Of all of Canada’s leaders, Ontario Premier Doug Ford has proven to be the best at hitting back against the United States’ increasingly enamoured views on annexation. Indeed, he’s like a father who accompanies his daughter to the car dealership to fend off the scams and slights of greedy salesmen.

Ford’s latest accomplishment: an upcoming meeting with Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick and a U.S. trade representative to discuss a new North American free trade agreement, as the existing treaty is up for review next year, in resolution to his standoff over surcharges applied to U.S.-bound electricity. Ford ultimately backed down after U.S. President Donald Trump threatened to upgrade his tariffs on Canadian steel and aluminum from 25 per cent to 50 per cent.