Internal PC memo signals Ontario premier will likely call early election

Ontario Premier Doug Ford's office has responded to U.S. President Donald Trump's intentions to impose tariffs on Canadian goods next week by sending an internal email to Progressive Conservative staffers, telling them the majority government needs a stronger mandate to effectively negotiate during a potential trade war.

The Monday night email, obtained by CBC Toronto, is perhaps the strongest sign yet that Ford intends to call an early election in 2025. In it, Ford's chief of staff said he had a "brief but important update" in light of Trump's planned tariffs.

"As we enter a period of unparalleled economic risk and critical negotiations, our government will need a strong mandate from the people to stand up for Ontario," Patrick Sackville told party staffers in the email.

"The stronger the mandate the better."

In the weeks leading up to his inauguration Monday, Trump repeatedly threatened to impose a 25 per cent tariff on all Canadian goods coming into the U.S., something Ford's government has said could cost Ontario half a million jobs. 

Hours after Trump's inauguration, the president reaffirmed his intentions to reporters on live television. Trump said Monday evening that he may implement a tariff against Canada on Feb. 1.

"This unnecessary and wrongheaded action by President Trump poses an immediate and devastating impact to the jobs, livelihoods, and welfare of hundreds of thousands of Ontarians," Sackville said. "Make no mistake: this is only the beginning of what will be a long, hard fight."

Ford has been hinting at an early election for months now, recently using the threat of American tariffs as a reason for sending Ontarians back to the voting booth. 

"I need a clear mandate from the people of Ontario. Not for tomorrow, or the next day — for four years of dealing with our American friends," he told reporters at Queen's Park on Monday.

Ontario's opposition leaders have said Ford already has a strong mandate, leading a majority government with more than a year left in his term and holding the role of chair of the Council of the Federation, which represents Canada's premiers.

Ontario NDP Leader Marit Stiles said Monday's email came as no surprise.

"Doug Ford sees this as a gift, as an opportunity to secure his re-election," she said of the tariff threat Tuesday. 

"This is not about protecting those 500,000 jobs. This is about protecting his own job," she said. "He already has that mandate. I don't know what more he needs. And I'm willing to work with him." 

Opposition parties, including the NDP, have said they would back emergency spending by Ford's Progressive Conservative government to support industries and workers through a potential trade war. Ford has said that kind of stimulus package would cost tens of billions of dollars and that he would need a new mandate to spend that kind of money.