U.S. Chamber of Commerce event with Doug Ford cancelled after White House complaints, sources say

Laura StoneQueen's Park Reporter Adrian MorrowU. Correspondent Toronto and washington Published 4 hours agoUpdated 3 hours ago Open this photo in gallery: The Washington reception with Ross Perot Jr. was one of the most high-profile events that the Ontario Premier was set to attend during his two-day visit to the U. Sean Kilpatrick/The Canadian Press Save for laterPlease log in to bookmark this story. Log InCreate Free Account The White House had voiced complaints about Ontario Premier Doug Ford’s Washington reception with Ross Perot Jr., board chair at the U. Chamber of Commerce, before it was abruptly cancelled, according to two American industry sources. The reception, which was scheduled for Monday, was one of the most high-profile events that Mr. Ford was set to attend during his two-day visit to the U. But a spokesperson for the chamber said it had been called off because of “scheduling conflicts.” However, a source familiar with the reception said the White House expressed concerns about Mr. Perot Jr. before the event was cancelled. Another source said the White House had complained to business figures in Washington about the Ontario Premier’s scheduled appearance. Ford is viewed as a major problem , the person said. The Globe and Mail is not identifying the sources, who were not authorized to speak about internal discussions. Ford’s office, nor the U. Chamber of Commerce responded to requests for comment on Tuesday. Ariel Pollock, a spokesperson for U. Ambassador Pete Hoekstra, referred questions to the chamber. Hoekstra recently tweeted a screenshot of a Truth Social post from U. President Donald Trump, in which Mr. Trump had shared a link to a story about the weakness of the Canadian economy and captioned it “51st State!” Mr. Ford hit back on social media last week, saying Canada would never be the 51st state and later telling reporters that he’s “tired of that guy,” referring to the U. Canadian-built Gordie Howe International Bridge to Detroit to open this week, Carney says Last October during trade negotiations, the U. S. walked away from the bargaining table, citing an Ontario government anti-tariff ad featuring late president Ronald Reagan as the reason. A White House official denied that there had been any communication with the Chamber of Commerce itself about the Monday event, but used the opportunity to take a shot at Mr. The Globe agreed not to name the official in order to learn the administration’s perspective on Mr.