SASKATOON—Ontario is considering firing back at U.S. Buy American provisions with its own measures to protect companies here, Premier Doug Ford said as a meeting of provincial leaders from across Canada wrapped up Thursday.

“We’re looking into that right now,” Ford said in his first one-on-one interview with the Star since taking office more than a year ago.

The issue has become all the more urgent given Bombardier’s announcement that it plans to lay off half of its workforce — or 550 employees — at its Thunder Bay railcar facility.

“We have to make sure we protect our interests, similar to what the Americans are doing, south of the border,” he said. “We do, right now, $390 billion (Cdn) of two-way trade — Ontario alone.”

Meanwhile, Ford also promised Thursday his government would end “hallway health care” within a year in Ontario — a situation that has grown worse in recent years, with overcrowded hospitals treating patients in hallways, meeting rooms, even washrooms.

Shortly after taking office, the government struck a council to improve the health-care system.

Regarding trade, Ford said the country’s 13 provincial and territorial leaders, who have been in Saskatchewan since Tuesday for the annual summer meeting of the Council of the Federation, are a “large group of new premiers, and we just seem to be hitting it off — all of us. And it’s going to be a very strong voice moving the provinces forward.”

The premiers are also publicly pressuring the federal government to take stronger action with the U.S. on Buy American legislation, which forces large infrastructure and airline projects that receive federal funding to have high levels of U.S. content or manufactured goods.

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“The biggest issue right now on trade is Buy America,” Ford said. “That’s what’s hurting manufacturing companies right across this country. And Justin Trudeau has to be a lot stronger and stand up for Canadian interests, Canadian manufacturers.”

On Wednesday, federal Labour Minister Patty Hajdu told the Star’s Tonda MacCharles “our government has repeatedly and aggressively pushed back against U.S. trade barriers, including Buy America provisions.”

Ford, she added, “is welcome to join us in Washington to help make the case” but said he first “needs to get to work” helping Thunder Bay workers.

In 2018, previous Liberal premier Kathleen Wynne had introduced legislation to retaliate should any U.S. states implement protectionist policies.

Such a move was not discussed at the Saskatchewan meeting of premiers, with Premier Scott Moe saying the federal government must negotiate an exemption for Canada.

“The fact of the matter is that this is a nation-to-nation negotiation between our federal government, and the federal government in the United States,” Moe said.

“We saw the effects of that in job losses here in Canada just this week.”

Premiers, Moe said, will “use whatever tools we have, use whatever relationships we have with the industries that we have in our respective jurisdictions — use that expertise to provide the very best advice and support to the federal government in developing and furthering that policy.”

Quebec Premier François Legault said manufacturing is “very important for our economy,” noting salaries in the sector are 35 per cent higher in Quebec than the average.

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The protectionist measures in the States don’t just impact “companies making trains, but also buses and all public contracts. It’s really unfair.”

He said in the trade agreement with Europe, provinces cannot require more than 20 per cent local content.

“It is urgent that the federal government does something,” he said. “Our two economies are linked together and we need to protect that and right now we need that Canada be excluded from the Buy America act.”

On interprovincial trade, while Alberta Premier Jason Kenney was quick to announce he’d drop half of his province’s exemptions that limit trade, Ford is taking a slower approach.

“We are making tremendous progress on trade” around the table at the premiers’ meeting, Ford said. “We seem to be moving a lot quicker than we did last year” when the federation meeting was held in New Brunswick.

“We’re going to take a look at” something similar to Alberta’s move, Ford said. “We are the largest province so I guess everyone wants a piece of Ontario. But I’m all about fair and free trade.”

With economists forecasting a bump in the GDP if provincial trade barriers were removed, “that’s anywhere from $50 billion to over $100 billion,” Ford said. “It’s even better than the USMCA deal,” he said, referring to the renegotiated NAFTA deal.

“We’ve made tremendous progress on internal trade and we want to knock down as many barriers as possible. But I do have to protect certain stakeholders in Ontario.”

NDP Leader Andrea Horwath told the Star the premiers shouldn’t wait around for Ottawa to act — they could agree “right now” to ensure that Canadian companies and workers are protected.

“When they are handing out public infrastructure dollars … these kinds of requirements are built in,” she said. “Each premier needs to stand up to the plate as well.”

Ford said the Ontario government has “bumped up” its $139 million order for 36 trains with Bombardier, “and we are going to continue reviewing it. We’ll see what else we can funnel through the system, sooner rather than later.”

He has also said the province has been waiting for Ottawa to move on its share of his government’s new $28.5 billion transit plan — though that project is years away and Bombardier would still have to bid for the work.

Ford said “my main goal is to secure the jobs, but not just for the short period but long-term. It’s not just Bombardier, it’s other companies that we have to secure here.”

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