Wayne Gates
Special to The Lake Report
People across Ontario and all of Canada are now waiting for the inauguration of Donald Trump next Monday, Jan. 20. With a new administration south of the border comes the threat of 25 per cent tariffs on Canadian goods.
It almost goes without saying that these tariffs would have a devastating impact on our economy, with a 25 per cent tariff putting as many as 1.5 million Canadian jobs at risk and leading to a recession. Many sectors, including auto, forestry, energy, agriculture and manufacturing, would be devastated.
This is an existential threat to Ontario and Canada that requires an all-hands-on-deck, “Team Canada” approach. I don’t care if you’re Conservative, Liberal, NDP, Green or Independent — we must work together across party lines to protect Ontarian and Canadian jobs, independence and sovereignty.
Residents of Niagara-on-the-Lake and my riding will know that I have serious disagreements with Premier Doug Ford. I believe the premier has damaged our health care system, mishandled the housing crisis and hasn’t done nearly enough to address the cost of living.
But right now, with the threat of Trump’s tariffs looming over our economy, we need a Team Ontario approach, working together across party lines to stand up to Trump’s tariffs. And what worries me is that Ford has refused to rule out an early, unnecessary, costly election in our province.
An early election would be about one thing and one thing only — a political gain for the premier. We are not scheduled to have an election until June 2026. The premier claims he needs a “mandate” — but the reality is, he has a majority government and all opposition parties are willing to work together to combat Trump’s tariffs.
Not to mention, an early provincial election would cost $200 million of taxpayer dollars that we just can’t afford right now.
In fact, the premier has recessed the legislature all the way until March 3, meaning we have only sat at Queen’s Park for a total of seven weeks in seven months.
How about instead of calling an unnecessary election, Ford calls us back to work on Monday so we can work together on a strategy?
Ontario can’t afford to take its eye off the ball right now.
I’m calling on the premier — let’s work together, get back to Queen’s Park, stand up to Trump’s tariffs and go to the polls in June 2026, like the law says we should.
Wayne Gates is the NDP member for the provincial riding of Niagara Falls.