Doug Ford says that a Toronto Star story claiming that he turned down a request for help from Pierre Poilievre is not accurate.
On Friday Doug Ford shut down a story published by the Star that claimed federal Conservative leader Pierre Poilivre requested the Ontario premier’s help in the expected upcoming federal election and was turned down. The story cited unnamed federal and provincial Conservative sources
When a reporter asked about the tone of their conversation, and why Ford was not endorsing Poilievere, Ford said that he spoke with Poilievre on Monday, but the federal party leader did not request help from the Ontario leader.
“What was reported is not accurate at all, he didn’t ask me for help,” The Ontario premier told reporters, saying he’s not sure where that story came from.
“I want to see how each leader is going to protect Ontario,” Ford explained. “Are they going to get the Ring of Fire moving forward? Are they going to get out of the way and make sure that we get into the critical minerals?”
The Ring of Fire is a large mineral development region in Northern Ontario. The area spans a whopping 5,000 square kilometres and is located about 500 kilometres northeast of Thunder Bay.
According to the provincial website, the region has long-term potential to produce minerals like chromite, cobalt, nickel, copper and platinum.
“Times have changed now. We’re in an economic war with the largest country in the world and we have to get to those critical minerals as quickly as possible,” the premier continued, adding that it cannot take 20 years to accomplish this.
“I always say Alberta’s oil is our critical minerals, and that’s how we’re going to fund everything. The world wants them, we have them, and we have to get them refined and out to the open market.”
The federal Conservative leader also called the report inaccurate. Poilievre said that he spoke with Ford earlier this week, as he does all premiers when they are interested in connecting with him.
“We talk about bringing home jobs to Canada, supporting the Ring of Fire, cutting taxes, unleashing our production and reversing the lost Liberal decade of the last nine years,” Poilievre told reporters on Friday.
“I’ll be working with Premier Ford and all premiers across this country to bring home the country that we knew and still love.”
POILIEVRE SHOWS SUPPORT FOR RING OF FIRE MINES
Prior to the Star report, on Wednesday evening, Poilievre shared a video about the Ring of Fire.
“Build Canada FIRST starting with the Ring of Fire,” he posted to X.
Ford then shared the post on Thursday, after the report was published, showing his support.
“For years, Ontario has been calling on the federal government to cut red tape, streamline approvals, end unnecessary duplication and match the $1 billion we’ve dedicated to building the roads to the Ring of Fire,” Ford wrote on X.
“It’s great to see the Conservative Party of Canada answer our call. This needs to be a Canadian consensus. As we stare down the threat of President Trump’s tariffs, I expect every federal party to join Ontario in unlocking the enormous economic potential of the Ring of Fire. We need a clear answer on where the Liberals stand.”
