Doug Ford seeks to tone down trade war response as more tariffs loom

Ontario Premier Doug Ford says he is holding back on his confrontational rhetoric in the trade war launched by the U.S., and even suggested that White House threats to annex Canada by economic force should be seen as a compliment.Mr. Ford, speaking to reporters at Queen’s Park about his meeting last week with U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, said Tuesday that his focus was now on convincing the U.S. to exempt Canada from the sweeping tariffs it is set to impose on trading partners in two weeks.