Ontario Premier Doug Ford says the province plans on moving ahead with a tax on electricity sent to several U.S. states starting early next week as Canada’s trade war escalates.
Ford said the 25 per cent tax will be officially confirmed on Monday and is likely to be enacted on Tuesday even with a temporary tariff reprieve on many products put in place by the U.S. until April 2.
“We are moving forward with it,” Ford confirmed in an interview with 640Toronto radio host Ben Mulroney on Thursday.
“I feel terrible for the American people because it’s not the American people, and it’s not even the elected officials, it’s one person and that’s President (Donald) Trump… It’s totally unacceptable, but he’s coming after his closest friends, closest allies in the world and it’s going to absolutely devastate both economies.”
The move is one Ford and his team have publicly weighed since before U.S. President Donald Trump was sworn in — threatening to escalate further and cut power to 1.5 million U.S. homes and businesses if the economic battle continues.
That threat, first suggested in early December, comes after Trump followed through on his promise and slapped 25 per cent tariffs on the vast majority of Canadian imports on Tuesday, sparking a trade war between the two neighbouring countries.
On Monday, as the tariffs looked set to hit, a furious Ford said he would cut off energy to the U.S. “with a smile on my face” before taking part in days of interviews with major U.S. networks like CNN and FOX News.
Two days later, after tariffs hit, the premier said the energy threat was garnering the most attention.
“The market tanked — that’s what really caught his attention,” Ford told reporters on Wednesday. “I think the electricity definitely got the world’s attention not just down there.”
The surcharge will now be added early next week but the premier’s office has offered no details over if or when it plans to go ahead with a full shutdown of power to the 1.5 million homes and businesses it supplies in the U.S.
Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, whose state would be affected by extra energy charges from Canada, said he had spoken to Ford in order to “try to find a way through this unnecessary and costly trade war.”
Speaking to reporters briefly on Thursday, Ford confirmed his team would go through with a 25 per cent surcharge for power being sent to Minnesota, Michigan and New York.
“All three governors think tariffs on their closest allies and friends is absolutely terrible,” Ford said.
“And Republicans, as well, behind closed doors, say this is the worst thing that he could do. And now I need the Republicans to come out and speak out about it. They’re too scared.”
The premier’s office said it believes it can add the tariff through a ministerial directive and not legislation.
Ford said a pause in tariffs would not change his mind on adding a charge to electricity — saying he doesn’t trust Trump.
“We have to follow through until he drops tariffs completely,” Ford said. “He is putting everything on hold for 30 days and we know what happened last time, he said 30 days and a week later, two weeks later he brings the tariffs back.”
On Thursday afternoon, the White House confirmed tariffs on many Mexican and some Canadian goods would be paused until April 2.
Imports from Canada that comply with the trade deal would also avoid the 25 per cent tariffs for a month, while the potash that U.S. farmers import from Canada would be tariffed at 10 per cent, the same rate at which Trump wants to tariff Canadian energy products.
Roughly 62 per cent of imports from Canada would likely still face the new tariffs because they’re not USMCA compliant, according to a White House official who insisted on anonymity to preview the orders on a call with reporters.
The premier’s office said the pause would not change any of its retaliatory measures — and that only a complete removal of tariffs would lead to their reversal.
Trump reiterated on Thursday his view that the U.S. doesn’t need Canadian products, including its energy.
“We don’t need trees from Canada, we don’t need cars from Canada, we don’t need energy from Canada — we don’t need anything from Canada,” he said.
The electrical surcharge is part of a suite of measures Ontario has imposed after tariffs came in, including removing U.S. alcohol from the shelves of the LCBO, committing to permanently cancelling a deal with Elon Musk’s Starlink and banning U.S. companies from bidding on public contracts.
Canada imposed an immediate 25 per cent tariff on $30 billion worth of U.S. goods, with additional tariffs on another $125 billion in American goods to follow three weeks later.
Ford told Mulroney Trump had picked a fight he can’t win.
“He definitely underestimated the resolve of the Canadian people. The strength, the resilience … everyone hates this uncertainty,” he said.
“This is an unnecessary trade war that President Trump has created.”
— with files from The Associated Press
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