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Associated Press

Ontario Premier Doug Ford won re-election to lead Canada’s most populous province on Thursday, giving him the mandate he wanted to fight tariffs threatened by US President Donald Trump.
“Donald Trump thinks he can break us,” Ford told a cheering crowd at a Toronto convention centre. “He thinks he can divide and conquer, pit region against region. Donald Trump doesn’t know what we know.
“Let me be clear. Canada will never, ever be the 51st state. Canada is not for sale.”
Unofficial results from Elections Ontario showed Ford’s Progressive Conservative Party would win a majority, giving him his third term as premier.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, whose Liberal Party will choose a new leader March 9, congratulated Ford on his victory.
“At this crucial time, we must work together to defend Canadian interests, protect workers and businesses, and grow our economy,” Trudeau said in a statement.
Ford called the election on January 29, more than a year early. The Conservatives already held a majority with 79 seats.
At the time, Ford said he needed a four-year mandate to protect Ontario, Canada’s manufacturing and automobile hub.
Trump has threatened to implement 25 per cent tariffs on all Canadian imports, with a lower 10 per cent levy on energy, beginning Tuesday. He has also angered Canadians by talking about Canada becoming the 51st US state.
During his speech, Ford said during his time as premier he has shown he would work with anyone to achieve results.


“As we stare down the threat of Donald Trump’s tariffs, I will continue to do just that,” he said. “I will work with every level of government and every political stripe. Fighting back against Donald Trump, standing up for Canada, will take a full Team Ontario effort. It will take a full Team Canada effort.”
During the campaign Ford made two trips to Washington to speak to US government and business leaders about the tariffs.
Ford has said his government was prepared to spend “tens of billions of dollars” to protect jobs and the economy of Ontario, and he has mused about making Americans pay more for the electricity Ontario sends to the US.
Opposition parties have accused Ford of calling an early election before any potential charges emerge from a police investigation into his now-scrapped plan to develop lands under environmental protection.
They also said the cost of the election could have been better spent on healthcare and affordable housing.
With a population of around 16 million, Ontario is the Canadian province with the most people and an economy that makes up 38 per cent of Canadian GDP.
Unofficial results from Elections Ontario showed the Progressive Conservatives winning 82 seats, the New Democratic Party 25, the Liberals 14 and the Greens two, while one seat was won by an independent.
When the election was called, the NDP had 28 seats, the Liberals had nine and the Greens had two, with six independents. A majority government required at least 63 seats.
The NDP under leader Marit Stiles returned as the official opposition while Liberal Leader Bonnie Crombie failed to be re-elected.
Stiles said the people had spoken.
“They re-elected the government hoping they would protect them against tariffs,” she said. “The threat is real.”
During the campaign, Crombie promised to connect every Ontarian to a family doctor while Stiles addressed healthcare and affordability.
Green Party Leader Mike Schreiner made promises about building more housing, protecting farmland and improving affordability.
“I think this had been a very low profile election,” said Jonathan Malloy, a political scientist at Carleton University in Ottawa. “When Canadians are asked about the number one public issue these days, I’m sure they would say the Trump tariffs. That has overshadowed the election.”


Doug Ford re-elected as Ontario’s premier in shadow of US-Canada tensions

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Canada

r Doug Ford called an election more than a year early, arguing he needed a stronger mandate to fight Trump’s threatened tariffs. Photo: Reuters

Doug Ford speaks to supporters after he was re-elected. Photo: The Canadian Press via AP

A cap with a message at Doug Ford’s election night party. Photo: Reuters

Under pressure from Trump, Mexico sends drug cartel kingpins to US

Mexico has agreed to deploy 10,000 more troops to the Mexico-US border to tackle illegal migration and drug smuggling. Photo: AFP

An FBI wanted posted for Rafael Caro Quintero. File photo: FBI via AP

A drug laboratory in Sinaloa State, Mexico. File photo: Mexican Army via AFP 

Top leaders of the hyper-violent Zetas gang were also included in the group handed over to the US. File photo: AP

US President Donald Trump has posted that the US will impose tariffs of 20 per cent on Chinese imports, starting on Tuesday. Photo: AFP

Containers and cargo ships at a port in Wuhu, Anhui province. Photo: China Daily via Reuters

US consumer confidence sees biggest drop in years amid uncertainty over Trump policies

Inflation expectations over the coming year increased to the highest since May 2023, reflecting the recent jump in the cost of eggs as well as anticipated higher prices from Trump’s planned tariffs. Photo: AFP

News agencies decry restrictions as White House picks who covers Trump

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt during a briefing. Photo: AP

US President Donald Trump taking questions from reporters. Photo: Reuters

President Donald Trump throws a hat that reads ‘Trump Was Right About Everything’ as he talks to reporters in the Oval Office. Photo: Pool via AP

Trump’s threats and 51st state taunts reset race to lead Canada

A protester holds Canadian and US flags on Parliament Hill in Ottawa on February 1. Photo: Canadian Press via AP

Conservative Party of Canada leader Pierre Poilievre speaks during a news conference on Parliament Hill in Ottawa in December. Photo: TNS

Ontario Premier Doug Ford speaks during a press conference with the premiers of Canada in Washington on Wednesday. Photo: Reuters

News

World

United States & Canada

Ontario voters opt for a familiar face to steer an economy that is under threat from US President Donald Trump’s trade policies


Ontario voters opt for a familiar face to steer an economy that is under threat from US President Donald Trump’s trade policies.


Donald Trump

US-ally trade wars