Ontario Premier Doug Ford said on Monday that he is ready to cut off electricity export to the United States if President Trump’s 25 percent tariffs on Canadian goods go through.
“If they want to try to hurt Ontario, I will do whatever it takes — including cutting off their energy with a smile on my face,” Ford told reporters at a mining event in Toronto, according to the Toronto Sun.
Ford made it clear he plans to retaliate by matching tariffs. He pointed out that the U.S. depends on Canada for a significant amount of electricity.
“They rely on our energy. They need to feel the pain. If they want to hit us hard, we’re going to hit back twice as hard,” he said, according the The Toronto Sun.
Ford also stated that Canada would match the U.S. tariffs dollar-for-dollar: “That’s exactly what we’re going to do.”
The Premier emphasized that both the federal and provincial governments are working together to fight the U.S. tariffs.
“The provinces have a big say in it, but it’s the federal government that’s leading the charge, and we’re going to stand shoulder-to-shoulder no matter who’s in charge at the federal level,” Ford said. “I didn’t start this tariff war, but we’re going to win this tariff war.”
These comments came after President Trump announced that the 25 percent tariffs on Canadian and Mexican goods would officially begin on Tuesday, with no further chance for a deal.
“The tariffs, they’re all set. They go into effect tomorrow,” Trump said, adding that there was “no room left for Mexico or Canada” to make a deal before the deadline.
Trump had warned last week that the tariffs would move forward after a month-long delay. During that time, Canada and Mexico agreed to take action to address the flow of drugs across the border.
Trump also mentioned that “vast amounts of fentanyl got poured into our country” mainly through Mexico and China. He encouraged U.S. car manufacturers to build plants in the U.S. to avoid the upcoming tariffs.
“So, what they have to do is build their car plants, frankly, and other things in the United States, in which case they have no tariffs,” Trump said.
Additionally, Trump announced that reciprocal tariffs would begin on April 2, which would affect all countries that impose taxes on U.S. imports.
