Ontario’s premier, Doug Ford, is making headlines with a bold warning to the United States: if President-elect Donald Trump follows through on his proposed 25% tariff on all Canadian goods, Ontario might retaliate by cutting off energy exports and critical oil supplies.
BREAKING: Ontario Premier Doug Ford threatens to cut off fuel to the United States if Trump tariffs Canada.
— Eric Daugherty (@EricLDaugh) December 12, 2024
"We need to be ready to fight [on] January the 20th."
"We will go to the extent of cutting off their energy, going down to Michigan, going down to New York State and over… pic.twitter.com/GCIl0KSDXy
Trump’s tariff proposal is aimed at curbing illegal immigration and drug trafficking. He described it as a necessary measure, adding, “The United States is subsidizing Canada, and we shouldn’t have to do that. We have a great relationship, but we shouldn’t have to subsidize a country.”
In response, Ford has suggested Ontario would consider striking back. However, Trump appeared unfazed, telling CNBC, “That’s okay if he does that.”
Notably, Ford is a conservative. Besides serving as the premier of Ontario since June 2018, he is the leader of the Progressive Conservative Party of Ontario. Ford’s policies typically align with fiscal conservatism, such as tax reductions and pro-business initiatives, although his government has also embraced some centrist or populist measures, such as infrastructure spending, which occasionally put him at odds with traditional conservative policies.
But can Ontario act unilaterally? Experts are skeptical. Political science professor Nelson Wiseman from the University of Toronto explained, “Ontario cannot stop electricity exports to the U.S. without Ottawa’s approval, just as Michigan cannot block Canadian natural gas from flowing into eastern Canada without Washington’s consent.”
The stakes are high. Ontario is not just Canada’s most populous province but also its economic powerhouse, deeply intertwined with U.S. trade. Billions of dollars in goods flow between the two regions annually. Automobiles, machinery, chemicals and agricultural products dominate Ontario’s exports to the U.S., while the province imports essential raw materials, technology and finished goods in return.
Ontario is also a hub for North American automotive manufacturing, relying on seamless cross-border supply chains. The Detroit-Windsor corridor plays a crucial role in this industry, with auto parts crossing the border multiple times during the assembly process.
Beyond manufacturing, Ontario exports significant electricity to neighboring U.S. states and collaborates on oil and gas projects through shared pipelines and refineries. These partnerships underline the economic integration of the two regions, making Ford’s threats—and Trump’s proposed tariffs—a potential flashpoint with wide-reaching consequences.
While Ford’s comments signal defiance, they also raise questions about the practicalities of such a drastic move and the potential fallout for Ontario and its vital relationship with its largest trading partner.
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The person sounds more like a liberal tyrant than that of a conservative, then the word progressive was used in the same paragraph, again shouts out LIBERAL tyrant..
Lots of luck on that, Ford. You’d take a huge economic hit if you cut off your exports to the US.
30 million Canadians
300+ million Americans
Trump card
North Dakota oil & gas reserves remain underdeveloped.