President-elect Donald Trump is not worried about Ontario Premier Doug Ford’s threat to cut off energy supply to the U.S. as retaliation to the proposed 25 per cent tariff on Canadian goods.
“Well, that’s OK if he does that. That’s fine,” Trump told American network CNBC on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange on Thursday. A CNBC reporter said Trump told him off camera he hoped the U.S. can work something out with Canada.
In a post on social media, the premier said he agreed that the two countries should strike a deal and the pathway to one isn’t complicated. Ford reiterated that the federal government needs to protect the border against illegal immigration, drugs and guns and to have a plan to reach Canada’s two per cent defence spending NATO commitments.
The premier claimed in his post that the real threat to American and Canadian workers is China which ships cheap products through Mexico.
“We’ll continue to meet with U.S. lawmakers on the need to build Fortress Can-Am with our critical minerals in the Ring of Fire and nuclear energy as we build the first small modular reactors in the G7. We’re stronger together,” Ford said.
Earlier, the premier maintained that blocking energy exports was a “last resort.” Although, Ford said his government is ultimately prepared to use “every tool” in its toolbox “to protect the livelihoods of the people of Ontario.”
“It is a last resort. We power 1.5 million homes (in the U.S) and if they put on tariffs it is going to be unaffordable for Americans to buy electricity just like if they put tariffs on the 4.3 million barrels of oil that Alberta is shipping down to the U.S.,” he said.
“I don’t think president-elect Trump wants that to happen. But we are sending a message to the U.S. that if you come and attack Ontario, if you come and attack the livelihoods of the people of Ontario and Canadians we are going to use every tool in our toolbox to defend Ontarians and Canadians. Let’s hope it never comes to that point.”
Ford made the comment during an unrelated news conference on Thursday morning, one day after he first floated the concept of ceasing to supply energy to the states of New, York, Michigan and Wisconsin.
The premier went on to say that his government is currently putting a “list together” of potential retaliatory elections alongside other Canadian provinces, with plans to discuss the measures during an upcoming meeting with other premiers scheduled for this weekend.
Ford also said that he would be speaking with the governors of New York and Michigan on Thursday.
“We just have to send a message. When it comes to the U.S. I want to send them more electricity, I want to send them critical minerals, I want to make sure we have fair trade going back and forth across the border. That is what I want to do: support them any way we can. They aren’t our enemies, they are our allies,” Ford said.
The premiers of Quebec, Alberta and Newfoundland and Labrador have said they do not support Ford’s threat.
Meanwhile, an official in the Ford government told The Canadian Press Thursday that it’s considering restricting the Liquor Control Board of Ontario (LCBO) from buying American-made alcohol. The official added that it could also restrict the export of Canadian critical minerals required for electric-vehicle batteries, and bar American companies from provincial procurement.
Ontario’s total trade with the U.S. in 2023 was valued at around $500 billion and a number of experts have previously warned that the province’s economy will be “disproportionately” impacted by Trump’s promised tariffs.
Speaking with reporters, Ford said that his “number one focus” right now is on protecting Ontario jobs from the “attack coming in the forms of tariffs.”
To that end, Ford has made several appearances on U.S. television networks in recent days. The Ontario government has also launched an advertising blitz in the U.S, touting the benefits the country receives as a result of its trade relationship with Ontario.
“I think it would be in the best interest of the Canadian government to start running ads as well,” Ford said Thursday. “Americans should not be able to go on social media, turn on a radio or turn on a television without seeing an ad from Canada or Ontario getting our positive message out there and telling Americans how important of a trading partner we are.”
With files from The Canadian Press
