Doug Ford eyes Ontario electricity exports as way to ‘hit back’ against U.S. tariffs

Progressive Conservative Leader Doug Ford is musing about making Americans pay more for the electricity Ontario sends to the United States, in response to any levies President Donald Trump imposes on Canadian goods and services.

“We’re reviewing the cost of electricity we’re sending down there. And if he puts tariffs on anything in Canada or Ontario, they’re getting a tariff on their electricity,” Ford said at a campaign stop in Ottawa on Tuesday.

“And then we’ll go to the next stage and we’ll wait to see that happens from there.”

Ford gave no further details on the proposed measure, or how it would fit in with his previously announced plan to cut off energy exports to the U.S. should Trump move forward with sweeping tariffs now set to kick in next week.

Trump said Monday the tariffs, which were pushed back to March 4 after Canada agreed to introduce new security measures at the border, are “going forward on time, on schedule.”

His executive order calls for 25 per cent tariffs on all Canadian imports, with a lower 10 per cent levy on Canadian energy.

Ford said Tuesday that he doesn’t want a tariff war, “but if someone comes in and starts attacking our families, attacking our businesses and attacking everything we do in Canada, 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 has made economic stability in the face of possible tariffs the centrepiece of his campaign, arguing he needs a stronger mandate to navigate the next four years of a Trump presidency.

But the other party leaders have called the snap election unnecessary given that the Progressive Conservatives already held a majority and would have received support for stimulus measures.

Liberal Leader Bonnie Crombie said Tuesday that Ford should have diversified Ontario’s economy and worked to eliminate interprovincial trade barriers a long time ago, once again accusing him of calling the election for personal gain.

Asked whether she would, as premier, leverage Ontario’s electricity exports in a potential trade war, Crombie said it’s important to remember how integrated the province’s energy grid is with states across the border.

“It’s something we have to look at very closely, the impact of our energy grid,” she said at a campaign stop in Toronto on Tuesday.

Crombie spent most of her news conference fielding questions about her endorsement of federal Liberal leadership candidate Mark Carney, two days before the provincial election.

She said the presumed front-runner is “the right person for this moment in time.”

“He is a leader that can stand up to Donald Trump and speak with some authority and experience on tariffs,” she said.

Carney thanked Crombie for her endorsement in a social media post, writing: “Wishing you the best this Thursday, and let’s keep building!”

Asked whether she interprets that as an explicit endorsement from Carney in return, Crombie said, “I certainly do.”

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Feb. 25, 2025.

The Canadian Press