Doug Ford Says He's A Business Person First And An Elected Official Second
Patrick John Gilson
Updated on January 31 @ 04:31 PM
The premier of Ontario, Doug Fordrevealed just how much of a business person he is on Thursday evening. The premier, who will attend Canada's 360 Economic Summitopened about his plans for the province's future economic strategies. While talking about the summit he stated that being a business person comes before being an "elected official."
CTV News reported that Ford and Economic Development Minister Vic Fedeli would be attending a meeting of the National Governors' Association in Washington, D.C., on February 7, 2020.
The two are heading to the states in the hopes of developing stronger economic ties with the country, which they think will help Ontario businesses bypass Donald Trump's "buy American" policies.
During his speech, Ford appeared to suggest that he would be prioritizing his role as a business person over that of being an elected official when it came to dealing with the U.S.
"Make no mistake about it, I'm a businessperson first and an elected official second. I believe in building relationships," Ford said, according to The Toronto Star.
"I don't care if they're Republican or Democrat, we have great relationships with so many governors, and making sure...we get the message out: invest here in Ontario," he added.
Narcity reached out to the premier's office for clarification on the quote.
"What he was trying to say is that he brings a business-minded approach to the operation of government," Ivana Yelich, press secretary, later stated in an email.
Doug Ford
@fordnation
LIVE: Premier Ford speaks at the Canada 360° Economic Summit https://twitter.com/i/broadcasts/1vOGwolXwzbGB…
LIVE: Premier Ford speaks at the Canada 360° Economic Summit
Doug Ford @FordNation @fordnation
89
8:41 AM - Jan 30, 2020
Twitter Ads info and privacy
57 people are talking about this
Throughout his remarks, Fordboasted about the province's generation of 296,000 jobs under his leadership.
He also talked about creating an environment that allows companies to "thrive and prosper," while mentioning 76% of jobs created in Canada in 2019 were in Ontario.
Ford appeared to even catch himselfrepeating a controversial remark about Ontario's trading relationship with the U.S., last election.
"If Ontario was a standalone country, matter of fact, I probably shouldn't say that after the last election, but if Ontario was a standalone country, we would be America's third-largest trading partner."
Doug Ford
@fordnation
I’m heading to Washington next week to unveil our new trade strategy with our U.S state partners. https://twitter.com/BNNBloomberg/status/1222889878335172608…
BNN Bloomberg
@BNNBloomberg
‘This isn’t the time to play politics’: Ontario Premier Doug Ford urges all parties to sign NAFTA into law @fordnation
399
10:49 AM - Jan 30, 2020
Twitter Ads info and privacy
184 people are talking about this
The Ontario Government faced controversy back in December after delaying its needs-based autism program.
The initiative, which was initially supposed to be implemented in April, will now be phased in slowly over the next two years.
https://www.narcity.com/news/ca/on/doug-ford-revealed-that-being-a-business-person-comes-before-being-an-elected-official
Patrick John Gilson
Updated on January 31 @ 04:31 PM
The premier of Ontario, Doug Fordrevealed just how much of a business person he is on Thursday evening. The premier, who will attend Canada's 360 Economic Summitopened about his plans for the province's future economic strategies. While talking about the summit he stated that being a business person comes before being an "elected official."
CTV News reported that Ford and Economic Development Minister Vic Fedeli would be attending a meeting of the National Governors' Association in Washington, D.C., on February 7, 2020.
The two are heading to the states in the hopes of developing stronger economic ties with the country, which they think will help Ontario businesses bypass Donald Trump's "buy American" policies.
During his speech, Ford appeared to suggest that he would be prioritizing his role as a business person over that of being an elected official when it came to dealing with the U.S.
"Make no mistake about it, I'm a businessperson first and an elected official second. I believe in building relationships," Ford said, according to The Toronto Star.
"I don't care if they're Republican or Democrat, we have great relationships with so many governors, and making sure...we get the message out: invest here in Ontario," he added.
Narcity reached out to the premier's office for clarification on the quote.
"What he was trying to say is that he brings a business-minded approach to the operation of government," Ivana Yelich, press secretary, later stated in an email.
Doug Ford
@fordnationLIVE: Premier Ford speaks at the Canada 360° Economic Summit https://twitter.com/i/broadcasts/1vOGwolXwzbGB…
LIVE: Premier Ford speaks at the Canada 360° Economic Summit
Doug Ford @FordNation @fordnation
89
8:41 AM - Jan 30, 2020
Twitter Ads info and privacy
57 people are talking about this
Throughout his remarks, Fordboasted about the province's generation of 296,000 jobs under his leadership.
He also talked about creating an environment that allows companies to "thrive and prosper," while mentioning 76% of jobs created in Canada in 2019 were in Ontario.
Ford appeared to even catch himselfrepeating a controversial remark about Ontario's trading relationship with the U.S., last election.
"If Ontario was a standalone country, matter of fact, I probably shouldn't say that after the last election, but if Ontario was a standalone country, we would be America's third-largest trading partner."
Doug Ford
@fordnationI’m heading to Washington next week to unveil our new trade strategy with our U.S state partners. https://twitter.com/BNNBloomberg/status/1222889878335172608…
BNN Bloomberg
@BNNBloomberg‘This isn’t the time to play politics’: Ontario Premier Doug Ford urges all parties to sign NAFTA into law @fordnation
399
10:49 AM - Jan 30, 2020
Twitter Ads info and privacy
184 people are talking about this
The Ontario Government faced controversy back in December after delaying its needs-based autism program.
The initiative, which was initially supposed to be implemented in April, will now be phased in slowly over the next two years.
https://www.narcity.com/news/ca/on/doug-ford-revealed-that-being-a-business-person-comes-before-being-an-elected-official
