Ontario Premier Doug Ford, a regular on major US networks where he has addressed Americans directly, was among the first in Canada to pull US alcohol off the shelves as a trade war between the two neighbours ramped up.

Ford has also ripped up a multi-million dollar contract with Elon Musk’s Starlink, and has been unafraid to use energy exports to the US as a bargaining chip – all in a bid to get Trump to withdraw his tariff threats against Canada.

The right-wing, plain-spoken politician admitted he was initially delighted Donald Trump won re-election and viewed him as an ally.

But then, Ford said, using an expletive, the US president pulled a knife and “yanked it into us”.

This week, it appeared that Ford’s unusual tactics had grabbed Trump’s attention.

Speaking to reporters on the White House lawn on Tuesday, the US president described Ford as a “very strong man” as he addressed Ontario’s threat to slap a 25% surcharge on US-bound electricity.

Ford has since shelved that plan pending further discussions with the Trump administration. But his threat to hike the price of electricity on Americans seems to have earned him a grudging nod of respect from Trump, who later backed off from doubling tariffs on aluminium and steel to 50%.

It also helped Ford score a meeting with US officials in Washington to discuss the future of the Canada-US trade relationship.

Ford is expected to sit at the negotiating table on Thursday with US Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick. The meeting will also be attended by Canada’s Finance Minister Dominic LeBlanc.

It is unclear whether Ford’s defiant stance will earn Canada more favours from Trump. It is also an approach that is not unanimously agreed on, with Premier Danielle Smith of the oil-rich Alberta vehemently refusing to withhold any of her province’s energy exports to the US.

Trump’s recent willingness to turn down the heat, however, signals that Ford may be succeeding in grabbing the attention of the US, said Shakir Chambers, a Canadian Conservative strategist at the Toronto-based Oyster Group.

“That’s how you deal with Trump, through a position of strength,” Mr Chambers told the BBC. “Ford understands the language of Trump’s people and inner circle.”

It at least earned him a rare compliment from the US president, who for several months has berated Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau repeatedly by calling him “governor,” while expressing his desire to absorb Canada and make it “the 51st state”.

Also rare is seeing the Oval Office pay attention to the premier of a Canadian province, whose day-to-day is ordinarily preoccupied with domestic matters such as infrastructure projects, healthcare funding and co-operating with the federal government.

But these are no ordinary times in Canada. The country is in the middle of a transfer of power, from outgoing Trudeau to Prime Minister-designate Mark Carney.

It is also facing what has been referred to as an “existential threat” from its neighbour and long-time ally to the south.

Announcing his intention to pause energy tariffs pending trade talks, Ford vowed to Canadians that he will not “roll over” and warned that using Ontario’s energy supply as a bargaining chip remains on the table.

But he said he will not ignore the chance to resolve this dispute with Americans.

His emergence as the face of Canada’s fight is, in many ways, understandable. As Ontario premier, he is at the helm of a province that is home to 16 million people and Canada’s large auto manufacturing sector, which is deeply intertwined with that of the US, leaving it vulnerable to any broad tariff threats.

He is also chair of the Council of the Federation, a multilateral congress that includes all of Canada’s provincial and territorial premiers.

On Wednesday, Ford kept busy ahead of his meeting with the Americans. He sat down for breakfast with incoming Prime Minister Carney, where the two discussed the need to “stand firm and strong” to Trump.

Americans will undoubtedly see more of Ford in the coming weeks and months. The premier just decisively secured four more years in office after campaigning on standing up against the US president.

For Ontarians, Ford is a well-known figure. He has led the province since 2018 and is only the second premier in its history to secure three consecutive majority government wins.

He is the product of a Toronto political dynasty known as “Ford Nation”. For many years, he was overshadowed by his younger brother, the late Rob Ford, who was the mayor of Toronto from 2010 to 2014 before he was ousted after a crack cocaine scandal.

Locally, the Fords are infamous for their “authentic” and approachable style of politics, said Mr Chambers, who was coached high school football by the younger Ford.

Premier Ford is known for handing out his personal cell phone number to constituents, encouraging them to contact him directly. During a news conference on US tariffs last week, he urged people to be patient as he worked to respond to more than 4,000 text messages he has received lately.

Despite his popularity, the premier is also embroiled in several controversies. Chief among them is an ongoing police investigation into a now-scrapped deal his government made that would have allowed the development of environmentally-protected land.

On the national stage, he has run up against Alberta Premier Smith, who has called for a more measured and cautious response to Trump and his tariffs.

That caution has also been practised by other leaders, namely France’s Emmanuel Macron and UK Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer, both of whom struck a more diplomatic tone in their February visits to the White House.

But Ford’s defiant stance against Trump is widely supported in Canada. Polls show the majority of Canadians support retaliating against the US, and a swell of nationalism has since emerged across the country.

While Ford has been forceful, he has also been careful in his direct appeals to Americans.

“Believe me when I say I don’t want to do this,” he said earlier this week when he announced his plan to hike electricity prices, before underscoring that his priority is to protect Ontario jobs.

Mr Chambers said he expects more of that consolatory but firm tone at Thursday’s meeting.

Ford announced his retaliatory plans shortly after Trump implemented a 25% tariff against Canadian imported goods and a 10% tariff on Canadian energy.

