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Ontario Premier Doug Ford says he had a “very productive” meeting with the prime minister on Monday afternoon after days of criticizing his trip to China.
Ford’s relationship with Mark Carney has been strained in recent days, after Canada agreed to allow 49,000 Chinese-made electric vehicles into the country in return for an easing of tariffs on agricultural products.
The agreement — which Ford called a “terrible” deal — saw Ottawa side with farming industries in the Prairies over Ontario’s nascent vision of becoming an electric vehicle hub.
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Ford complained after the deal that the prime minister hadn’t texted or called him to warn him that the agreement was coming, dispatching his minister of internal trade to deliver the news instead.
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Carney and Ford spoke for the first time since the deal on the phone Friday, the premier’s office confirmed, although details of the conversation were not revealed.
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Speaking briefly to reporters on Monday, Ford said his discussion with Carney was “all about Team Canada,” which the prime minister echoed.
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“I found it twice as productive as the premier,” Carney joked, holding two slices of pizza.
Ford downplayed the tension of recent days and his repeated criticism.
“We’re a big family, and sometimes brothers and sisters may disagree, but at the end of the day, make no mistake about it, we’re one country,” he said.
Ford said he agreed on “99 per cent” of the same things as Carney.
Later on Monday, Industry Minister Mélanie Joly will arrive at Queen’s Park later in the day for her own meeting with Ford.
Union leaders said Joly is working on a plan to boost Ontario’s struggling auto industry, where investment has been deferred, and two plants sit idle without a timeline to get them going again.
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