LILLEY: Doug Ford’s message to government: Buy Ontario and buy Canadian

With trade talks stalled and U.S. protectionism on the rise, premier is directing province’s agencies, boards and commissions to spend provincial dollars closer to home.

Published Aug 26, 2026  •  3 minute read

Ontario Premier Doug Ford is pictured at the first ministers meetings held at the Canadian War Museum in Ottawa on Friday, March 22.

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Ever since the Trump administration invoked tariffs on Canadian goods and pushed more “Buy America” provisions, Ford has been pushing his own protectionist agenda. It’s a stark reversal from the previous seven years, when he regularly lobbied U.S. governors to open government contracts to Ontario businesses.

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But with the United States turning inward, Ford decided it was time to do the same. The trade talks that broke off Friday were an attempt to end protectionist government contract measures on both sides of the border, but with those talks failing, Ford doubled down with a memo on Tuesday.

“For more than a year, we have been introducing legislation, regulations and related policies meant to ensure that wherever possible, Ontario tax dollars are supporting Ontario workers,” Ford wrote.

“I want to thank you for your partnership and support as we implemented these policies, to ensure that every penny of the provincial government’s more than $30 billion in annual procurement that can be spent here in Ontario is spent here in Ontario.”

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Ford called the responsibility of Ontario provincial organizations to buy from Ontario-based suppliers “a floor, not a ceiling.”

“By ensuring as much of this spending as possible is directed to Ontario and Canadian businesses, we can make the difference for a company that might otherwise be forced to close its doors or lay off employees as a result of these tariffs,” Ford wrote.

From free trade to buy local

Ford’s frustration with procurement decisions isn’t new. Last year, he blasted the LCBO for awarding a paper-bag contract to a Quebec company. On Wednesday, his target was architects and engineers specifying higher-priced American building materials for a Toronto area school.

“So, I hear they spec out this brick and God knows we have we have great brick companies here in Ontario, and they’re buying in the U.S. for $8 a brick, and we can sell it for two. Like these engineers and architects. I don’t know how many times I have to tell you how many times I got to tell the boards or everyone else. I don’t care if it’s an agency, buy Ontario, buy Canada,” Ford said.

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Buying $8 bricks from the United States when we produce $2 bricks seems like a waste even when there isn’t a trade war.

Ford has been adamant that the province change how it buys things since he was elected in 2018. When he became premier, Ford couldn’t believe there was no central purchasing agency for the government. Each department, and sometimes each office, did its own buying.

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The Supply Ontario experiment

He decided to set up Supply Ontario, a new government agency, to buy everything from pens to toilet paper for government departments and agencies. While the goal was originally to save taxpayer money through a centralized purchasing desk and economies of scale, it has since been tasked with backing Ontario-based companies.

At times, the government has been criticized for taking a wide view of what an Ontario company is. The provincial government runs on Microsoft software. While the company is headquartered in Redmond, Wash., the Ford government considers it an Ontario company because it employs more than 5,000 Canadians, most of them in Ontario.

Controversial to some, the idea is that if a company has a significant presence in Ontario, it counts as an Ontario company.

Following the world’s lead

Ontario spends more than $200 billion per year, most of that going to salaries.

Free trade works when everyone plays by the same rules. If Washington is determined to favour its own companies, it’s hard to fault Queen’s Park for deciding Ontario taxpayers should come first.

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