Ontario Premier Doug Ford received an honorary doctorate from a U.S. university on Saturday.
Ford wore a black cap and gown as he took to the stage at Saginaw Valley State University in Michigan to receive a Doctor of Humane Letters degree.
In a social media post, Ontario NDP Leader Marit Stiles noted “Doug Ford gets a free degree in the U.S. while taking OSAP away from Ontario students.”
In a commencement speech that touched on Canada’s ongoing trade dispute with the U.S., Ford acknowledged that the assembled graduates may be wondering why a Canadian politician was appearing before them.
The premier told the Michigan students he spent years living and working in the U.S. helping build his family’s printing company and lauded “more than 200 years” of co-operation between Canada and the U.S.
After speaking about his career in business and politics, which included mention of his time on Toronto city council with his brother Rob, and also saw the premier, once again, give out his phone number, Ford turned to the topic of trade.
He praised the close ties between Ontario and Michigan in the auto manufacturing industry but said that partnership has been tested by “tariffs and trade wars.”
“We can’t unscramble that egg, we can only make the omelet larger,” Ford said, while once again repeating a quote from former U.S. president Ronald Reagan on the dangers of tariffs and protectionism.
“‘Markets shrink and collapse, businesses and industries shut down, and millions of people lose their jobs.’ That’s what we risk in the U.S. and Canada if we don’t get back to working together. Our economies are too closely linked.”
Last fall, Ford used the same words from a radio address made by Reagan in 1987 as part of a $75 million ad that raised the ire of President Trump after it played on several U.S. networks. Trump announced he was ending all trade talks with Canada based on the anti-tariff ad, while the Ronald Reagan Foundation said it was reviewing its legal options, saying the Ford government did not receive permission to use or edit the remarks.
The university’s president, George Grant Jr., called the premier a friend and thanked him for fostering strong relations in the Great Lakes region, on both sides of the border.
Ford has positioned himself as a strong advocate against American tariffs and critic of U.S. President Donald Trump.
Some journalists and pundits dubbed him “Captain Canada” as he took aim at the U.S. with retaliatory policies and made his case for Canada-U.S. co-operation in a series of interviews on American news networks.
The premier famously pulled American liquor off LCBO shelves days after U.S. tariffs took effect and wore a “Canada Is Not For Sale” hat during a meeting in Ottawa amid Trump’s threats to annex Canada.
Ford’s anti-tariff policies also targeted Michigan, home of the university now honouring him with a degree, when he imposed a 25 per cent tariff on all electricity exports to the U.S.
The tariff was suspended a day later, with Ontario collecting $260,000 from the tariff it said would impact 1.5 million homes and businesses in Michigan, Minnesota and New York.
Saginaw Valley State University is a public university in University Centre, Michigan founded in 1963.
