LILLEY: Doug Ford still doing feds' job even after Mark Carney takeover

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Ontario’s Premier is talking to the Trump administration, but Canada’s PM Mark Carney can’t get a call with the President and a Carney insider says Ottawa will fold to Trump after the election.

Welcome to Canada’s chaotic tariff war, election-style.

Doug Ford spoke to Howard Lutnick on Wednesday night about ways to lessen the impact of tariffs on Canadian-made automobiles and parts. Lutnick is Donald Trump’s Commerce Secretary and is leading on the tariff file.

Trump announced a 25% tariff on foreign-made autos and parts on Wednesday afternoon. The executive order Trump signed said the tariffs will take effect April 2, but a section of the fact sheet released with the order allows Lutnick to makes changes.

That’s what Ford and Lutnick discussed after the secretary called the Premier late in the night.

“It was probably quarter to 11 and about a 25-minute chat with him, and rant through what we are expecting on the auto tariffs.

The way Ford described it, auto parts moving back and forth across the border would not face a tariff until they are in an assembled vehicle crossing the border. If a car heading into the U.S. has 50% or more of American parts, that vehicle will face no tariffs and if it has up to 50% American parts it will face a 12.5% tariffs.

Ford said many of the vehicles manufactured in Ontario have more than 50% American parts.

While Ontario’s Premier said he still wants dollar for dollar retaliation against any American tariffs, he said that retaliation should wait until American tariffs take effect April 2.

“Let’s see what’s coming,” Ford said.

It’s another example of Ford having to do the federal government’s job because the Liberals put their party ahead of the country. It should be a prime minister with a mandate who can negotiate with Donald Trump.

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Instead, because of Justin Trudeau’s decision to step down in January rather than call an election, we ended up with a two-month Liberal leadership race and then a new PM with no mandate who “governed” for nine days before calling an opportunistic election.

Carney has yet to speak with Trump, but despite how he portrayed it for days in discussions with the media, it’s not because he hasn’t tried.

Carney said during the Liberal leadership race that he would call Trump on Day 1 to talk tariffs. After winning the race, he started to say he would speak to Trump once the U.S. President showed Canada some respect.

As multiple media outlets have confirmed, Carney has tried to get a call with Trump but has so far been unsuccessful. Could it be that Trump doesn’t want to speak to a PM with no mandate? Or is it that he knows Carney has called Trump “Voldemort” and “Orange Man” and now wonders why he can’t get a call?

On Thursday, Carney told reporters the White House had reached out to set up a call between Carney and Trump.

“There will be a conversation between the President and myself in the coming days. The call will happen soon,” Carney said.

Reuters had reported that Carney and Trump had a call on Thursday afternoon but later retracted. Carney’s 1:30 p.m. news conference was delayed by well over an hour, so perhaps Carney thought he had a call, but Trump kept him waiting and then didn’t show up.

It wouldn’t be surprising given all the negative things Carney has said about Trump – and we know that Trump pays attention to these things. In a recent interview with Fox News, Trump said he didn’t like Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre because he had said negative things about him, and he’d rather deal with a Liberal.

If Trump is going to pay attention to what Poilievre says about him, you can be sure he knows all the nasty things Carney has said.

The Liberals have been using the tariff issue for political games since November 2024 when it first arose. Thus the cheap insults, the name calling and more from Carney and Justin Trudeau before him.

Compare that to Ford who has taken a firm stance on Trump and tariffs but has never made it personal against the President. He’s been able to get meetings, have phone calls and get some wiggle room for Canada.

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Of course, the tough stand from the Liberals now may just be for show, according to a Carney insider.

Ian Bremmer, the man who heads up the Eurasia Group in New York is an American, which would normally mean he wouldn’t have an insider view of Canadian politics. Bremmer and his organization, though, have employed many Canadians who are in Mark Carney’s inner circle.

This includes Carney’s wife Diana Fox Carney, Carney’s key advisor Gerry Butts, and Carney’s star candidate in Toronto and his former art dealer Evan Solomon. So, when Bremmer makes pronouncements on what the current Liberal government will do in the face of Trump, you should listen.

In an analysis piece for Eurasia Group’s GZero Media, until recently run by Solomon, Bremmer said Europe and Mexico may be able to deal with Trump but Canada is in a different position.

“By contrast, Canadian leaders have a political incentive to put up a bigger fight because Trump’s threats toward Canada’s economy and sovereignty have sharply inflamed nationalist sentiment north of the border in the run-up to the April 28 elections. However, I expect Ottawa will quietly fold shortly after the vote to ensure that ongoing relations with the U.S. remain functional,” Bremmer wrote.

That last bit, “Ottawa will quietly fold,” sounds quite different than the elbows up message being pushed by Carney, Butts and Solomon as they seek to ensure the Liberals are re-elected.

One thing is clear, all sides in this are playing politics for their own gain, none more so than the Carney Liberals.

But the people who will pay the price are the regular Canadians facing layoffs.

blilley@postmedia.com