A Canadian premier delivering a commencement speech at an American university isn’t exactly standard, but Doug Ford leaned into the moment, even acknowledging the obvious question: why him?

The Ontario premier received an honorary doctorate from Saginaw Valley State University in Michigan on Saturday, where he delivered a commencement address to graduating students, pitching his vision to heal frayed ties between Canada and the United States.

Wearing a black cap and gown, Ford used the speech to reflect on his time living and working in the United States, telling graduates he spent nearly two decades building his family’s printing business south of the border.

“Our success, our prosperity, is not an accident,” he said. “It’s the result of more than 200 years of work on both sides of the border.”

But Ford also used the moment to warn that those ties are being tested.

“Over the last year and a half, that partnership between the U.S. and Canada has been tested by tariffs and trade wars,” he said, adding the relationship has been “strained” and “shaken and undermined.”

“Protectionism has never worked in the history of the world and it won’t work now,” he said.

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Ford highlighted former U.S. president Ronald Reagan’s criticism of tariffs when he argued, “Markets shrink and collapse. Businesses and industries shut down and millions of people lose their jobs.”

Ford has positioned himself as a vocal critic of U.S. tariffs in recent months, launching an anti-tariff ad campaign in American markets last October and briefly imposing a tariff on electricity exports, then suspendingit.

In his address, Ford stressed how deeply interconnected the two countries remain, stating “our economies, our cultures are so closely linked,” with millions of workers relying on cross-border trade.

“I always say, folks, we can’t unscramble an egg, we can only make that omelet larger,” Ford added.

The university’s president, George Grant Jr., called Ford a friend and thanked him for supporting strong partnerships across the Great Lakes region.

Despite those tensions, Ford ended his speech on a more personal note, telling the audience, “never ever forget the importance of teamwork, of relationships, and of loyalty … these are the attributes that will make you succeed,” as they move into the next stage of their lives.