Ontario Premier Doug Ford launched a blistering attack on President Donald Trump on Monday, calling him a bully, a dictator, and a man unfit to lecture anyone on economics, as the trade dispute between Canada and the United States deepened.

Speaking at a press conference in Hamilton, Ford responded to Trump's Monday announcement of 50% tariffs on Canadian autos and steel — the latest escalation after trade talks between the two countries collapsed on Friday. Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney has vowed to match the new levies dollar-for-dollar.

Earlier in the day, Ford told CTV that Trump could "kiss my a--," and he expanded on the remark before reporters.

"I have a lot of real estate on my a--, so he has a lot of room to kiss my a--," Ford said. "I'm a big dude. What can I say?"

When a reporter noted that Trump had posted on Truth Social, singling Ford out and calling him a "flunky" of Carney, the Ontario premier did not soften his tone.

"I don't respond to a dictator like President Trump, a bully like President Trump," Ford said. "As I said before, he's the type of guy in school that would take your lunch money one day, take your toque off your head the next day, then steal your running shoes."

"I'm not going to take any advice off a guy that's the king of bankruptcies — and he's actually tariffing his own people, taxing his own people," he added. The "king of bankruptcies" line referenced the six Chapter 11 corporate bankruptcy filings by Trump's casino and hotel businesses between 1991 and 2014, which Trump has long distinguished from personal bankruptcy.

Ford then addressed Americans directly, warning of a political reckoning in the upcoming midterm elections.

"I've always said I love the American people," Ford continued. "I still stand by that statement, because there are a lot of people in the U.S. that are calling me saying, 'Way to go. Keep going.'"

"Your own people, President Trump, don't even like you, and they're going to speak loud and clear when it comes to the midterms," he said. The U.S. midterm elections, which will determine control of both chambers of Congress, are scheduled for November 2026.

Asked whether Trump's personal attacks worried him, Ford dismissed the question.

"I've been in this game a lot longer than he has," Ford said. "I've got skin on me like an alligator, and you think an insult from him hurts me? Well, bring it on, buddy. I'm ready."

"I've dealt with guys like you my whole life," he continued. "And guess what? Y'all become losers because you're a loser."

The confrontation followed a Monday morning Truth Social post in which Trump wrote that Canada has been "ripping off" the United States for years and promised 50% tariffs on Canadian cars, trucks, auto parts, and steel beginning Jan. 1, 2027.

The new measures come on top of a wave of 50% levies that took effect on Saturday, according to CBS News, after negotiations between the two countries broke down. The auto sector is especially exposed to such escalation because North American supply chains are deeply integrated, with parts and unfinished vehicles often crossing the U.S.-Canada border multiple times before final assembly — meaning layered tariffs can compound costs on the same components. Ontario, Canada's most populous province and home to most of its vehicle assembly plants, sits at the center of that industry.

"He might as well call up the Energizer Bunny, because he should be powering his facilities," Ford said, according to Mediaite, threatening to cut electricity to U.S. manufacturing plants. Ford has wielded Ontario's power exports as leverage before, briefly imposing a 25% surcharge on electricity sold to Michigan, Minnesota and New York in March 2025 during an earlier round of the dispute, then rescinding it days later.