Well, howdy there, Internet people, it's Bell again.

So today, we're going to talk about why Doug Ford isn't the odd choice.

Ever since early on, Doug Ford has featured prominently in Canada's response to Trump's trade actions.

This has led to numerous messages and comments from Americans and Canadians

alike. Most, but not all Canadians, were in dismay at his prominence in the situation.

Americans were confused by the system, and how a person who in the American system is sort

of like a governor has so much prominence

internationally. This gets even more confusing because a Canadian governor is exactly nothing

like an American one. Clear as mud, right? But the real question is why Doug Ford? I have a theory. It may not be happenstance or chance.

In hostage negotiations, the person who actually talks to the hostage taker is never the person

who can make decisions on their own, as far as whether they get a helicopter on the roof or stuff

like that. Even if they are the boss, they pretend they aren't. In that situation, the negotiator's

first job is to build a rapport. They want the person they're talking to to identify with them,

to see some kind of shared interests or bond. They want to explore issues that they're talking to to identify with them, to see some kind of shared interest or bond.

They want to explore issues that are leading to the situation and demands.

They want to use time to let the reality of the situation sink in.

They want to soften demands and focus on shared solutions and make sure they start the

process of negotiating in earnest.

With that in mind, who is Ford?

A person who very much could have been a Trump ally, who has a lot of ties to the U.S., who

has a similar political posture as Trump, who isn't going

to be the one making the final decision, who is proposing a shared interest of an Amcan fortress,

...