Ford government reacts to latest U.S. tariff twist, vowing to protect Ontario workers

Janna Abbas · CBC News

· Posted: May 29, 2025 5:05 PM EDT | Last Updated: 5 minutes ago

Ontario authorities officials accidental the state remains committed to protecting workers and the economy, aft a U.S. tribunal quashed immoderate of President Donald Trump's tariffs connected Wednesday. 

On Wednesday, the U.S. Court of International Trade struck down Trump's 10 per cent tariff connected astir countries and his 25 per cent tariffs connected galore Canadian and Mexican goods, leaving the tariffs connected alloy and aluminum successful place.

"The signals from the courts, you couldn't categorize them arsenic bully quality oregon atrocious news," said Vic Fedeli, the curate of economical development, occupation instauration and trade, astatine a quality league connected Thursday.

Fedeli says the court's determination is simply the astir caller improvement successful the regular "twists and turns" of tariffs, and that the provincial authorities volition proceed its efforts to support Ontario workers successful high-value jobs.

Fedeli spoke alongside Finance Minister Peter Bethlenfalvy astir the government's latest efforts to boost Ontario's system and support its workers.

Bethlenfalvy besides said the province's fig 1 extremity with respect to the tariffs is keeping workers safe. 

"We privation nary tariffs. We privation each workers [protected]. We are protecting our economy so we tin support radical working, support them successful business, and enactment concern and enactment families," helium said.

Province says mining task needed amid tariff threat

Bethlenfalvy says that's why Ontario authorities is spending $500 cardinal to make a caller captious minerals processing fund.

The money volition enactment projects that velocity up the province's captious minerals processing capableness and made-in-Ontario proviso chain, according to a Thursday quality release. Minerals mined successful Ontario volition beryllium processed successful the state by Ontario workers, the merchandise says. 

"We're investing to unlock and process these resources close present successful Ontario, securing good-paying jobs and gathering resilient communities for the future," Bethlenfalvy said successful the aforesaid quality release.

The $500 cardinal concern comes arsenic Ford's authorities is pushing up with the Protect Ontario by Unleashing our Economy Act, oregon Bill 5, which it says volition velocity up the support of mining projects successful Ontario.

Critics accidental tariffs not a morganatic crushed for project

However, critics accidental the state is utilizing the menace of tariffs arsenic an excuse to loosen biology regulations connected the industry, arsenic the legislation includes large changes to the province's endangered taxon and biology extortion laws.

Jamie Kneen, nationalist programme co-lead for Mining Watch Canada, a non-profit advocacy group, antecedently told CBC Toronto it's undemocratic for the authorities to springiness itself the powerfulness to exclude mines successful peculiar economical zones from biology regulations. 

He questions whether tariffs are a morganatic crushed to trim regulatory oversight of the mining sector.

"They're conscionable utilizing this arsenic a pretext for doing what they wanted to bash already and hoping that radical won't announcement that the 2 are not truly connected," Kneen said.

Bethlenfalvy says some the national and provincial governments are "very unified" connected combatting tariffs and promoting economical maturation for Canada and Ontario.

Fedeli said it's "discouraging" to perceive Trump accidental the U.S. doesn't request Canada, erstwhile implicit fractional of the nickel that the U.S. uses for its aerospace and defence sectors comes from Ontario. 

The state volition proceed mining and processing captious minerals, Fedeli said, sending the U.S. a "powerful signal." 

"Despite the rhetoric that comes from the U.S., we are going to proceed being a satellite powerfulness successful these captious minerals," helium said.