Leaders of all four Ontario parties are continuing their campaign trail across the province amid President Donald Trump’s U.S. tariffs set to kick in tomorrow.
Here’s the latest on the provincial electoral candidates.
DOUG FORD IN ETOBICOKE
In Etobicoke, Conservative Party leader Doug Ford expressed his disappointment in U.S. President Trump’s looming tariffs, and assured that Canada will do whatever it takes to retaliate to the decision he describes as “misguided.”
“Canada has no choice to hit back, and to hit back hard,” Ford said in a press conference on Monday.
The PC leader said as of today, Ontario will be banning American companies from provincial contracts, which will result in U.S.-based businesses losing out on tens of billions of dollars in new revenues. In addition, Ford said he’s axing the province’s contract with Elon Musk’s Starlink, a $100-million deal that would have brought internet access to thousands of homes in remote and rural communities.
“Ontario won’t do business with people hellbent on destroying our economy,” Ford said.
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In addition, he has ordered the LCBO to remove all U.S. liquor products from shelves until tariffs are removed.
Ford emphasized he’ll do whatever it takes to keep Ontarians safe, as Trump’s tariffs will put up to 450,000 jobs at risk, he said. The PC leader vowed to invest tens of billions of dollars to re-train workers for new opportunities and to rebuild roads and highways for workers to get to their jobs.
“I’ll make the tough choices to make Ontario’s economy the most competitive place to invest, create jobs and do business.”
MARIT STILES IN OSHAWA
Ontario NDP leader Marit Stiles held a conference at the Canadian Automotive Museum in Oshawa.
Stiles stressed that her party is siding with Ontarians who are currently worried about life getting harder, and promised to defend jobs and protect incomes currently at risk by Trump’s tariffs, particularly in the auto sector.
“We will fight back as part of a strong team Canada, and we will get to work building a tariff proof Ontario for the years ahead,” Stiles said.
The NDP leader slammed Doug Ford for the housing crisis, overcrowded school system, post-secondary institutions cutting programs, and delayed transit products. Stiles assured that her goal was to make sure Ontario would never be in the same position going forward.
“Seven years of Doug Ford has left us so vulnerable to the tariffs Trump has coming,” Stiles said.
“He’s made Ontario weaker, and he’s failed to look after our people.”
Stiles also said the NDP will push to reduce internal trade barriers and double efforts to promote Ontario-made goods.
“You can’t count on Doug Ford, but you can count on me,” she said.
BONNIE CROMBIE
Liberal Party Leader Bonnie Crombie took to social media on Monday to slam Doug Ford for his “backward priorities.”
In a post on X, she says she had been calling for Ford to rip up his “sweetheart deal” for Elon Musk’s Starlink since the U.S. inauguration last month.
She said while she’s glad that it’s finally happening, the contract “should have never been signed in the first place.
Instead of taking steps forward during this critical moment, Doug Ford is being forced to back track on his record of handing out multi-million dollar government contracts to American billionaires like Elon Musk.
— Bonnie Crombie 🇨🇦 (@BonnieCrombie) February 3, 2025
To be clear, I'm happy that this ridiculous contract is being… pic.twitter.com/p91izBYrRj
Crombie is expected to hold a campaign event at 12:30 p.m. in Kitchener.
MIKE SCHREINER IN KITCHENER
Ontario Green Party Leader Mike Schreiner headed to Kitchener to talk about housing at a campaign event. The party leader stressed that housing costs are at a historic high, with the average home in the province going for $834,000.
“This is only going to get worse,” Schreiner emphasized.
“With the trade war, construction costs are only going to go up.”
Schreiner introduced the Ontario Greens First-Time Homebuyers Plan, one designed to lower housing costs and build two million homes over the next decades.
The plan also detailed legalizing four-plex and six-plex homes in cities with over 500,000 residents in population, and legalizing mid-rise homes between six to 11 stories along major transit and main streets.
Schreiner also said the Greens would reduce development charges, completely eliminating them on homes under 2,000 sq. ft. being built in existing urban boundaries. He says with all of these changes, first-time homeowners could save an average $150,000 on the cost of a new home.
“This is the kind of bold action we need in the province of Ontario… that people can afford in the communities they know and love without paving over our farms, forests and our wetlands,” he said.
“The Ontario Greens… will bring back fairness to the housing market and ensure that a whole generation of young people can achieve the dream of home ownership.”
