Ontario Premier Doug Ford expressed delight that Vice President and Democratic presidential Kamala Harris chose Minnesota Governor Tim Walz as her running mate.
Taking questions from reporters at a news conference on Wednesday, Premier Ford said that he is “happy as punch” that Walz is joining Harris on the Democratic ticket for the coming presidential election in November.
“I was happy as punch to see the governor get nominated as Vice President, well running mate I should say, and it’s all about building relationships,” said Ford.
Ford recalled Walz’s visit to Queen’s Park back in June where the two regional leaders developed a chummy relationship with one another, bonding over their shared passion for football. Minnesota shares a border with Ontario.
“We share a lot in common when we sat down, we tossed the football around a little bit in my office, we gave him a CFL football,” said Ford.
Ford says that he and Walz both agree that Canada and the United States should be working together to promote a “buy North American” agenda, in contrast with former President Donald Trump’s refrain of “buy American.”
“Talking about buy North America, he understands that,” said Ford. “And I get it during the election, I’m just as bad as everyone else in saying ‘buy Ontario’ and yes, go out there and buy Ontario made or Canadian made. But buy USA.”
Ford went on to laud his province’s economic might while touting his ability to work with politicians of all political stripes.
“We’re an economic powerhouse folks in North America. They realize it no matter if it’s manufacturing or if it’s energy or mining, we’re much stronger together. And the governor, we’re gonna work well together if he gets elected. I’ll work with anyone, Republican or Democrat, I don’t care who’s in there, we’ll work with them.”
Earlier in the week, Vice President Harris announced Governor Walz as her running mate in a much-anticipated announcement, beating out reported contenders like Governor Josh Shapiro and Secretary Pete Buttigieg.
The Harris-Walz ticket serves as a contrast to the Trump campaign which has campaigned on raising tariffs on American trading partners, including Canada.
In 2026, the United States-Mexico-Canada agreement will be up for mandatory review, allowing a new American administration and possibly a new Canadian government to renegotiate the deal’s details.
In Ford’s first term in office, the Ontario Premier expressed support for President Trump and ripped Democrats like Nancy Pelosi for ripping up Trump’s State of the Union address and Bernie Sanders for his embrace of socialism.
However, Trump’s proclivity for protectionist trade policy saw Ford’s public support shift, as late into the former President’s tenure, he announced plans to reimpose a 10% tariff on Canadian aluminum.