He said he would implement his own 25% surcharge on Canadian electricity exports to three US states: Michigan, New York and Minnesota.

If the US tariffs are escalated, he said, he would consider completely cutting those states off from Canadian power.

About 1.5m Americans in those states get their electricity from Canada.

Ford’s response comes after Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced his own retaliatory measures – including an immediate 25% tariff on C$30bn ($20.7, £16.2) of goods from the US.

As the leader of Ontario, Canada’s most populous province and largest economy, Ford is able to wield his own carrot and stick.

He banned US companies from bidding on Ontario infrastructure projects, and he cancelled a $100m deak with Elon Musk’s Starlink internet provider.

He also said he’s reached out to lawmakers in those three US states to urge them to put pressure on Trump to back off tariffs against Canada – or risk leaving their own constituents in the dark.

He also urged premiers in other Canadian provinces to follow suit.

But the timing of Ford’s promised tariffs is not clear.

Ford told media he would implement the tariff on electricity if Trump’s tariffs “persist”.

He said he is looking for ways to avoid passing new legislation, which could take weeks.

“We need to act immediately,” he said.

“If they go further into April, then we’ll cut off their electricity,” he added.

Ontario Premier Doug Ford, who has led the province for more than seven years, has emerged as a de-facto spokesperson for Canada in the tariff fight after Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced he would step down in March.

The early election call is a sign of how the new US president has upended politics in the country.

The provincial campaign comes more than a year before the date required by law, with Ford citing the need for voters to give him another majority to “outlast” President Trump.

“This is gonna be a battle for the next four years,” he said.

Trump has said he is considering 25% sweeping levies on Canadian goods, which could come as early as Saturday.

Earlier this month, Ford appeared at a press conference wearing a hard-to-miss baseball cap emblazoned with the words “Canada Is Not for Sale”.

The cap’s catchphrase was inspired by a line the premier uttered on Fox News as he made the rounds on US networks to defend Canada’s interests in the possible coming trade war.

His message resonated north of the border, earning him the nickname “Captain Canada” from columnists and pundits.

The cap went viral after Ford wore it, with C$20,000 ($13,900; £11,100) worth of stock selling in less than two hours, according to broadcaster Radio-Canada.

But Ford is facing criticism for the election call by those who worry he is throwing Ontario into an expensive campaign even as it faces the threat of costly tariffs.

The premier is also facing questions from opponents over the politics of the early vote.

His Progressive Conservative government has been embroiled in several controversies, including an ongoing criminal investigation into a deal to sell a piece of environmentally protected land for real estate development.

Ford’s election decision is an example of how Trump has affected Canadian politics, said media commentator and law professor Errol Mendes, with the University of Ottawa.

The tariffs expected to have a devastating impact on the Canada’s trade-dependent economy. The US is its largest trading partner.

Prof Mendes told the BBC that the tariffs have shifted the calculus for Canadian politicians at all levels of government, from provincial premiers like Ford to those jockeying to replace Trudeau as federal Liberal leader.

In that leadership race, front-runners Chrystia Freeland and Mark Carney have each focused on how they would respond to Trump’s tariffs.

Pierre Poilievre, the leader of the federal Conservatives whose message has centered mostly on domestic issues, has been pushed to provide his own plan for how he would deal with Trump.

“The whole Trump thing has completely shaken up” political strategy in Canada, Prof Mendes said.

For Ford, it has been an opportunity to be at the forefront of a critical national conversation, especially amid political chaos in Ottawa following Trudeau’s decision to resign.

His province stands to suffer significantly if the tariffs materialise.

Ontario’s economy is the largest in Canada, making up about 38% of the country’s GDP, and has a significant automotive sector that is deeply integrated with the US.

Ford has suggested that 500,000 of Ontario’s 14.2 million people could lose their jobs if the US follows through in the blanket tariffs.

The premier is known for his folksy, straight-talking style – one that has become synonymous with his family name and popularised by his late brother, former Toronto Mayor Rob Ford.

“You can’t let someone hit you over the head with a sledgehammer without hitting them back twice as hard, in my opinion,” he stated earlier this month.

He has called for a strong retaliation to any sweeping tariffs, suggesting that Canada cut off energy supply to the US and calling for provincial liquor stores to pull American booze off their shelves.

In the same breath, he has proposed the idea of “Fortress Am-Can” – a catchy slogan to sell Trump on a stronger energy alliance between the two countries.

By calling an election in his province early, Prof Mendes said Ford is playing several games of political chess as he seeks to solidify his position both in Ontario and as a voice for Canada.

Prof Mendes said Ford has so far succeeded in drawing US attention to his message, more so than other premiers and Trudeau.

He is expected to lead a delegation of Canadian premiers to meet US lawmakers in Washington DC twice next month.

Domestically, however, he still faces significant challenges, primarily the ongoing investigation into his government’s land dealings.

“Now is the time (for Ford) to get the election done and get his massive new majority to weather that storm, whenever it happens,” Prof Mendes said.

An election could also secure him another term before the possible US tariffs take a bite out of the provincial economy.

Despite the controversies, Ford has maintained a stronghold in Ontario. He has won a majority twice, and polls so far indicate he is headed for a third.

He said Ford has proven himself to be a political survivor by communicating effectively with a working-class base, much like Trump.

“He is connecting in terms of being able to fight, and fight fiercely for Canada,” he said.