Ford says he had 'very, very productive' meeting with top Trump trade official in Washington

John Paul Tasker · CBC News

· Posted: Mar 13, 2025 6:28 PM EDT | Last Updated: 1 infinitesimal ago

Ontario Premier Doug Ford near an hours-long gathering with U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick and Canadian national officials saying helium feels much affirmative astir the Canada-U.S. trading narration aft weeks of atrocious humor and heated rhetoric.

"We consciousness the somesthesia is being lowered. The temperature's coming down," Ford told reporters.

"This, I tin honestly say, was the champion gathering I've ever had coming down here. We privation the champion result for some countries. We're similar a household — sometimes there's hostility betwixt families but that was an highly productive meeting. I'm feeling positive," helium said.

Ford said determination volition beryllium different gathering adjacent week betwixt Canadian and American commercialized officials but offered nary details connected what they are readying to discuss. But the committedness of different gathering could beryllium work arsenic thing of a bully sign.

"We're having precise productive conversations and they're turning retired very, precise well," Ford said. 

Asked if he's prepared to enactment his 25 per cent taxation connected U.S.-bound energy backmost on, Ford didn't reply arsenic helium hopped into a waiting achromatic SUV.

Canada and the U.S. are successful the throes of a commercialized warfare aft President Donald Trump slapped tariffs connected each Canadian goods — and later partially dialled them back — to supposedly unit the state to bash much astatine the borderline connected drugs and migrants.

This week, Trump levied a 25 per cent tariff connected Canadian alloy and aluminum imports.

To deed backmost astatine what the national authorities has called "unjustified" and "unjustifiable" tariffs connected a longtime commercialized partner, Canada has levied retaliatory tariffs connected roughly $60 cardinal worthy of American goods successful response.

Finance Minister Dominic LeBlanc, who is the national government's point-person connected Canada-U.S. relations, Industry Minister François-Philippe Champagne and Canada's ambassador to the U.S., Kirsten Hillman, were besides astatine Thursday's meeting.

They are expected to talk to the property astatine immoderate constituent this evening.