LILLEY: Trump and Ford trade insults as tariff war spirals

The name-calling may grab headlines, but another round of tariffs and counter-tariffs could bring real pain to Canadian workers and businesses.

Published Aug 24, 2026  •  3 minute read

Ontario Premier Doug Ford speaks to media at Queen's Park in Toronto on July 28, 2025. Photo by Jack Boland /Toronto Sun

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Loser, flunky and “king of bankruptcies” were some of the names thrown at each other by Donald Trump and Doug Ford.

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While the fight between Canada and the United States devolved into personal insults and name-calling, on Monday, attention turned to the tariff escalation expected on Tuesday. Four Canadian cabinet ministers will make an early morning announcement in Ottawa on “new measures to protect and support Canadian workers and businesses.”

Finance Minister François-Philippe Champagne will be joined by Industry Minister Mélanie Joly, Jobs Minister Patty Hajdu and Artificial Intelligence Minister Evan Solomon as part of the news conference.

The announcement will provide details on the counter-tariffs Canada will impose on the United States and, with the inclusion of Hajdu, it’s likely the government will announce changes to Employment Insurance. With estimates suggesting the latest round of American tariffs could cause as many as 90,000 additional job losses across Canada, expect the EI changes to provide support for workers and businesses.

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Toronto Sun front page for Tuesday, Aug. 25, 2026.

In the 2008-09 financial crisis, the Harper government extended EI benefits for all workers by five weeks and for long-tenured workers by 20 weeks. It also provided EI support during retraining, faster processing and job-sharing measures.

The 20-week extension for long-tenured workers and the job-sharing program were meant to keep skilled workers connected to their jobs and employers during the uncertainty. One key worry for employers is getting their workforce back if they have to lay workers off due to tariffs.

Something along those lines is likely to be announced Tuesday.

Workers brace for impact

On Saturday, Prime Minister Mark Carney promised that Canada would match the latest American tariffs dollar-for-dollar. The Americans said they would not tolerate Canada retaliating and that there would be consequences if we did.

Before Canada’s counter-tariffs were even announced, President Donald Trump took to Truth Social to announce that, as of Jan. 1, the United States would charge a 50% tariff on all Canadian-made cars, trucks and parts on top of the 50% tariff already imposed on steel and aluminum.

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Just as the insults spiralled out of control Monday, don’t expect the tariff fight to remain contained for long.

From trade war to word war

On Monday morning, Ontario Premier Doug Ford was speaking with radio host Bill Carroll on Toronto’s Newstalk 1010. Towards the end of the conversation, Carroll read out the post Trump had made about increasing tariffs on Canada’s auto industry and his claim that Canada has been ripping off the United States for years.

“Well, he can kiss my ass. As far as I’m concerned, we’re going to go at him full steam,” Ford said.

He went on to call Trump a bully and reiterate his stance that you don’t back down to a bully.

As the clip and comments spread across Canadian media, they clearly caught Trump’s attention. Early Monday afternoon, Trump returned to Truth Social, this time to insult Ford.

No off-ramp in sight

“Lots of “bluster” from Doug Ford, who is the Premier of the Canadian Province of Ontario, but who is better known as the less charismatic, intelligent, and overall unimpressive brother of the late, great, Rob Ford,” Trump said before calling Ford a “Flunky.”

At an afternoon news conference, Ford called Trump a “loser” and the “king of bankruptcies,” while again stating that Canada can either roll over to Trump or fight back and that he is determined to fight back.

Trump and Ford can trade insults all day long. The real problem is that when tariff wars escalate, it’s workers who get caught in the crossfire.

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