Associated Press, by Rob Gillies
TORONTO (AP) – Ontario’s prime minister, leader of Canada’s most populous province, has announced that it will charge 1.5 million American homes and businesses 25% for electricity in response to the trade war of US President Donald Trump.
Ontario provides electricity to Minnesota, New York and Michigan.
“I won’t hesitate to increase this fee. If the US escalates, I won’t hesitate to shut down electricity completely,” Ontario Prime Minister Doug Ford said at a press conference in Toronto.
“If you say you don’t want to do this, trust me. I feel it is scary for the Americans who didn’t start this trade war. There’s only one person responsible for it, President Trump.”
Ford said Ontario’s tariffs will remain despite a month’s resignation from Trump, but said the one-month suspension only means more uncertainty. Quebec is also considering taking similar measures to export electricity to the US.
Minnesota says it will have minimal impact
Minnesota receives only a small portion of the electricity from Ontario, but Democratic Gov. Tim Waltz was sharply critical of Trump’s actions that led to Monday’s announcement from Ford.
“The first victim of Trump’s trade war? Minnesotan is struggling to pay for their surge in electricity bills,” Waltz tweeted with a link to a story about the Ontario movement. “Minnesotan can’t afford Trump’s billionaire economy. We have to stop this insanity.”
But Minnesota Power, the leading utility that plays the role of Ontario and neighboring Minnesota, has only acquired a “very small” percentage of its power from the state, said Amy Rutledge, a spokesman for the company.
Minnesota Power only purchased about $300,000 worth of electricity from Ontario last year, but only for four months a year. The utility serves more than 150,000 customers, and mostly with the power to create itself in Minnesota, she said. It has earned about 11% of the power source from Manitoba Hydro, but she said, it has not been affected by the Ontario announcement.
“We really hope that the impact on our customers will be ignored,” Rutledge said.
Midcontinent Independent System Operator – The organization that manages the regional power grid from Manitoba to Minnesota to Louisiana also expects little effect, spokesman Brandon Morris. The taste is less than half of its power from Canada, and less than half of it comes from Ontario, he said.
Ford’s office said the new market rules require generators that sell electricity to the US to add a 25% extra charge. The Ontario government expects revenues to be generated between $208,000 and $277,000 per day. It is “used to support workers, families and businesses in Ontario.”
The new additional fees will add to the federal government’s first $21 billion worth of retaliation tariffs, which apply to items such as American orange juice, peanut butter, coffee, appliances, footwear, cosmetics, motorcycles and certain pulp and paper products.
The trade war intensifies
Last week, Trump launched a new trade war by imposing tariffs on Washington’s three biggest trading partners, eliciting immediate retaliation from Mexico, Canada and China, and sending financial markets to Tailspin.
Trump later said he had postponed a 25% tariff on many goods from Canada and Mexico for a month amid widespread fears about the wider trade war.
Ford estimated that he would add about $69 a month to each affected American’s bill.
“It needs to be finished. Ontario will not be merciless until these tariffs are removed from the table, until the threat of tariffs is permanently gone,” Ford said.
Trump urged American automakers to move Mexican auto production from Canada and Mexico to the United States last week. After speaking with leaders from automakers Ford, General Motors and Stellantis, Trump granted a one-month exemption from 25% tariffs on vehicles and auto parts traded through the USMCA of the North American Trade Agreement. Ontario is the Canadian auto sector hub.
Prime Minister Ford also said Trump is threatening Canada with tariffs on steel, aluminum and dairy products.
“I’ll do whatever it takes to maximize the pain for Americans,” Ford said.
Ford seeks export tax on Canadian oil
Trump’s trade war and his talk of making Canada the 51st US state have infuriated Canadians booing the American national anthem in the NHL and NBA games. Some people have cancelled their trips south of the border, while others avoid buying American products whenever possible.
Ford said Canada’s Alberta should agree to impose an export tax on oil. Alberta provides 4.3 million barrels of oil per day to the US
“You want to talk about your trump card, and it’s going to change the game soon,” Ford said. “I know Americans. If all of a sudden, if gas prices rise dollars per gallon, they lose their heart.”
Despite Trump’s claim that the US does not need Canada, nearly a quarter of US oil consumption per day comes from Canada. Approximately 60% of US crude oil imports come from Canada, and 85% of US electricity imports also import.
Associated Press Writer Steve Karnowski from St. Paul contributed to this report.
Original issue: March 10th, 2025, 11:30am EDT
