TORONTO — Ontario Premier Doug Ford has vowed not to lift the province’s ban on U.S. alcohol and urged Canada to take an aggressive approach to looming American tariffs, declaring that “we could dismantle the U.S. if we wanted to.”Speaking Tuesday afternoon during a media availability in Prince Edward Island while attending meetings with fellow premiers, Ford pushed back against what he described as repeated U.S. bullying.“We can’t keep rolling over. We can’t keep backing down. We have to go full tilt,” Ford said. “We are an energy powerhouse, and we could dismantle the U.S. if we wanted to … They need to feel the pain rather than us constantly feeling the pain.”Ford described U.S. President Donald Trump as a “bully” trying to “take our lunch money all the time” and called for Canada to respond “tariff-to-tariff, all the way across the board.”“That’s my message to the prime minister. We need a plan moving forward,” he said. “We have to negotiate through strength, not weakness, and we need to throw everything on the table.”.Ford made clear that American products will not return to LCBO shelves or its catalogue. U.S. officials have cited provincial alcohol bans, including Ontario’s, as one justification for the new tariffs.The ban, implemented in March 2025, removed thousands of U.S. alcohol products from stores, online listings, and supply to bars and restaurants. It remains fully in effect.The U.S. plans to impose 50 per cent tariffs on a wide range of Canadian goods — including some under the free trade agreement — in 29 days. The measures are expected to hit Ontario particularly hard.Ford stressed the need for a unified “Team Canada” response rather than leaving Ontario to shoulder the burden alone..The remarks come as premiers gather in Charlottetown amid heightened trade tensions. Prime Minister Mark Carney has indicated talks with U.S. officials on the tariffs and CUSMA are intensifying.Trump has previously responded to Ford’s tough talk with a mix of dismissal and escalation. During earlier rounds of tariff threats tied to the booze ban and other trade disputes, Trump has accused Canadian leaders of weakness and suggested the U.S. holds the stronger hand in any prolonged fight, often highlighting Canada’s reliance on American markets.He has framed retaliatory Canadian moves as counterproductive and used them to justify further U.S. actions, while expressing confidence that economic pressure would bring Ottawa back to the table on American terms.Toronto Mayor Olivia Chow said she would reconvene the city’s economic action team to examine local mitigation measures. “I will call them back together and look at what else we can do,” she said
