Ford to meet Carney under shadow of Chinese EV deal

Ontario Premier Doug Ford will meet with the prime minister today, before later welcoming Canada’s minister of industry to Queen’s Park for a high-stakes meeting on the future of the province’s auto industry.

Ford’s relationship with Mark Carney has been strained in recent days, after Canada agreed to allow 49,000 Chinese-made electric vehicles into the country in return for an easing of tariffs on agricultural products.

The agreement — which Ford called a “terrible” deal — saw Ottawa side with farming industries in the Prairies over Ontario’s nascent vision of becoming an electric vehicle hub.

Ford complained after the deal that the prime minister hadn’t texted or called him to warn him that the agreement was coming, dispatching his minister of internal trade to deliver the news instead.

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Carney and Ford spoke for the first time since the deal on the phone Friday, the premier’s office confirmed, although details of the conversation were not revealed.

The pair will meet just after midday on Monday for a meeting before they tour a local business together.

Industry Minister Mélanie Joly will arrive at Queen’s Park later in the day for a meeting with Ford.

Union leaders said Joly is working on a plan to boost Ontario’s struggling auto industry, where investment has been deferred, and two plants sit idle without a timeline to get them going again.

 

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