Ontario Premier Doug Ford says a 25% surcharge on electricity from Ontario going to the U.S. will go into effect starting Monday—the latest and potentially most harmful retaliatory measure from Canada’s largest province in response to President Donald Trump’s tariffs on Canada, even as Trump pauses some of the levies.
High-voltage power lines cross the St. Clair River between Canada and the U.S. on March 8 in East ... [+]
The surcharge will primarily impact Minnesota, Michigan and New York, which are the three biggest states that import electricity generated in Ontario into the U.S.
“Until these tariffs are off the table, until the threat of tariffs is gone for good, Ontario will not relent,” Ford said at a press conference Monday, adding: “We will not back down—pausing some tariffs, making last minute exemptions won’t cut it, we need to end the tariffs once and for all.”
Ford said, “for weeks now we’ve been faced with so much uncertainty from President Trump,” and vowed he won’t hesitate to increase the tariffs or stop supplying electricity to the U.S. completely.
Ford had teased the possibility last Tuesday, saying in a post on X he put the governors of Minnesota, Michigan and New York “on notice that Ontario is prepared to add a 25 per cent surcharge to the electricity we export to their states if President Trump’s tariffs remain in place.”
In addition to the surcharge on electricity, Ontario has pulled U.S. liquor from its shelves, abandoned a $100-million contract with Elon Musk’s Starlink and worked to stop procuring goods from U.S. companies, CBC reported.
This story is developing and will be updated.
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Ford said Ontario provides electricity to about 1.5 million homes and businesses in New York, Michigan and Minnesota, and he expects this to cost those homes and businesses $400,000 daily and will add an average of $100 a month to the bills of everyday Americans.
Ford to hold news conference as Ontario threatens 25% surcharge on U.S.-bound electricity (CBC)