Ontario Premier Doug Ford has doubled down on his warning about ‘cutting off’ the US’ energy but also apologized ‘to the American people’.
US president Donald Trump wasted no time signing off on multiple executive orders after being sworn in as the 47th president of the US.
One order included imposing ‘catastrophic’ tariffs to ‘hold China, Mexico and Canada accountable for their promises to halt the flood of poisonous drugs into the US’ by placing 25 percent tariffs on goods imported from Canada and Mexico, and 20 percent on China – the order having come into effect after a 30-day pause on March 4.
With Trump suggesting the only solution for Canada to avoid the tariffs being it becoming the US’ ‘Cherished 51st state,’ Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau responded by revealing counter-tariffs of ’25 percent tariffs against CA $155 billion of American goods’ beginning with ‘tariffs on CA $30 billion worth of goods immediately, and tariffs on the remaining CA $125 billion on American products in 21 days’ time’.
Trudeau also warned Canada is ‘in active and ongoing discussions with provinces and territories to pursue several non-tariff measures’.
Since then, Premier of Ontario, Canada, Doug Ford threatened to shut off the power to 1.5 million US customers.
Ford previously told reporters, as quoted by the Toronto Sun: “If they want to try to annihilate Ontario, I will do everything — including cut off their energy with a smile on my face.
“They rely on our energy, they need to feel the pain. They want to come at us hard, we’re going to come back twice as hard.”
He’s since taken a slightly more sympathetic approach – to the US public at least – apologizing to ‘the American people’ and clarifying it’s ‘unnecessary’ but Canada does ‘have to retaliate,’ emphasizing to CNN: “It’s not you; it’s your president that’s causing this problem.”
He said: “We’re the number one customer in the world in the United States, we had a great relationship, and want to continue on with that relationship, but I will use every tool in our toolbox to send a message to President Trump that this is the wrong thing to do.
“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 the federal government.
“I didn’t start this tariff war, but we’re going to win this tariff war.”
Ford has also ripped up the province’s contract with Elon Musk’s satellite internet company Starlink – a subsidiary of SpaceX – accusing Trump of choosing ‘chaos’ over shared prosperity.
He argued: “We won’t award contracts to people who enable and encourage economic attacks on our province and our country.”
