Ontario Premier Doug Ford says Canada will respond to Donald Trump’s tariffs in a way never seen before.
According to Ford, who remarked this to NBC News, he will stop the export of critical resources to the U.S. He says cutting off electricity will slow down U.S. manufacturing big time.
He acknowledges it will hurt both Canadians and Americans. But says Trump’s policies leave Canada no choice.
At a mining convention in downtown Toronto on Monday he said he’d stop exporting electricity to the U.S.
In his words, “If they want to kill Ontario, I will do everything — including cut off their energy with a smile on my face.”
Ford promises to match tariffs dollar for dollar against the U.S. He says the U.S. is heavily dependent on Canadian energy and they should feel the full impact of their policies.
Ford said any aggressive move will be met with an even stronger one. He also said the federal and provincial governments are united on this.
He said while provinces have a lot of power, the federal government is leading the charge.
He said all levels of government will stand together no matter the party in power.
He said he didn’t start this tariff war but will make sure Canada comes out on top.
These comments came as Trump said the 25% tariffs on Canada and Mexico will come into effect on Tuesday.
Trump said there will be no more negotiations before the 30 day delay is up.
He said: “The tariffs are final and will come into effect tomorrow” and there’s no more time for Canada or Mexico to reach an agreement.
Last week Trump said the tariffs would move forward after a one month delay following talks with Canadian and Mexican leaders about curbing drug trafficking at the border.
On Monday Trump said massive amounts of fentanyl are being smuggled into the U.S. mostly from Mexico and China. He told car manufacturers to move their facilities to the U.S. to avoid these tariffs.
He said if they move production to the U.S. they won’t face any tariffs.
Also Trump said reciprocal tariffs will start on April 2 – aiming to target any country that tariffs U.S. goods.