Ford, Smith disagree on using energy as leverage in U.S. trade talks
Posted August 26, 2026 11:38 am.
Ontario Premier Doug Ford says he and Alberta Premier Danielle Smith continue to disagree on whether to use energy as leverage in trade negotiations with the United States, but are united in a push for more oil to flow within Canada.
Ford says he and Smith spoke on Monday, after he called on all provinces to take a “Team Canada” approach to the latest tariff developments and use their resources such as oil to “put pain on the U.S.”
Smith strongly disagrees, saying in a statement Monday after their call that cutting off Alberta’s energy exports to the United States would be extremely harmful to Canadians and is not a viable option.
Ford says the two premiers disagree on some items, but are working well together to advance a proposed oil pipeline from Alberta to refineries in Sarnia, Ont., routed through Saskatchewan and Manitoba.
He says he will be going to Alberta to meet with Smith in person in a few weeks.
Ford also says that while he has toned down language he used against U.S. President Donald Trump in a press conference Monday, when he called him a loser and a bully, he doesn’t regret those words because they resonated around the world.
