Residents in three US states are set to see their electricity bills soar as Canada insists it will maintain its tariff hikes amid new threats by President Trump.
Ontario Premier Doug Ford said he will still place a 25 percent tariff on electricity sent from Canada to the United States, and hikes beginning on Monday will hit Michigan, New York and Minnesota.
He said Canada was not backing down despite Trump deciding on Thursday that he would postpone 25 percent tariffs on many imports from Mexico and Canada by a month.
On Friday, Trump later reversed course again and threatened Canada with a 250 percent tax on its dairy and another tariff on lumber as soon as next week.
When asked by Fox Business whether he would relent on Canada’s reciprocal tariffs, Ford said he would only do so once Trump stops threatening his allies.
‘Canadians love Americans. I love Americans. It’s been 20 years of my life. But in saying that, no, we’re going to put a 25 percent tariff on electricity coming from Ontario to Michigan, New York and Minnesota,’ he said.
‘Isn’t this a shame. It’s an absolute mess… he’s created chaos.’
In a post to X sharing his remarks, Ford added: ‘The only thing that’s certain today is more uncertainty. A pause on some tariffs means nothing. Until President Trump removes the threat of tariffs for good, we will be relentless.’
Ontario Premier Doug Ford said he will still place a 25 percent tariff on electricity sent from Canada to the United States despite President Trump U-turning on tariffs earlier this week, and warned that over 1.5 million Americans may see their energy bills increase
Before teasing even more tariffs, Trump surprised some with his decision on Thursday to postpone some of his tariffs on Mexican and Canadian imports, amid widespread fears of the economic fallout from a border trade war
According to Ford, not every resident across the three states will be impacted, however at least 1.5 million Americans will see their energy bills increase as a result of the tariffs.
Ford did not refer to Trump by name in his Fox Business appearance on Friday, but slammed the president and said his tariffs were contradictory to his election promises.
‘He ran on a mandate to lower costs, lower inflation, create more jobs. It’s the total opposite; people are going to be losing their jobs in the U.S. and in Canada,’ Ford fumed.
Ford lamented the impact that tariffs will have on everyday Americans and Canadians, adding: ‘The market is going downhill quicker than the American bobsled team right now, and it’s unacceptable.
‘The situation he has put American families in, Canadian families and around the world, it’s just going to hurt.’
In a previous interview with Global News, Ford said he would impose the tariffs whether Trump went ahead with his tariffs or not, insisting: ‘We have to follow through.’
Before teasing even more tariffs, Trump surprised some with his decision on Thursday to postpone some of his tariffs on Mexican and Canadian imports, amid widespread fears of the economic fallout from a border trade war.
While Trump has said the tariffs are focused on stopping fentanyl trafficking into the United States, they have had a quick impact on the stock market and economy.
Ford said residents in Michigan, Minnesota and New York will see the impact of Canada’s tariffs, but blamed Trump for the move as he said the trade war was ‘unacceptable’. Pictured are energy transmission lines in Ontario, Canada
Continuing his combative rhetoric towards Canada since retaking office, Trump this week accused outgoing Prime Minister Justin Trudeau of using the drama surrounding their tariff war to try and ‘stay in power.’
Trudeau announced his resignation in January, but in an explosive call on Wednesday between the two leaders, Trump claimed he tore into his northern counterpart.
‘Justin Trudeau, of Canada, called me to ask what could be done about Tariffs. I told him that many people have died from Fentanyl that came through the Borders of Canada and Mexico, and nothing has convinced me that it has stopped,’ Trump wrote on Truth Social.
‘He said that it’s gotten better, but I said, “That’s not good enough.”‘ he went on.
Trump said the call ended in a ‘somewhat’ friendly manner but blamed the Canadian prime minister of using the tariffs tussle to ‘stay in power.’
‘He was unable to tell me when the Canadian Election is taking place, which made me curious, like, what’s going on here? I then realized he is trying to use this issue to stay in power. Good luck Justin!’
Trump went on to add that Trudeau’s policies were ‘responsible for the death of many people’ due to fentanyl.
This week Trump accused outgoing Prime Minister Justin Trudeau of using the drama surrounding their tariff war to try and ‘stay in power’
Trump took to Truth social to keep up his war of words with Trudeau earlier this week
In addition to his claims about fentanyl, Trump has insisted that the tariffs could be resolved by fixing the trade deficit. He emphasized while speaking in the Oval Office that he still plans to impose reciprocal tariffs starting on April 2.
‘Right now, we have some temporary ones and small ones, relatively small, although it’s a lot of money having to do with Mexico and Canada,’ he added.
One of the tariffs that Trump said he was not looking to extend was a 25 percent tariff on the auto industry.
According to the Associated Press, imports from Mexico that comply with the 2020 USMCA trade pact would be excluded from the 25 percent tariffs for a month.
Auto-related imports from Canada that comply with the trade deal would also avoid the tariffs for the same timeframe, while the potash that U.S. farmers import from Canada would be tariffed at 10 percent, the same rate at which Trump wants to tariff Canadian energy products.
These stipulations mean that roughly 62 percent of imports from Canada would likely still face the new tariffs because they’re not USMCA-compliant, according to a White House official who spoke with AP anonymously.
Half of imports from Mexico that are not USCMA-compliant would also be taxed under the orders being signed by Trump, the official said.
