Trump and Ontario Premier Ford trade insults as Canada-US trade talks collapse
US President Donald Trump and Ontario Premier Doug Ford exchanged personal insults Monday as bilateral trade talks collapsed, escalating tensions between the United States and Canada. Trump, in a Truth Social post, called Ford the "less charismatic, intelligent, and overall unimpressive brother" of the late Rob Ford and accused Canada of taking advantage of the US. Ford responded by refusing advice from "a dictator like President Trump" and calling him "the king of bankruptcies." The exchange followed the collapse of trade negotiations over the weekend. Fifty per cent US tariffs on about $28 billion of Canadian goods took effect Saturday, with Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney planning dollar-for-dollar retaliation on September 8. Trump also announced tariffs on Canadian autos and steel rising to 50 per cent from January 2027.