º£½ÇÉçÇø¹ÙÍø

Yes, it was at the last minute — and scheduled thanks to an  lobbying firm retained by the Council of the Federation — and it was only with Jim Blair, one of President Donald Trump’s deputy chiefs of staff, and White House personnel director Sergio Gor.

And, yes, Blair later trolled British Columbia Premier David Eby for daring to explain that Trump’s dream of annexing Canada was a “non-starter.”

“To be clear, we never agreed that Canada would not be the 51st state. We only agreed to share Premier Eby’s comments,” the deputy chief said on social media.

But to Doug Ford, the hastily arranged one-hour confab with a pair of youthful Trump aides was worth spending two precious days of the Feb. 27 Ontario election campaign in the American capital lobbying against the threatened 25 per cent tariffs.

“We appreciate the Trump administration facilitating this — literally in the last minute. We’re grateful,” enthused a visibly relieved Ford, standing on the chilly sidewalk outside the White House with Quebec’s François Legault and Saskatchewan’s Scott Moe at his side.

“It was a very positive conversation. It just shows the relationship that we have, and the respect they have … regarding Canada,” he said.

“They said it numerous times how they respect Canada and really appreciate the friendship over the years.”

For Ford, the get-together helped justify his controversial decision to call a snap winter election 15 months before the scheduled June 2026 vote.

Insisting he needs a four-year mandate to “outlive and outlast” the mercurial president’s administration, the Progressive Conservative leader hopes that rationale trumps more prosaic matters like the doctors’ shortage or housing affordability.

It’s why last Tuesday he made the first of his two mid-campaign trips to Washington for a speech to the United States Chamber of Commerce and a lobbying effort including all 13 provincial and territorial premiers.

On Thursday, Ford will return to the U.S. capital for the National Governors’ Association winter conference where he hopes to persuade fellow subnational leaders of the perils of a trade war.

So far, Ford’s advisers believe his gambit is paying off because he is dominating the campaign, appearing like a statesman hovering above domestic Ontario politics.

“It could have gone a lot worse,” conceded one PC strategist, who had expressed concern about a White House visit lest Ford be humiliated.

“But he handled it well and the other meetings were worth the trip,” said the insider, speaking confidentially in order to discuss internal deliberations.

That was a reference to the 13 premiers’ discussions with Republican and Democratic lawmakers.

The source admitted there is a risk to such missions in the middle of an election campaign.

“We are ahead in the polls and really didn’t need to take the chance so we’re glad it worked out.”

While Ford’s U.S. Chamber of Commerce speech received little American media attention — and many of the 120 in attendance, including former PC leader Tim Hudak, Goldy Hyder, president and CEO of the Business Council of Canada, and Ontario Chamber of Commerce president Daniel Tisch, had flown in for the event — his anti-tariff message resonated with some.

Neil Herrington, the U.S. chamber’s senior vice-president for the Americas, said it needs to be hammered home stateside that Trump’s levies would send inflation skyrocketing.

“For Americans filling up their car in the Midwest, in Rocky Mountain states, tariffs on Canadian oil would drive up the price of gasoline by as much as 75 cents a gallon,” said Herrington, who hosted Ford’s speech.

“This in turn, raises costs for all kinds of retail goods transported around our country. Tariffs would drive up the price of a new car — even an inexpensive car — by as much as $3,000,” he said.

“In a country already facing housing affordability challenges, tariffs would add $40 billion to the $150 billion of cement, lumber, metals, minerals and other materials that we import from Canada alone in support of our construction industry.”

While many in Washington were receptive to what Ford had to say, Eric Miller, president of Rideau Potomac Strategy Group, stressed he’s “not sure much could change Donald Trump’s mind at this point.”

“This is a case where, unfortunately, President Trump has to touch the hot stove before he realizes how valuable and integrated this relationship is and begins to take a different course,” said Miller, who was at Ford’s speech.

“At this point … you’re on this inexorable march toward tariffs. But it doesn’t mean that once tariffs are imposed and pain is felt, and stock markets go down and prices go up, that the tariffs remain,” he said.

One Republican lawmaker, speaking privately to the Star, praised Ford for saying out loud what many elected officials in Trump’s party say about tariffs behind closed doors.

“Sometimes the president says things to deflect attention from what he’s actually trying to achieve. He’s a brilliant negotiator and him saying this stuff about Canada being a 51st state is part of a larger negotiation,” said the lawmaker, apologetically emphasizing that Americans don’t really want to annex Canada.

“We’ll both get through this,” the Republican said, acknowledging there will be some difficult trade conversations between Washington and Ottawa in the coming weeks, months and years.

While Ford was glowing after his first foray to Washington, his main political opponents in the upcoming election were questioning both the point and the ethical appropriateness of the mission.

“I understand it wasn’t very successful,” Liberal Leader Bonnie Crombie said Thursday in Elmvale.

“They didn’t meet with any high-ranking officials, so I don’t think it was very effective. I don’t think the advocacy has been very effective,” said Crombie, panning the effort as “a photo opportunity.”

NDP Leader Marit Stiles formally complained to integrity commissioner J. David Wake, the legislature’s ethics watchdog, saying Ford “blurred the lines” between governing and campaigning on the trip.

While the PC campaign chartered a private jet for political staff to go to Washington, Ontario government bureaucrats helped organize his Chamber of Commerce event.

In an embarrassing gaffe Thursday, the Tories posted and then deleted a social-media ad of Ford walking past the U.S. Capitol, interspersed with the party’s “Protect Ontario” slogan.

“If that isn’t a sure sign of guilt, I don’t know what is,” said Stiles.

“I don’t think anyone’s fooled.”

Snafu aside, an ebullient Ford insisted his Washington trips are not just symbolic gestures.

“We’re down here to listen to our U.S. colleagues,” he said Thursday, pointing out that both nations are “stronger together.”

“So we have to make sure that gets communicated up to President Trump.”

With files from Kristin Rushowy and Rob Ferguson