PV Ontario Bureau
As Ontario Premier Doug Ford tries to justify his longstanding intention call an opportunistic and unnecessary early provincial election, he has begun insisting that he needs “a new mandate” for what he calls Fortress Am-Can.
This pitch for an energy alliance and deeper integration with the United States comes in response to tariff threats from Donald Trump. Framing his proposal as a way to avert a trade war, Ford has instead revealed his willingness to sell out Ontario workers, public services and natural resources for corporate gain.
At a meeting on January 12, the Communist Party’s Ontario Provincial Committee passed a special resolution denouncing Ford’s plan as “an alarming capitulation to the anti-worker, anti-democratic agenda of Donald Trump and US imperialism” which “aligns with Trump’s vision of a North America subordinated to US corporate interests.”
The Party notes that Ford is paving the way for natural resources in Ontario – many of which are located on Indigenous territories in the northern part of the province – to be further exploited by corporate monopolies, including US ones. The special resolution criticizes Ford’s push for deeper capitalist integration, which accelerates “the privatization of healthcare for corporate profit, the dismantling of climate protections to appease Big Oil, and the accelerated sell-off of Canadian industries and resources to American interests.”
Ford has demonstrated a longstanding eagerness to align with US demands. Long before Trump’s recent tariff threats, the Conservative premier advocated for renegotiating the USMCA to exclude Mexico, which the Communist Party says exposes his “eagerness to rewrite so-called ‘free trade’ agreements – essentially corporate constitutions – to remove rights from people and the environment in favour of corporations.”
The Party says that Ford’s willingness to align with US interests “mirrors Pierre Poilievre’s federal Conservative strategy: give Trump everything he wants – more military spending, increased border militarization, and open-ended concessions to US corporations – all at the expense of workers, public services and democracy.”
Ford’s capitulation extends beyond economics and will entangle Canada further in US-led militarization. “Ford’s proposals for deeper integration and militarization are not just dangerous – they are steps toward war, reaction and the growing threat of fascism in North America,” the resolution reads. It criticizes Ford’s plan to divert billions of dollars away from underfunded social services, healthcare and housing to fund unnecessary border enforcement and military spending, which serve only to further US imperialist objectives.
“Trump’s belligerence, including tariff threats and demands for trade renegotiations, has pushed Canadian politicians to trip over themselves in reassuring him of Canada’s capitulation,” the Communist Party argues. This development highlights a growing “Team Canada” consensus among Tories, Liberals and even NDP leaders to increase military spending, tighten border security and escalate tensions with China.
These policies do not serve working people in Canada. Instead, they reflect the priorities of both US and Canadian corporations, who aim to exploit workers and the environment for profit. The Ontario Committee concluded that “the greatest threat to Canada’s sovereignty is the corporate drive, from both sides of the border, to further integrate with the United States.”
The Communist Party calls for organized resistance to Ford’s plan, urging labour and democratic movements to unite against “Fortress Am-Can.” Working people need to push a political plan which prioritizes workers’ needs over corporate greed. This includes tearing up so-called “free trade” agreements like the USMCA, withdrawing from NATO, and implementing public ownership and democratic control of key industries to help ensure economic sovereignty.
“Public ownership and democratic control of key industries is essential for economic sovereignty and to protect against job losses resulting from potential tariffs,” says the Party, which also calls for massive investment in social services, housing and healthcare, redirecting resources currently wasted on militarization.
The fight against “Fortress Am-Can” is situated within the broader struggle against US imperialism and the capitalist system which drives war, inequality and environmental destruction. The future for Ontario and Canada must be shaped by people’s needs, not corporate greed, war and reaction.
Ford’s “Fortress Am-Can” represents an existential threat to workers, sovereignty and democracy. This fight is not just against tariffs or trade agreements but against the system of imperialism itself. “It’s time to organize, mobilize and demand an Ontario that serves working people, not capital from south or north of the border,” declares the Communist Party resolution, which is a call to action for those opposed to Ford’s subservience to US imperialism.
All progressive forces need to join the fight against Ford’s sell-out policies and work toward a just, peaceful and sustainable future – one where workers and communities, not corporations, control their destiny.
[Photo: Dave Chan X]
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