After an extended 137-day break mandated by Premier Doug Ford , MPPs return to Queen’s Park Monday to a changed economic and political landscape.

The ground has shifted since the legislature rose June 5, with U.S. President Donald Trump’s tariffs battering the Ontario economy but apparently not impacting the Progressive Conservative premier’s electoral fortunes.

Unemployment in the province now sits at 7.9 per cent, up 0.8 percentage points from a year ago, and above the national average last month of 7.1 per cent, according to Statistics Canada.

Decisions like that of Stellantis to shift Jeep Compass production to Illinois from Brampton , affecting 3,000 workers, have sparked concerns about an economic slump caused by Trump’s trade war.

Such fears aside, the premier is arguably in

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