

Ontario Premier Doug Ford and several ministers recently made a stop in Washington D.C. to speak to the Governor's Association.

The group unveiled the province's new strategy for trade with the U.S. outlining how they can work together to remove trade barriers, create good jobs and strengthen economic ties.

Minister of Economic Development, Job Creation and Trade Vic Fedeli says, with over a billion dollars in trade every day between Ontario and the U.S., each are dependent on the other's success.

Fideli says, with the new USMCA trade deal calling for more local content in cars, the auto industry played a big part in the conversation as well.

He says large companies are going to have to set up shop in North America.

"The USMCA, NAFTA 2.0, we look at that as a real opportunity for worldwide companies who are shipping parts, now, into Canada and the U.S., they are going to need to locate here," he said.

He expects the number of parts produced in Ontario is going to increase quite a bit over the next four years.

"The local content grows from 62.5% to 75% over the next four years. That means that these offshore companies are going to have fewer products they can ship here. They're going to have to open here."

Ontario is the number one trading partner with 19 states in the U.S.

Fideli says 9-million Americans go to work each day to make a product to ship to Canada.

—With files from AM800's Patty Handysides