TORONTO — Ontario Premier Doug Ford said Monday that Canada should be ready to restrict electricity, fuel and critical minerals heading to the United States if the trade war keeps escalating.
“Everything is on the table,” Ford said, according to The Associated Press. He named power exports, oil, potash and uranium as possible leverage and said of Ontario’s minerals, “I’ll cut them off. You won’t get a grain of sand out of Ontario.”
In a separate radio interview, Ford said Canada should “throw everything in the kitchen sink” at Washington and floated charging triple for oil, potash, uranium and other metals. He also used blunt language toward President Donald Trump after Trump threatened 50 percent tariffs on Canadian cars, trucks, auto parts and steel starting next year.
The comments came after U.S.-Canada talks collapsed late Friday. The United States then imposed 50 percent tariffs on a slice of Canadian goods. Prime Minister Mark Carney has promised matching retaliation beginning Sept. 8. Ford said he opposed the tentative deal Canada walked away from and wants provinces to coordinate any next step with Ottawa.
Ford said Ontario power supplies about 1.5 million homes and businesses in states that include Michigan, Minnesota and New York. Ontario also ships high-grade nickel and refines uranium used in U.S. industry and defense. He said an electricity surcharge is “on the table,” but that he does not want to escalate further yet. “We need to fight back,” he said.
Ontario tried a 25 percent surcharge on electricity exports in March 2025, then dropped it after one day when Trump threatened to double tariffs on Canadian steel and aluminum. No cutoff of power, fuel or uranium has been imposed this week. Alberta and Saskatchewan, which control much of Canada’s oil and potash, have been cautious about using those exports as a weapon.
Trump responded on social media by attacking Ford personally and saying Canada would not be allowed to “keep taking advantage” of the United States.
