Ford vows to impose levy on Canada’s electricity exports in response to Trump tariffs

Ontario Premier Doug Ford is pledging to tax electricity exports to the U.S. if President Donald Trump’s promised tariffs hit Canada next week.

Author: Clayton DeMaine

Ontario Premier Doug Ford is pledging to tax electricity exports to the U.S. if President Donald Trump’s promised tariffs hit Canada next week.

During a press conference at an aircraft hangar in Ottawa, Ford vowed to take the gloves off and “go full steam ahead” against the U.S. once Trump’s tariffs are implemented.

Trump confirmed during a news conference with French President Emmanuel Macron Monday that the tariffs “will be going forward on time and on schedule” for Mar. 4.

“We’re reviewing the cost of electricity we’re sending down there, and if he puts tariffs on anything in Canada or Ontario, they’re getting a tariff on their electricity, And than we’ll go to the next stage, and we’ll wait to see what happens from there,” Ford said.

He emphasized that he would prefer to avoid a tariff spat, stating he has “always preferred” to send more electricity, critical minerals and other goods to the U.S.

“I don’t want a tariff war. But if someone comes in and starts attacking our families, attacking our businesses, and attacking everything to do with Canada. That’s it. I’m full in there, I’m in the ring, and I’ll do whatever it takes to make sure that we hit back and they feel the pain like we feel the pain,” Ford said. “Once we’re into it, we’re into it, we’re going toe to toe. Simple as that, there’s no one that’s going to fight harder than I’ll fight.”

According to the Canada Energy Regulator Ontario exported 13.5 terawatt hours (TWh) of the approximate 48.1 TWh of electricity Canada sent to the U.S. in 2023.

The Ford government previously claimed that 49% of Ontario’s electricity exports go to Michigan alone.

Though Michigan regions might rely heavily on Ontario’s energy, according to Michigan government projections for 2023 the American state consumed approximately 99.1 TWh – meaning less than about 7% of the state’s total energy consumption comes from Ontario.

Ford had previously floated the possibility of cutting off energy to the U.S. as a retaliatory measure against Trump’s looming tariffs.

Along with energy levies against the U.S., Ford also said he ordered the Liquor Control Board of Ontario to pull American products from the shelves, and vowed to end contracts with U.S. companies “especially in the tech sector.”

“We have to be ready. And the day those tariffs come, I’ve directed the LCBO to pull off every bottle of booze there is from the U.S. And there’s a lot of them,” Ford said. “There’s 3,600 products from 35 states. So there’s going to be a lot of upset Americans that they can’t ship their booze up to Ontario, and I’m encouraging every other premier in the country, pull the U.S. alcohol off your shelves.”

He said Ontario has $30 billion of procurement deals with the U.S.

“We have a strong list we’re working more collaboratively with all the premiers in the federal government to make sure we have retaliatory measures. And I’ve always said it’s dollar for dollar, tariff or tariff,” Ford said. “But we’re all working well as Team Canada, and we’re going to continue working well. We’ll be ready for anything that comes our way.”

When asked if Ford would stop contracts with Elon Musk’s Starlink to prevent Americans from having any leverage over Ontarians by threatening to cut off access to the internet, Ford signalled that he would end any agreements with them if a tariff war started.

“I’m not about starting a tariff war, but I’ll tell you one thing: if it happens, I’m going full steam. The gloves are coming off, and I won’t hold back on anything.”

Trump said the 25% tariff on Canadian exports would be implemented until Canada dealt with illegal immigration and drug smugglers entering the U.S., but talks of trade deficits and unbalanced deals between Canada and the U.S. mean a timeline for an end to the proposed tariffs is unclear.