Ontario's Doug Ford slaps 25% surcharge on US electricity exports in response to Trump tariff threat

• Canada’s Ontario province slapped a 25% tax on electricity exports to 3 US states, its premier said.
• It will affect 1.5 million households and companies in Michigan, Minnesota, and New York.
• Premier Doug Ford said: “Ontario doesn’t want this trade war, but we won’t back down until it’s over.”

Ontario’s premier responded to President Donald Trump’s tariff threat by imposing a 25% surcharge on electricity exports to three US states on Monday.

The surcharge will affect 1.5 million households and companies in Michigan, Minnesota, and New York, according to a statement from the office of Ontario’s Premier. The move is expected to generate as much as $278,000 a day while costing US consumers the same amount.

“Until the threat of tariffs is gone for good, Ontario won’t back down,” Doug Ford said. “We’ll stand strong, use every tool in our toolkit, and do whatever it takes to protect Ontario.”

Ford went further at a press conference in Toronto on Monday, warning: “If the United States escalates, I will not hesitate to shut the electricity off completely.”

However, the move is somewhat symbolic as New York state obtained less than 5% of its power from Canada in 2023, with Minnesota and Michigan importing even less, Bloomberg reported.

Ontario exported 14.6, 14.2 and 12 terawatt hours of electricity to the US between 2021 and 2023, the premier's office said.

Earlier this month Trump announced tariffs of 25% on imports from Canada and Mexico, before delaying their imposition by a month.

Canada retaliated by imposing 25% tariffs on several US products, initially targeting $30 billion worth of US goods. Unless Trump's tariffs are withdrawn, those tariffs are set to expand to $125 billion in 21 days.

Economic uncertainty has rattled financial markets, with Wall Street plunging on Monday after Trump refused to rule out a recession, saying the US is in "a period of transition" in a Sunday interview on Fox News.

Ford criticized Trump's tariffs as harmful to US consumers and businesses. "President Trump's tariffs are a disaster for the US economy. They're making life more expensive for American families and businesses," he said.

"Ontario doesn't want this trade war, but we won't back down until it's over," Ford said in an X post on Monday.

Ontario's Premier's Office didn't immediately respond to a request for comment.

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