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Ontario Premier Doug Ford has met with U.S. Ambassador Pete Hoekstra, saying he regrets publicly abusing the Canadian province’s trade envoy over a television ad that angered President Donald Trump.
“Pete, you have to call Dave and apologize,” Ford said during a news conference, referring to David Patterson, Ontario’s representative in Washington. “Just call that guy and end the dispute.”
According to multiple Canadian media reports, Hoekstra insulted and cursed at Paterson during an event in Ottawa on Monday. Trump was upset that the Ontario government had launched a 60-second ad featuring excerpts from Ronald Reagan’s 1987 speech arguing against tariffs.
The president shut down trade discussions with Canada and then said Saturday that his administration would raise tariffs on one of the largest U.S. trading partners by 10%. According to reports, Hoekstra showed up at an event sponsored by the Canadian American Business Council and unloaded on Paterson.
“The cheese slipped off the cracker, I get it. You’re upset,” Ford said of Hoekstra. “You’re a good man and Dave is my champion.”
Ontario stopped Major League Baseball from running a controversial ad during its U.S. broadcast of the World Series on Friday and Saturday. The Prime Minister again defended the ad on Wednesday.
“What do they expect me to do? Sit back and walk around like every other person in the world? I’m going to fight like I’ve never fought before,” Ford said, adding that his goal was to protect the people of his province and educate Americans about the risks of tariffs. “Man, was that the right thing to do. It started a conversation I’ve never seen before.”
Ford said he would not call Hoekstra himself, but acknowledged that they had a friendly bet on the outcome of baseball’s championship series. The Toronto Blue Jays and Los Angeles Dodgers have won two games each, with the fifth game played on Wednesday night.
Peterson and the U.S. Embassy in Ottawa did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
This article was generated from an automated news agency feed without any modifications to the text.
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