Doug Ford has a new plan to hit back at Trump's tariff

Ontario Premier Doug Ford revealed a new retaliatory measure that he might impose on the United States if Donald Trump's 25% tariff on all Canadian imports moves forward. 

Ford was happy about Trump’s election victory in November but turned against the U.S. President after Trump began talking about imposing a 25% tariff on Canadian imports.

The situation provided Ford some political cover as he sought to rebrand himself as the best choice to protect Ontario’s economy, and led to Ford calling a snap election.  

During his election kickoff announcement, Ford stated he was seeking a “strong, stable, four-year mandate to do whatever it takes to protect Ontario” according to AP News. 

Photo Credit: Facebook @fordnation

Ford had previously put forth a host of retaliatory measures his government was looking at to fight back against Trump’s tariffs and make the decision a politically painful one. 

American liquor would be removed from Ontario's shelves and the provincial government would ban US companies from participating in any government contracts. 

The harshest measure Ford proposed was one of the first ideas that he floated. He said he would consider limiting Ontario’s energy and electricity exports to the United States. 

“You attack the livelihoods of Ontario and Canadians, we’re going to use every tool in our toolbox to defend Ontarians and Canadians across the border,” Ford explained in December 2024 according to the Financial Post, noting he called it a “last resort”.

Ford’s idea to limit energy exports from Ontario seemed like a drastic measure to some, but the measure is one his government would explore if reelected according to Ford. 

While speaking about Trump’s tariffs on February 25th, Ford revealed he was reviewing the cost of electricity exports to the United States and said Ontario may tariff electricity. 

"We're reviewing the cost of electricity we're sending down there,” Ford said according to a quote published by CTV News. 

Ford added: “If he puts tariffs on anything in Canada or Ontario, they're getting a tariff on their electricity… then we'll go to the next stage and we'll wait to see what happens.”

The Ontario Premier also said that he didn’t want to fight a tariff war with the US, but if Trump was intent on attacking families and businesses, then “that's it, I'm full in there.” 

"I'm in the ring and I'll do whatever it takes to make sure that we hit back and they feel the pain like we feel the pain,” Ford continued. 

Whether or not Ford will add a tariff on electricity exports to the United States has yet to be seen. However, it's not a measure he could take without the federal government. 

CTV News reported Ford gave no further details about what proposal or how it could fit into his other proposals to limit or cut off energy exports to the United States. 

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Photo Credit: Facebook @fordnation