Ontario premier says he doesn't trust Trump and warns the US president could reopen trade pact

TORONTO (AP) — The leader of Canada’s most populous province said Wednesday he doesn’t trust U.S. President Donald Trump and expects the president to soon reopen the free trade agreement he agreed to in his first term.

Ontario Premier Doug Ford said the federal government needs to prepare for that to happen this fall.

Ford made the comments after the country’s provincial premiers and Prime Minister Mark Carney met in private for the first time since Trump escalated his trade war by hitting Canada with a baseline 35% tariff last week.

The new tariff, which took effect on Friday after the two countries failed to hit an Aug. 1 deadline to secure a new trade agreement, applies only to goods not covered by the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement that Trump negotiated during his first term.

Trump previously hailed the agreement as “the fairest, most balanced and beneficial trade agreement we have ever signed. “

Carney has said about 85% of trade with the U.S. remains tariff-free because of USMCA.

Ford said Trump likely won’t wait for the scheduled review of the agreement next year.

“He’s not waiting until 2026. At any given time, President Trump — not that he even follows the rules — he can pull the carpet out from underneath us,” Ford told reporters in Toronto Wednesday.