The leader of Ontario, Canada’s most populous province, has kicked off his provincial election campaign, saying he needs a strong mandate to fight the tariffs threatened by U.S.

But opposition politicians, including local MPP Lisa Gretzky (NDP — Windsor West) criticized the snap election call as a needless distraction. They argue Ford, who already holds a majority at Queen’s Park, does not need another mandate from Ontarians to address Trump’s threatened steep tariffs on all Canadian exports.

Ontario premier Doug Ford has triggered an early election in the province, saying he needs a strong mandate to take on the tariff threat.

The leader of Canada’s most populous province says he will be calling an election in Ontario because he says he needs a mandate to fight U.S.