Ford says $25,000 Lake Ontario sign paid off with global publicity

Ontario Premier Doug Ford says a giant blue sign declaring “Lake Ontario now and always” earned back its C$25,000 public cost through the attention it attracted around the world.

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I got more comments about that beautiful sign that we put up.

Ford unveiled the bilingual sign last week in Winona, Ontario, in response to U.S. President Donald Trump’s executive order renaming the body of water “Lake America” during the trade war with Canada. The premier’s office said printing the sign cost the public roughly C$25,000.

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The return on investment on that, where do you get $25 million of free advertising all throughout the U.S., all throughout Canada?

Speaking at an unrelated event closed to the media, Ford said he had received numerous public messages about the display. “I got more comments about that beautiful sign that we put up,” he said, adding that he believed it had produced about C$25 million in free advertising across the United States and Canada.

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I just think we’re giving President Trump what he wants.

The sign’s international coverage has not silenced criticism of Ford’s broader approach to the dispute. Political opponents have questioned whether his insults and interviews with U.S. television networks are helping negotiations. Interim Liberal Leader John Fraser said Ford was giving Trump what he wanted. “These are serious times; it’s a trade war. You need a plan, you need a strategy,” Fraser said. He urged the premier to speak to Ontarians about how his government planned to protect them.

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These are serious times; it’s a trade war. You need a plan, you need a strategy.