**Written by Richard Coffin
American booze is coming off the shelves at the LCBO, and the province is cancelling its Internet deal with Starlink.
Those are Premier Doug Ford’s initial moves in the tariff war with the U.S.
But they aren’t the only ones.
“We said we’d never start a trade and tariff war with the U.S.,” Ford tells Ontarians Tuesday. “But you better believe we’re ready to win one.”
He says all U-S based companies are now banned from taking part in government procurement, noting the province and its agencies spend $30 billion a year on contracts.
Ford is also urging every municipality in the province to do the same, adding many have already stepped up.
“We need to be ready to dig in for a long fight,” he says. “We need to be ready to escalate and use every tool in our tool kit. That includes surcharges or even outright restrictions on the critical minerals and electricity we supply to the U.S.”
Ford says he’s writing to American politicians that if the Trump administration follows through on any tariffs, Ontario will immediately apply a 25% surcharge on the electricity it exports.
“We will not hesitate to shut off their power as well,” he adds. “I’m encouraging my fellow premiers to follow suit.”
Ford also says the coming days and weeks will be hard for Ontarians.
He says the province will do whatever it takes to protect people, their families, and communities, adding no expense will be spared.
Ford says that includes retraining impacted workers for new jobs, retooling companies for new customers and markets and rebuilding roads and bridges to keep people working.
“Businesses and families will feel the pain of this needless fight,” he says. “But together, we’re going to stand up for Canada. We’re going to get through this more united than ever before. Together, we’re going to protect the true north, strong and free.”
U.S. tariffs of 25% on all Canadian products started Tuesday, with 10% tariffs on energy.
**With files from Brad Aubin
