The premier of Ontario, Canada, said Monday that he will cut off electricity to the United States "with a smile on my face" in response to President Donald Trump's pledge to activate 25% tariffs on the country beginning Tuesday.
Doug Ford made the comments at a mining convention in downtown Toronto, according to the Toronto Sun.
"If they want to try to annihilate Ontario, I will do everything — including cut off their energy with a smile on my face," Ford said, the Sun reported.
The U.S. imported 33 terawatt hours from Canada in 2023, down from 52 in 2022. In fact, 2023 was the lowest amount the U.S. imported from Canada since at least 2010.
New York, Michigan, and Minnesota are the three biggest American customers of Ontario's power, according to the Sun. In 2022, electricity imports to the U.S. reached a record $5.8 billion, according to Canada Energy Regulators.
"They rely on our energy. They need to feel the pain. They want to come at us hard. We're going to come back twice as hard," Ford said.
"I [didn't] start this tariff war, but we're going to win this tariff war."
Trump told reporters Monday that the tariffs will kick in Tuesday after pausing them for a month while Canada and Mexico vowed to step up enforcement against fentanyl trafficking from the two countries.
Both countries took steps; Canada even named a fentanyl czar. However, Trump said there was "no room left for Mexico or for Canada" to avoid the new tariffs.
Further, Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick said Monday that Canada and Mexico "haven't done enough" on stopping the flow of fentanyl.
Mark Swanson ✉
Mark Swanson, a Newsmax writer and editor, has nearly three decades of experience covering news, culture and politics.
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