MNI BRIEF: Ontario To Cut U.S. Energy Flows When Tariffs Hit

MNI (OTTAWA) - Ontario Premier Doug Ford said Wednesday he plans to shut off energy exports to the U.S. if Donald Trump implements tariffs against Canada next month, the most strident threat of retaliation to date against the president-elect's proposed 25% levy. 

“We will use every tool in our toolbox including cutting them off energy that we’re sending down there,” said Ford, the leader of Canada's most populous and richest province. Ontario's economy is also reliant on seamless trade with auto factories in neighboring Michigan. 

Ford spoke after a call with provincial leaders and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, who so far has only said he will respond to unjustified trade penalties and noted retaliation was eventually successful during Trump's first term as president. Quebec's premier recently took a different stance saying Canada should avoid a full-blown trade war.

“Folks, this is coming,” Ford said of U.S. tariffs, another contrast with other officials expressing confidence a negotiated solution remains possible. “We need to line up everything that we’re going to tariff and make sure that the money coming from these tariffs don’t go into a federal bank account sitting there somewhere. It needs to be immediately distributed.” (See MNI INTERVIEW: Trump Tariffs Will Decimate Canadian Loggers)