On Monday, Ontario Premier Doug Ford threatened to cut energy exports to northern states “with a smile on my face,” just before President Donald Trump’s 25% tariffs on imports took effect on Tuesday. .
“If they want to try to annihilate Ontario, I will do everything — including cut off their energy with a smile on my face,” the smug leader declared. “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.”
BREAKING: Ontario, Canada's Premier Doug Ford just threatened to cut US electricity to several American states if Trump's tariffs go into effect:
"If they want to try to annihilate Ontario, I will do anything , including cutting off their energy, with a smile on my face."
This… pic.twitter.com/41PkAZRcl8
— Brian Krassenstein (@krassenstein) March 3, 2025
Here’s the thing, the U.S. is a major consumer of electricity from Canada. In 2023, Ontario powered 1.5 million American homes in states like New York, Michigan, and Minnesota.
Will the U.S. have an obstacle to overcome if Canada cuts the electric exports? Of course. However, that will be a HUGE revenue loss, and from the looks of it, it’s a loss they cannot afford.
New York Post reports:
It wasn’t immediately clear if the premier was talking about all Canadian provinces cutting off energy exports to the US — or just his province.
Ford doubled down, though, on a prior promise to match Trump’s 25% tax on all products entering the United States from Canada, Mexico and China dollar for dollar.
“I [didn’t] start this tariff war, but we’re going to win this tariff war,” Ford said.
“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.”
According to New York Governor Kathy Hochul, she doesn’t expect Ford will make good on the threat.
Hochul explained, “I’d be happy to have additional conversations with him on how we can support each other during this crisis, so I feel positive that anything within his power that he can control – that we do not have a target on our backs.”