Canada could possibly cut energy exports to some northern border states if president-elect Donald Trump imposes a 25 percent tariff on all Canadian goods after he takes office next month, a Canadian official warned late Wednesday.
“We will go to the extent of cutting off their energy — going down to Michigan, going down to New York State and over to Wisconsin,” said Ford, who leads a province known for its history of crude oil production. If implemented, Canada’s move to cut power to a portion of the U.S. would impact 1.5 million Americans.
He noted other Canadian leaders are also identifying exports that could be halted come Trump’s inauguration.
“We need to be ready. We need to be ready to fight,” Ford added. “This fight is coming 100 percent on January 20 or January 21.”
Ontario’s other potential measures, according to Canada’s Global News, involve restricting exports of Canadian minerals used for the production of electric vehicle batteries, prohibiting U.S.-based companies from the province’s procurement process for obtaining goods, and banning imports of American-made beer.
Global News also confirmed that Ontario could ban electricity exports to Michigan, New York, and Minnesota. Wisconsin was not included in the preliminary plan that the Canadian television network reported.
Because Canada is the top exporter of energy to the U.S., cutting off electricity to over 1 million American homes could be very damaging. However, Ford may be unable to unilaterally implement the measure in his province.
“I do not believe Ontario could unilaterally stop electricity exports to the U.S. without Ottawa’s approval,” University of Toronto political science professor Nelson Wiseman told Now Toronto. “Similarly, Michigan cannot unilaterally stop the flow of western Canadian natural gas to eastern Canada without Washington’s approval.”
Late last month, Trump announced he would place a 25 percent tariff on Canada and Mexico to ensure the northern and southern neighbors help with regulating mass migration and fentanyl inflow into the U.S. Days after the announcement, Trump met with Canadian prime minister Justin Trudeau at Mar-a-Lago in Florida. Trump said his dialogue with Trudeau was “very productive.”
Responding to Ford’s threat, Trump said Canada’s retaliatory move would be “fine.”
“That’s OK if he does that, that’s fine,” Trump told CNBC on Thursday at the New York Stock Exchange, where he rang the stock broker’s opening bell. “The United States is subsidizing Canada, it’s truly a subsidy and we shouldn’t have to do that.”
The president-elect has recently been mocking Trudeau, calling him the “governor” of the “Great State of Canada.” Trump even suggested to Trudeau during their meeting that Canada should become the 51st state in the U.S., Fox News reported.
The Republican said as much during a Sunday interview with NBC’s Meet the Press, his first network television interview since winning the presidential election.
“We’re subsidizing Canada to the tune over $100 billion a year. We’re subsidizing Mexico for almost $300 billion,” Trump told NBC News host Kristen Welker. “We shouldn’t be — why are we subsidizing these countries? If we’re going to subsidize them, let them become a state.”