyone who has voted already - reminder that polls remain open until 9pm. #onpoli #onelxn #pcpo #ontariovotes pic.twitter.com/g3GTTByM3b
— Doug Ford (@fordnation) June 8, 2018
The premier-designate's first order of business will be to examine the province's books, he said.
"We have to see the financial situation that's been left behind, and over the next couple days and weeks you're going to hear from us, but the most important thing is getting our fiscal house in order," Ford said.
He also announced his transition team Friday, including former Conservative MP John Baird, a past chief of staff in former prime minister Stephen Harper's government, and an executive at the Ford family business.
Ford said he expects the transition to take 21 days, and will meet Friday with the lieutenant-governor, when he will likely receive a formal invitation to form Ontario's next government.
The NDP under Andrea Horwath will form the Official Opposition, marking a turnaround for a party consistently stuck in third place since Bob Rae's New Democratic government was defeated in 1995.
The party doubled its seat count from the 2014 election. Horwath said Friday that Ontarians have chosen her party to keep Ford accountable.
"Our ideas are quite different and Mr. Ford's plan to cut all those taxes for the richest people in Ontario is going to put a big hole in our finances here in this province," she said. "I'm hopeful that Mr. Ford understands that we need revenues in our province to pay for the kinds of things that people expect a government to provide."
Ford was frequently accused during the election campaign of failing to be transparent by dodging calls to release a fully costed platform. The party eventually published a list of promises and their price tags, but didn't indicate how they would pay for them, what size of deficits they would run or for exactly how long.
Doug Ford Victory Sets Trudeau Liberals On ‘Collision Course' With Ontario; John McKay
OTTAWA — A longtime Liberal member of Parliament says Doug Ford's Conservative election victory in Ontario puts the Trudeau government on a "collision course" with the province in the battle over climate change.
But Toronto-area MP John McKay says, ultimately, Ottawa will exercise its jurisdiction and impose a carbon tax on Ontario, regardless of any actions taken by Ford's soon-to-be-installed government.
Ford won a majority government in Thursday's provincial election on a platform that included a pledge to scrap Ontario's cap-and-trade carbon pricing system.
He also promised a Supreme Court of Canada challenge over any attempt by the federal government to force a carbon tax on the province.
Under federal legislation, all provinces have until the end of this year to enact carbon pricing plans and if they don't meet federal standards, a national price will be imposed on them.
At least one province — Saskatchewan — has threatened to sue Ottawa if it tries to impose a carbon price.
Conservative MP Marilyn Gladu says Ford's election victory is a wake-up call for the Trudeau Liberals to pay attention to public concerns over taxing carbon.
She predicts that, under a Ford government, Ontario's cap-and-trade carbon pricing agreement with Quebec and California, which produced the world's second biggest carbon market, will soon be dead.
Ford, Horwath Won't Say If They'll Allow Ontario Liberals To Retain Party Status
TORONTO — Doug Ford won't say whether he would support changes that would allow Ontario's Liberals to retain official party status after they fell one seat short of the threshold in this week's election.
The Liberals were reduced from a majority government to only seven seats in Thursday's election that saw the Progressive Conservatives back in power for the first time in 15 years and the New Democrats form the official Opposition.
Eight seats are needed to be a recognized party in the Ontario legislature, a designation that allows parties to access resources such as research assistance. But that threshold can be changed by legislators, as has been in the past.
A message from Ontario Liberal Party President @_BrianJohns. #onpoli #cdnpoli #onelxn pic.twitter.com/NZogSiX7H0
— Ontario Liberal Party (@OntLiberal) June 8, 2018
Asked whether he would support such a change, Ford said he would talk to his team about the issue in the days and weeks to come.
NDP Leader Andrea Horwath was also pressed on the issue, and would only say that the decision was Ford's to make.
The Liberal party, meanwhile, said in a statement Friday that its focus is on its renewal following its defeat and Kathleen Wynne's resignation as leader.
