Ford has said Trump’s threat of a 25 per cent tariff on Canadian imports, which could start as early as Feb. 1, will disproportionately impact Ontario and could cost as many as 500,000 jobs, although oppositions leaders say the early vote is not necessary.

The leader of Ontario, Canada’s most populous province, has kicked off his provincial election campaign, saying he needs a strong mandate to fight the tariffs threatened by U.S. President Donald Trump

Ontario premier Doug Ford has triggered an early election in the province, saying he needs a strong mandate to take on the tariff threat.

While Premier Doug Ford insists that U.S. President Donald Trump's tariff threat is why he's calling an election 15 months ahead of schedule, there are plenty of reasons why the timing is politically advantageous to Ford and his Ontario PC Party.

The man U.S. President Donald Trump has chosen to oversee his tariff agenda says hitting Canada with 25 per cent across-the-board duties would be an emergency measure to achieve border security — and could be followed by more tariffs in the future.