Критика действий Дуга Форда: лидеру Онтарио следует сосредоточиться на развитии, а не на конфронтации с США

If you’ve cheered on Team Canada’s rowers, you’ve seen a leader who communicates shared purpose. The coxswain doesn’t pull an oar. They set the pace, steer and strategize. The rest of the team works hard while ignoring distractions outside the boat. Every day the news in Canada speaks of a trade war, economic upheaval and potential job loss. People are looking for ways to contribute. They may worry about the uncertainty. In such times, everything a leader says should aim at navigating choppy waters and getting everyone pulling together. Their words should elevate everyone in our boat. Ontario Premier Doug Ford is certainly making noise. It is hard to discern direction. “Protect Ontario” is clearly now a political brand. Case in point: last weekend, my phone pinged with an unsolicited text from the Ontario Conservative party hyping up Doug Ford’s courage. Ford no doubt hopes to project strength. But there’s no clear result coming on trade negotiations. Even if something gets hashed out, ambiguity will linger for a long time. So, leaders should speak words that alleviate anxiety. They should bolster collective confidence. And make no mistake, people who need their paycheque week to week, don’t revel in a war of words with the U.S. President. They worry how this might come down on them. In a trade war, the grocery checkout line is the front line. Here is the thing about leadership responsibility: if the leader looks desperate, everyone feels despair. So, the last thing a leader wants is to be doing folksy shtick when the audience craves a serious strategy. That, however, is not what Ford appears to be pursuing. His taunting, dismissive approach to Trump feels more like publicity than strategy. What is needed now is not about standing up to Trump. It’s about standing taller than Trump. This makes the people stand a bit taller as well. That’s what Prime Minister Carney has done. That’s what the world notices and admires. Canadians and Ontarians are reliable and reasonable in the eyes of the world. That’s our advantage. Let’s hang on to that. It’s more important than it has ever been. Ontario must expand its international presence, increase non-U. S. exports and attract new sources of foreign investment. That being the case, let’s hope staged events like Doug Ford’s September 2025 dramatic draining of a bottle of Crown Royal won’t be repeated. The episode had nothing to do with Donald Trump. U.K headquartered company Diageo were consolidating Canadian operations in other provinces and that unfortunately impacted up to 200 jobs in Amherstburg, Ontario. Without a doubt, the province should be there for the workers and the community. However, Ford called their executives “dumb as a bag of hammers,” “smug,” and “a few fries short of a Happy Meal.” He threatened the company with LCBO bans to get a short-term concession. It was, for Doug Ford at least, a win for a day — but the jobs still left anyway. And now an international company with a $52 billion market capitalization and over 200 beverage brands may have a different long-term view of investing in Ontario, not to mention all the other potential investors who saw the performance. What Doug Ford might do instead is to remind the world of this province’s many advantages. Ontario has massive natural resources, rich cultural diversity, world-class universities, strong, compassionate communities, a highly educated workforce and a commitment to keep it all going by supporting people through universal health care and public education. Instead, Ford has spent a lot of energy engaged in a war of words. But the biggest mistake a leader can make during the time of Trump is making everything about Trump. Doug Ford should stop trying so hard to get the attention of this mentally fractured man. Instead, talk up Ontario to the world and make us new friends and partners to complement whatever U.S. trade relationship we land. Canadian Olympic gold medallist Malcolm Howard once said: “Rowing by its nature is a beautiful sport because you get out of it exactly what you put in.” In disruptive times, leaders steer the course. But it is the people, eyes fixed with purpose, who will ultimately put in the work that takes Ontario and Canada further, faster, together. Doug Ford would be wise to remember that. Speak more to the people in your own boat.