Premier Wynne vows to 'defend Ontario' amidst Buy America talk

Despite growing U.S. support for Buy America policies, Premier Kathleen Wynnehas vowed to fight for Ontario jobs by lobbying with her political counterparts across the border.

Wynnemade the comments Thursday after a roundtable meeting with economic development leaders in Windsor, Ont. Her visit also included a multi-million dollar announcement of provincial and federal funding forFord Motor Company of Canada at the Essex Engine Plant.

• More than $200Minvested at Ford plant in Windsor, Ont., by federal and provincial governments

The premier said the link between the North America Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA)and the competitiveness of the province, particularly southern Ontario,was the mainfocus of the meeting. She also heard many concerns about cross-border movement becoming more difficult in recent months.

Wynnesaid she and her team are reaching out to political and business leaders in New York to reinforce the importance of trade between the two regions.

"Always in these kinds of negotiations, there's the dangers of unintended consequences," Wynne said of the Buy America policies. "We're looking to make it very clear how important the Ontario Market is to New York and vice versa."

Buy America hurts everyone

Buy America policieswill only hurtbusinesses in both New Yorkand in Ontario, saidBradDuguid, the province's minister of economic development.

Standing next toWynneafter the meeting,Duguidreinforced the premier's message, stressing the importance of maintaining trade with U.S. partners.

"We've collectively worked too hard to see some of the risks involved in some of the issues south of the border take that away," he said. "There is an enlightened self interest for ...our U.S. neighbours to ensure we have an unfettered border."

Standing alongside Stephen MacKenzie, CEO of the Windsor-Essex Economic Development Corporation, Wynne said she also heard plenty of discussion about new challenges people are having crossing the border, something she promised to bring up with her American counterparts.

Choosing a border city like Windsor as the site for the latest roundtable discussion was important, MacKenzie told journalists after the meeting.

Premier Wynnealso talked about the confidence investors are showing in Windsor after many years of economic recession and thousands of lost jobs, the majority of which coming from manufacturing and more specifically the auto sector.

"Windsor is a great success story," Wynne said, referring to the importance of investing in the Essex Engine Plant. "Five years ago the pundits and the prophets were saying theplant was dead this region was not coming back as an auto powerhouse, but that's just not the case."