In 2012, the premier and his late brother, Rob, who was mayor of Toronto at the time, met Trump, along with his daughter, Ivanka, when they were in the city to open the former Trump International Hotel and Tower, now unaffiliated with The Trump Organization and known as The St. Regis Toronto.

Ford, who ran a Toronto-based family business, Deco Labels & Flexible Packaging, before entering municipal politics as a city councilor in 2010, considers Trump “a shrewd operator” and “a smart businessperson.”

The incoming president “knows about Ontario,” the premier said.

“Not one senator, not one governor, not one congressperson or businessperson, has said that Canada is a problem,” said Ford, who opened a Deco branch in Chicago in 1999.

He said Trump has not set his sights on such other U.S. allies as the United Kingdom and France, but “wants to target” the U.S.’s “closest friend,” Canada. 

“I’m not too sure if it’s personal against Trudeau, but Trudeau is on his way out, so hopefully we’ll have a better conversation,” said Ontario’s premier, who added that he would consider taking a run at federal politics in the future.

On Monday, Trump posted on Truth Social that “the United States can no longer suffer the massive Trade Deficits and Subsidies that Canada needs to stay afloat.” 

Doug Ford campaigns at Cambrian College in Sudbury, northern Ontario, on April 11, 2018. (Steve Russell/Toronto Star)

“Justin Trudeau knows this, and resigned,” said the next, and 47th, U.S. president.

But Trudeau is still the prime minister, and Ford and the premiers of the other nine provinces and three territories will meet with him next Wednesday in Ottawa to address the Trump tariff issue.

Despite his departure as prime minister sometime over the next two months when the next Liberal leader is expected to be chosen, Trudeau should not think “he’s off the hook” and Canadian premiers “will hold his feet to the fire” in ensuring that Canada is ready to respond to the Trump administration’s imminent and punitive trade measure, said Ford.

He chairs the Council of the Federation – a gathering of Canada’s premiers, which has kept Canada-U.S. relations top of mind and has made avoiding U.S. tariffs “a priority,” according to a statement issued last month.

“Canada and the U.S. form one of the largest integrated markets in the world, with more than C$3.5 billion [about US$2.4 billion] worth of goods and services crossing the border each day. The U.S. sells more goods and services to Canada than it sells to China, Japan and Germany combined.”

To help assuage Trump’s concerns over border security, Ford’s government launched on Tuesday “Operation Deterrence,” to crack down on illegal crossings, and drugs and guns – 90% of which are entering Ontario from the U.S., the premier told Fox News Digital.

On drugs, he said his government is also collaborating with the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) to identify the source of fentanyl ingredients – and whether they originated in “China or Mexico or the U.S.”

Last month, the Trudeau government announced its own border-security plan.