Prime Minister Mark Carney makes an announcement with Ontario Premier Doug Ford at the Darlington Energy Complex in Courtice, Ont., on Oct. 23.Laura Proctor/The Canadian Press
Gus Carlson is a U.S.-based columnist for The Globe and Mail.
As culturally incongruous as it may seem, the dust-up over the Government of Ontario’s anti-tariff television advertisement that enraged U.S. President Donald Trump suggests that once in a while Canada needs a bully.
And it has found one in Ontario Premier Doug Ford. Suddenly, Mr. Ford’s chronic unvarnished brashness, which for years has rubbed many Ontarians the wrong way, has become an asset when it comes to fighting fire with fire.
With the ad, featuring clips of former U.S. President Ronald Reagan talking about the dangers of tariffs for America and its workers, Mr. Ford succeeded in out-bullying the man who relishes his role as the biggest intimidator in the global schoolyard.
In many respects, Mr. Ford is the first Canadian leader to put Canada first in terms Mr. Trump can understand, as odious as that may be for some.
The ad was not subtle. It was not equivocal. It was a cheeky, smart, in-your-face, poke-the-bear, stick-that-in-your-pipe-and-smoke-it message that said even the U.S.’s polite, fair-minded, reasonable neighbours and allies to the north have limits.
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The fact that it featured comments from Mr. Reagan, perhaps the most beloved Republican in modern U.S. history and someone Mr. Trump admires, was delicious icing on the cake. To rub Mr. Reagan’s words in Mr. Trump’s face was, well, a bit like sticking your head in the mouth of an angry lion.
So effective was the ad in getting under Mr. Trump’s skin, he did what any good bully would do. He picked up his ball and went home in a huff, cutting off trade talks and threatening even more sanctions on Canada. Bullies don’t like games they can’t win.
Mr. Ford eventually agreed to pull the ad, but not before it had aired nationally in the U.S. and Canada during World Series broadcasts. The point had been made for millions of viewers on both sides of the border.
But beyond the anti-tariff message itself, what seemed to really frost the leader of the free world the most about the ad was the fact that he didn’t think of something like it himself.
The brilliance of Mr. Ford’s gambit is that he used a tactic right out of Mr. Trump’s own deal-making tool box – a lesson Mr. Trump trumpeted in his 1987 book, Trump: The Art of the Deal.
One of Mr. Trump long-standing fundamental negotiating strategies is to build up one’s own strengths while denigrating your opponent – making them feel weak, unworthy and outgunned, even insulting them.
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All these years later, Mr. Trump has remained faithful to that posture. Remember, this is the man who delights in calling his adversaries names: “Crooked Hillary” (Clinton). “Lyin’ Ted” (Cruz). “Low Energy Jeb” (Bush). “Sleepy Joe” (Biden). And “Little Marco” (Rubio), the man who is now Mr. Trump’s Secretary of State.
Few things could make Mr. Trump appear weaker in his position on tariffs than Mr. Reagan’s words painting a wholly contrary picture. For the GOP faithful, it’s like having the Almighty say, “You’re wrong.”
As entertaining as it has been to watch Mr. Trump pout about being upstaged by Mr. Ford, bully-to-bully standoffs rarely lead to constructive outcomes.
That’s why, while Canada needs a bully right now, it also needs a counterbalance.
Enter Prime Minister Mark Carney, who met Mr. Trump in South Korea and, according to the latter, played the good cop to Mr. Ford’s bad cop. Polished, credentialed, measured, Mr. Carney is a skilled negotiator who speaks a language Mr. Trump understands – business and money.
As unlikely bedfellows as they may seem, together, Mr. Carney and Mr. Ford actually make a pretty good tag team in the rollicking and often bizarre wrestling match with Mr. Trump.
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Mr. Ford can take on Mr. Trump with bare knuckles in the alleyway, then tap Mr. Carney, who can do his thing in the boardroom, a.k.a. the Oval Office.
Going forward, Canadian leaders should pay close attention to the effectiveness of the Reagan anti-tariff ad in putting Mr. Trump on notice that Canada won’t simply roll over. The so-called “elbows up” posture isn’t just a slogan.
While the fallout from the ad may cause some short-term pain, eventually Mr. Trump will come back to the table. In a weird way and at some level, Canada earned a bit of respect in the fracas.
Mr. Trump may not like being showed up by the leaders of a place he thinks should be the 51st state, but he now knows that Canada has some sharp sticks, too.
The Carney-Ford tag team should draw on the experience of the Reagan ad. Together, they might just be an unlikely but effective weapon in Canada’s arsenal.