Heather Wright/The Independent

Sarnia Mayor Mike Bradley made a pitch for more pipelines and a plea to end the long-standing battle over Enbridge’s Line 5 project as Premier Doug Ford came to town.

Ford was in Sarnia Thursday, visiting local businesses, Ontario PC Party donors and announcing an additional $400,000 for infrastructure projects for new homes.

Bradley said Ford has been a “strong” voice in the fight against US tariffs saying he’s one of the few mayors left “that still agree with elbows ups.

“I’ve been on the border with the issues for many years, and I know from experience, it’s the tough approach will work.”

Bradley said Prime Minister Mark Carney is “playing the long game” when it comes to trade issues but “it’s helpful to have someone throwing the short game right now and getting the message across so we’re not going to be bullied. We’re not going to be pushed around. We’re Canadians first.”

He also urged Ford to include Sarnia in trade discussions since it is a hub for hydrogen, petrochemicals, and research. “When these discussions take place about expanding our energy direction in this country. Let’s not leave Sarnia behind. We’ve got too much here already to not grow that, and that includes pipelines,” he said adding pipelines are the best choice for transporting goods.

Bradley also made a plea for the province to continue pushing for an end to the Line 5 dispute. Enbridge is trying to replace the aging line which runs underneath Lake Huron and the St. Clair River. The Michigan and Wisconsin governments have been trying to scuttle the plan, particularly a 4.5 kilometre stretch of the project in the Straits of Mackinac.

“Your government’s been working hard with Ottawa to protect Line 5. Five thousand products are created out of that particular pipeline that ends in Sarnia. It creates a lot of that added value to the Canadian economy, and I know, again, the government’s working on that, but we need to end it sooner than later. It’s been five years and a stifling investment here.”

Minister of Municipal Affairs, Rob Flack, who was also on-hand for the Sarnia announcement, acknowledged Sarnia “is a target for those Trump tariffs and we also know that you have the support of our entire caucus cabinet and Captain Canada,” he said of Ford.

Ford seemed to give his support to Bradley’s concerns “I’m all for pipelines on one condition, we’re making the steel pipes here in Ontario, and that pipeline is coming to Sarnia, because there was two options, folks, you shoot that pipeline all the way out east, and that’s fine, we can do that, but we’re rerouting that pipeline down to Sarnia to create more opportunities and economic development.”