Ontario Premier Doug Ford stated Monday that he is prepared to halt the export of electricity and critical minerals to the United States if trade tensions between the two countries escalate. In an interview with The Associated Press, Ford criticized U.S. President Donald Trump’s trade policies, suggesting that the late President Ronald Reagan would have strongly opposed current tariff measures.
The remarks follow the suspension of trade negotiations late Friday, when Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney walked away from the bargaining table. The breakdown in talks follows a recent U.S. decision to impose 50% tariffs on $20 billion worth of Canadian products, a move Canada has stated it will meet with retaliatory measures.
Ford emphasized the potential for resource restrictions, stating that Ontario could withhold critical minerals entirely. "You won't get a grain of sand out of Ontario," Ford said, adding that "everything is on the table" regarding Ontario’s economic response. The Premier has previously challenged U.S. trade policy using Reagan’s anti-tariff rhetoric, which reportedly drew criticism from the Trump administration last year.
The scale of the trade dispute currently involves $20 billion in Canadian goods now subject to a 50% U.S. tax. In Ontario, a province that serves as a major energy and mining hub, the restriction of exports would impact billions of dollars in annual cross-border trade. While the specific number of households affected by potential electricity changes was not reported, Ontario is a significant provider of power to the U.S. grid, meaning utilities in border states could face supply shortages or price hikes if the "everything is on the table" approach includes power shutdowns.
This escalation sets a precedent for sub-national governments in Canada taking independent retaliatory steps alongside federal actions. A total export ban on minerals would likely trigger further legal challenges under existing trade agreements and could prompt additional U.S. counter-measures against Canadian exports. Following Prime Minister Carney’s exit from talks on Friday, no new date for the resumption of trade negotiations has been scheduled, leaving the current 50% tariffs in place indefinitely.