Ontario Premier Doug Ford received an honorary doctorate from a U.S. university on Saturday.

Ford wore a black cap and gown as he took to the stage at Saginaw Valley State University in Michigan to receive a Doctor of Humane Letters degree.

In a commencement speech, Ford acknowledged that the assembled graduates may be wondering why a Canadian politician was appearing before them.

He said he spent years living and working in the U.S., helping build his family business and lauded “more than 200 years” of co-operation between Canada and the U.S.

The university’s president, George Grant Jr., called the premier a friend and thanked him for fostering strong relations in the Great Lakes region, on both sides of the border.

The honorary degree from a U.S. institution comes as Ford has positioned himself as a strong advocate against American tariffs and critic of U.S. President Donald Trump.

Ford said that over the last year and a half, the relationship between the U.S. and Canada has been “strained” by tariffs and that the trust and loyalty built up over generations has been “shaken and undermined.”

“We can’t unscramble that egg, we can only make the omelet larger,” Ford said, while once again quoting former U.S. President Ronald Reagan on the dangers of tariffs and protectionism.

“‘Markets shrink and collapse, businesses and industries shut down, and millions of people lose their jobs.’ That’s what we risk in the U.S. and Canada if we don’t get back to working together. Our economies are too closely linked.”

Last fall, Ford used the same words from a radio address made by Reagan in 1987 as part of a $75 million ad that raised the ire of President Trump after it played on several U.S. networks. Trump announced he was ending all trade talks with Canada based on the anti-tariff ad, while the Ronald Reagan Foundation said it was reviewing its legal options, saying the Ford government did not receive permission to use or edit the remarks.

Some journalists and pundits dubbed him “Captain Canada” as he took aim at the U.S. with retaliatory policies and made his case for Canada-U.S. co-operation in a series of interviews on American news networks.

The premier famously pulled American liquor off LCBO shelves days after U.S. tariffs took effect and wore a “Canada Is Not For Sale” hat during a meeting in Ottawa amid Trump’s threats to annex Canada.

Ford’s anti-tariff policies also targeted Michigan, home of the university now honouring him with a degree, when he imposed a 25 per cent tariff on all electricity exports to the U.S.

The tariff was suspended a day later, with Ontario collecting $260,000 from the tariff it said would impact 1.5 million homes and businesses in Michigan, Minnesota and New York.