Premier Doug Ford is throwing out the welcome mat for American governors.

Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan, the chair of the National Governors’ Association, will lead a delegation of state leaders to Toronto in April.

“I had an opportunity to go to Maryland and Washington last week and had an opportunity to sit down with the chair of the governors’ association, Gov. Hogan,” Ford told the house on Wednesday.

“He’s an absolute champion. They call him ‘Likeable Larry.’ I know the reason why they call him ‘Likeable Larry’ now,” the premier enthused.

“For the very first time, the governors of the United States of America are coming to Ontario. Why are they coming to Ontario? Because … we’re the number one trading partner to 19 states and number two to nine other states. We do $391 billion a year in two-way trade,” he said.

Hogan has been to Toronto before — he met with then-premier Kathleen Wynne at Queen’s Park in 2017 — and U.S. governors have been making trade missions here for decades.

But as chair of the governors’ association, the Maryland leader will lead a larger delegation to the city. It is unclear how many of the 50 state governors will attend.

Ford is planning on going to the National Governors’ Association meeting stateside in February. Both Wynne and her predecessor, Dalton McGuinty, also participated in NGA meetings in the U.S.

“Over the last 16 months, I’ve talked to over 26 governors in person, meeting all the governors, building a relationship,” said Ford.

“We’re the envy of North America. When I sit down with these governors, we’re leading the economic growth and jobs anywhere in North America,” he said.

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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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