Canada is threatening to cut off electricity to millions of American homes and businesses as the trade war with the US intensifies. The threat comes as President Donald Trump continues to impose new trade tariffs on Canada, pushing relations between the neighbouring countries to a new low.
Ontario Premier warns 'everything's on the table'
Ontario Premier Doug Ford has warned that “everything's on the table” in a series of escalating remarks. Ford threatened to cut off power to millions of American homes and businesses sourced from Canada, as well as critical mineral exports, if Trump continues in his efforts to cripple Canada's automotive industry.
Ford then told the US President to “kiss [his] a**” and warned Trump that he should “have a pack of batteries” ready if he continues with his tariff threats against the auto industry.
Ontario at the heart of Canada's automotive sector
Ontario is the heart of Canada's automotive sector. The province houses a number of key assembly plants and a deeply integrated cross-border supply chain between the US and Canada.
Shortly after Trump announced the sanctions for the automotive industry, Ford put the President on blast in a radio interview. “He's arrogant. He's cocky,” Ford said, adding that "everything's on the table" following Trump's latest threats.
Trump hits back with personal attacks
Trump paid Ford back in kind with a personal attack, divvying the Ontario Premier as “the less charismatic, intelligent, and overall unimpressive brother of the late, great, Rob Ford” in a social media post. In the same tirade, Trump referred to Canada's prime minister as “Governor Carney” instead of his actual name and title: Prime Minister Mark Carney.
A separate 50% tariff has already been imposed on around $20 billion to $28 billion worth of Canadian goods by the US. Canadian products subject to tariff sanctions include dairy products, non-alcoholic beverages, hockey equipment, cement, furniture, appliances, agricultural goods, and more.
Carney rejects US proposals
Trump has previously claimed Canada is “ripping off” the US, attacking what he believes are excessively high tariffs on US made agricultural products. “Canada has been ripping off the United States of America for years,” Trump said, before warning Canadian leaders to “fall in line” or face “far WORSE” economic consequences. He added: “WE DON'T NEED CANADA, THEY NEED US!”
Canada's Prime Minister, meanwhile, has rejected attempts made by Washington to negotiate alternate trade proposals. Carney has described what's on offer from the US as unacceptable. He added that Ottawa will continue to negotiate with Washington so long as discussions were conducted on an equal footing. “An attitude at the negotiation table that Canada is a subsidiary of the United States is not something we're going to accept,” he said.
Canada has also committed to dollar-for-dollar retaliatory tariffs against American goods, with measures targeting sectors including US steel, dairy, electronics, paper and agricultural machinery. The retaliatory tariffs are set to begin on September 8.
The latest barrage of threats between Trump, Ford, and Carney comes in the wake of the Canadian PM's decision to walk away from negotiations with the US on Friday. It appears that this slight was what then triggered Trump to threaten a fresh wave of 50% tariffs.
