Ontario’s Ford Rebuffs Sask., Manitoba Premiers’ Request to Drop Chinese EV Levies at Envoy’s Urging

Ontario’s Ford Rebuffs Sask., Manitoba Premiers’ Request to Drop Chinese EV Levies at Envoy’s Urging
Ontario Premier Doug Ford delivers remarks at Lakeshore Collegiate Institute in Toronto, on Aug. 31, 2023. The Canadian Press/Spencer Colby
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Ontario Premier Doug Ford is rejecting calls from his counterparts in Saskatchewan and Manitoba to drop tariffs on Chinese-made electric vehicles (EVs) in exchange for canola tariff relief, saying he, too, must protect his province’s key industries by advocating to maintain the levies.

Ford made the comments on Oct. 14 while addressing the Empire Club of Canada, a Canadian speakers forum in Toronto. His remarks come three days after Saskatchewan Premier Scott Moe and Manitoba Premier Wab Kinew separately urged Ottawa to drop its 100 percent tariffs on Chinese electric vehicles, following a suggestion from China’s ambassador to Canada that doing so could lead Beijing to lift its tariffs on Canadian canola.