TORONTO (AP) -- The leader of Canada's most populous province of Ontario said Friday he will be calling an election next week because he needs a mandate to fight U.S. President Donald Trump's threatened tariffs.
Conservative Premier Doug Ford said he will call an early election next Wednesday. As premier he is the equivalent of a U.S. state governor.
"We need a mandate from the people to fight against Donald Trump's tariffs," Ford said.
Ford said Ontario could lose upwards of 500,000 jobs should Trump follow through on his 25% tariff threat.
Trump told reporters in the Oval Office Thursday that he still plans to tariff Canada and Mexico at 25% rates starting as soon as Feb. 1. Trump previously threatened to impose sweeping new tariffs on Mexico, Canada and China as soon as he took office but the tariffs weren't applied on day one.
Ford has said there will be a dollar-for-dollar tariff retaliation on American goods entering Canada. He has also said as soon as Trump applies tariffs, he will instruct Ontario's liquor control board to pull all American-made alcohol from shelves.
Ford said his government will spend billions to support the economy if tariffs come. Ontario is Canada's manufacturing and automobile hub.
"We will do tens of billions of dollars. It's no different than the pandemic. We will secure livelihoods," Ford said. "I will do whatever it takes to protect the people of Ontario. We're the engine of Ontario protecting all Canadians. We will not back down."
That election call would send Ontarians to the polls on Feb. 27, more than a year before the June 2026 fixed election date. Ford already has a large majority government.
"We need the largest mandate in Ontario's history," he said.
Opposition parties accuse Ford of calling an early election before any potential charges emerge from a police investigation into his now-scrapped plan to develop lands under environmental protection.
Nelson Wiseman, professor emeritus of political science at the University of Toronto, said Ford risks being accused of calling an unwarranted election, just a couple of years after having won a large mandate.
"It is a foolish strategy. People look to the federal government on the Trump tariff issue, not to the provinces in the coming trade challenges," Wiseman said.
