Ontario Premier Doug Ford Hopes Republicans Lose Congress Over Trump's Tariffs

Ontario Premier Doug Ford said Thursday that he hopes Republicans lose both chambers of Congress in November, urging American voters to punish President Donald Trump at the ballot box over the escalating trade war between Washington and Ottawa. Ford, who has become one of the loudest anti-Trump voices in Canada, delivered the remark as the two countries traded fresh tariff blows. His appeal also exposed a split in Canada's response, with the country's prime minister striking a far more cautious tone hours later.

Ford Tells American Voters to Punish Trump

"Hopefully, he's going to lose the Senate. He's going to lose Congress. I hope so, and hold him accountable," Ford said. In the same breath, he insisted Canada would not meddle in the U.S. election. "But we'll see how that goes. We aren't going to interfere in the U.S. election," he added.

The premier also questioned Trump's reliability as a negotiating partner. "He's not reliable at all," Ford said. "He could make a deal today and then change his mind. And we've seen that over and over again."

It is a rare thing for a foreign leader to openly root for one American party to lose control of Congress. Ford's wish, delivered on the same day he called for a return to the negotiating table, underscored how deeply the tariff fight has reshaped the relationship between the two neighbors.

Washington Turns Up the Heat on Ottawa

The comments landed days after the United States escalated the dispute by banning some Canadian dairy products, motorcycles, and most alcoholic beverages. The move answered Canadian retaliatory tariffs on roughly $20 billion in U.S. goods. The administration also moved to strip Canadian products from large, long-term federal government contracts.

In a separate escalation, Trump signed an executive order renaming Lake Ontario as "Lake America." Canada does not recognize the change, and other nations and U.S. states are not required to follow it, but the order added another layer of friction between the two countries.

The dispute reaches back further. Last year, Trump abruptly ended trade talks with Canada after the Ontario government broadcast an anti-tariff television ad in the United States that used quotes from former President Ronald Reagan criticizing tariffs.

A Louder Voice, a More Careful One

Ford's combative posture contrasted with Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney, who told a cabinet retreat in Banff, Alberta, that Canada may hold off on further retaliation. Carney described the latest American measures as "relatively modest" compared with earlier moves and said Ottawa is still studying them, noting that some new tariffs replaced others the administration had removed.

Even Ford conceded that the pressure is reshaping his country. He said Trump had unintentionally strengthened Canada by forcing it to cut its dependence on the United States, arguing that the only two good things Trump ever did for Canada were to "wake us up" and "unite the country like I've never seen before."

The two leaders have traded personal jabs throughout the fight. Trump has dismissed Ford as "the less charismatic, intelligent, and overall unimpressive brother of the late, great, Rob Ford." Ford, for his part, mocked Trump for keeping a portrait of Reagan near his desk while pursuing tariffs the former president opposed, telling the Associated Press that Reagan would be "throwing up on him from the picture if he knew what was going on."

What to Watch Before November

Ford said he still believes Trump wants to reach a deal before the midterms, and that Canada should return to the table as soon as possible. "I truly believe President Trump wants a deal before the midterms," he said. "I could be wrong, but I think it's best that we sit down and get a deal."

That admission undercuts the premier's own wish for a Republican defeat. It also signals that the administration's tariff strategy has left Ottawa searching for an off-ramp while Washington keeps pressing its advantage. Canada's leadership is now speaking with two voices: one lashing out, the other counseling patience.

With roughly eight weeks until the November 3 elections, the standoff will test which approach wins inside Canada. The next move could be a deal, another round of retaliation, or a pause as both sides wait to see how American voters respond.