Doug Ford celebrated his first 100 days as Ontario premier with a verbal barrage aimed at Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.

Speaking to about 600 supporters at a provincial Progressive Conservative rally at a Woodbine banquet hall Tuesday night, Ford repeatedly attacked Trudeau’s federal Liberals.

“We’ve taken (former Liberal premier) Kathleen Wynne’s hand out of your pocket … and we’re going to take Justin Trudeau’s hand out of your pocket,” the premier said to cheers from an adoring crowd that included 29 PC ministers and MPPs and dozens of Tory staffers.

Ford said that with other premiers — including Saskatchewan’s Scott Moe and Manitoba’s Brian Pallister — he will fight the prime minister’s efforts to put a price on carbon next year.

His crusade against carbon pricing comes as the UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change warned this week there are 12 years to contain global warming to a maximum of 1.5 C or risk further extreme weather.

“It’s nothing but a scam. It does nothing — zero — to help the environment,” said the premier, who has pulled Ontario from its cap-and-trade climate alliance with Quebec and California.

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While cap-and-trade brought in $1.9 billion to the treasury for greenhouse-gas-reduction measures, Ford cancelled it to reduce gasoline and natural gas prices.

Criticizing Trudeau for the U.S.-Canada-Mexico (USMCA) free trade deal, he lashed out at the prime minister for “abandoning” Ontario farmers, and steel and aluminum workers in the accord.

“The new deal leaves too many Ontario families out in the cold,” said Ford.

“Justin Trudeau is out there taking a victory lap without giving honest answers,” he said.

That revved-up rhetoric will do little to quell speculation that Ford — a one-term Toronto city councilor who only became provincial PC leader on March 10 and premier on June 29 — has national political ambitions.

Some Tories at Queen’s Park believe he could take over from low-profile federal Conservative Leader Andrew Scheer if Trudeau’s Liberals are re-elected next year.

Ford has privately joked to friends that he hopes his efforts to derail Trudeau’s carbon-pricing scheme are not too successful because he could use the issue in a future federal election campaign.

While he has attracted larger crowds — including in Calgary on Friday night where 1,500 people came to see him — his core base remains enthusiastic.

“We’re Ford people,” said High Park’s Olga Kicak.

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“I like him because he helps the middle class with jobs,” said Kicak, clutching a handmade “I’m With Doug” sign that was on one of the 200 chairs set up for the event.

Her husband, Peter Kicak, said they heard about the rally via a robocall from Ford.

“We’re here because he did what he said he would do,” he said.

Robert Benzie is the Star’s Queen’s Park bureau chief and a reporter covering Ontario politics. Follow him on Twitter: @robertbenzie

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