Cathy Dobson/The Independent

The outcome of Premier Doug Ford’s meeting today in Washington will set the stage for what Canadians can expect in the long term from the Trump administration, says Sarnia Mayor Mike Bradley. 

And he warned that it’s likely to be painful.

“We’re going to have to be prepared for a rough ride in the next four years,” Bradley said at a breakfast event hosted by the Sarnia-Lambton Chamber of Commerce where several of Lambton’s municipal leaders described financial challenges already brought on by American tariffs.

Ford, along with Canada’s Finance Minister Dominic LeBlanc and Canada’s ambassador to the USKirsten Hillman, is scheduled to meet with US Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick this afternoon about the tariff war.  At the very least, Ford said he hopes to build relationships in Washington and get a better sense of what the future holds.

“The outcome of this meeting will dictate where we should go,” Bradley said. “This meeting is crucial.”

If it doesn’t go well, Canada, including Sarnia-Lambton, needs to take action and “set our own course,” he said.  “It’s going to be like going to economic war and it’s not going to be easy.”

Sarnia-Lambton residents are already taking a stand to shop Canadian and refrain from American travel, the mayor said. “But we haven’t got to the nitty-gritty about what’s going to happen.”

Bradley said he’s “worried” about the chaos that Trump’s on-again, off-again tariff announcements have wreaked in the past several weeks.

“It’s economic terrorism, that’s what it is,” Bradley said.  “And we’re into four years of this.  Do not think this is going to pass in the night very quickly.”

He said he’s concerned about future economic investment locally and that he is already hearing that local manufacturers are apprehensive that tariffs will drastically reduce their markets.

Bradley also said he’s also witnessing increasing tensions with American mayors.

He spoke recently with several mayors from both sides of the border and found at least one American mayor told him Canadians need to get used to putting America’s interest first.

“What used to be good personal relationships between mayors, is strained,” Bradley said.  He said he’s deeply concerned that on top of the impact of tariffs to the Canadian economy, President Donald Trump has suggested he will cut all funding for environmental protection of the Great Lakes.

Port Huron, which has always had shared issues and friendly relations with Sarnia, has a population that is 80 per cent in support of Trump, Bradley noted.

“We’ll do our best to work with our counterparts across the border, but the climate has changed.  It’s like the breakdown of a relationship…I just hope that at some point there’s a turn in the attitude towards Canada and respect for Canadians, because that’s what it’s all about.”