Ford says there is 'clear consensus' among premiers for separate trade deal with Mexico

Ontario Premier Doug Ford attends a signing of a memorandum of understanding with Governor of Illinois J.B. Pritzker, at the US-Canada Summit in Toronto on Tuesday, June 11, 2024. (Chris Young / The Canadian Press)

Ontario Premier Doug Ford says there is “clear consensus” among premiers for separate bilateral trade deals with the U.S. and Mexico, following a phone call with all the leaders on Wednesday.

“Most important thing with all the premiers, we put all political stripes aside. We're speaking as Team Canada, and we feel the same way,” Ford said, who is also the chair of Canada’s Premiers.

Ford first floated the idea to oust Mexico last week in the wake of Donald Trump’s re-election to the White House earlier this month. Trump has vowed to reopen the Canada-United States-Mexico Agreement, which is due for a review in 2026.

Ford argues Mexico has become a back door for China to circumvent tariffs from the U.S. and Canada.

“We know Mexico is bringing in cheap Chinese parts, slapping ‘made in Mexico’ stickers on, shipping it up through the U.S. and Canada, causing American jobs to be lost, and Canadian jobs. We want fair trade,” Ford said.

The premier also said he will be asking for a meeting with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on the issue to “make sure we’re all on side,” but says he already spoke to Trudeau, calling him “very supportive.”

This week at the G20 Summit in Rio de Janeiro, Trudeau met with Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum and said he raised “concerns that have been expressed publicly by a number of people around some of the investments in Mexico.”

“I think the Mexican administration is looking at ways of either adjusting or sharing why people shouldn't be worried about these investments,” Trudeau said Tuesday at the conclusion of the summit.

Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland, who is leading the revived cabinet committee on Canada-U.S. relations, said on Tuesday she has also heard “grave concerns” about Mexico from members of both the Biden administration and Trump team.

“I believe those concerns are legitimate, and Canada, as a partner in the NAFTA trading area, shares those concerns,” Freeland said.

In an interview with CTV Question Period on Sunday, Alberta Premier Danielle Smith said she is “a thousand per cent” in support of Ford’s call to cut Mexico out of a trilateral free trade agreement.

"Mexico has gone in a different direction, and it's pretty clear that the Americans have indicated that they want to have a fair trade relationship," Smith told Question Period host Vassy Kapelos. "Mexico is not in a position to be able to offer that, especially with the investment that they have from China."

CTV News has reached out to all the premiers' offices for comment.

With files from CTV’s Spencer Van Dyk