Canadian officials have announced retaliatory tariffs against the U.S. after President Donald Trump followed through with his tariff threat on the nation’s largest trade partners.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau warned that the trade war would hurt Americans, but Ontario Premier Doug Ford went further and said his province was ready to cut off electricity to millions of Americans in New York, Minnesota, and Michigan.
‘If they want to try to annihilate Ontario, I will do everything — including cut off their energy with a smile on my face.’
Trudeau spoke from Ottawa and directed his comments to the American people after announcing retaliatory tariffs.
“I want to speak first directly to the American people. We don’t want this. We want to work with you as a friend and ally. And we don’t want to see you hurt, either,” he said.
“But your government has chosen to do this to you. As of this morning, markets are down, and inflation is set to rise dramatically all across your country. Your country has chosen to put American jobs at risk at the thousands of workplaces that succeed because of materials from Canada, or because of consumers in Canada, or both,” Trudeau added.
“They’ve chosen to launch a trade war that will, first and foremost, harm American families,” he said.
Trump imposed a 25% tariff on products from Canada and Mexico over the trade deficit. He called on both countries to increase their efforts to stop illegal immigration and fentanyl smuggling into the U.S.
While speaking to reporters at a mining convention in Toronto, Ford said he would be happy to shut down power to America.
“If they want to try to annihilate Ontario, I will do everything — including cut off their energy with a smile on my face,” said Ford. “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 suggested the provinces are united with the federal government in Canada to respond to the U.S. tariffs.
“The provinces have a big say in it, but it’s the federal government that’s leading the charge, and we’re going to stand shoulder to shoulder no matter who’s in the federal government,” he added. “I [didn’t] start this tariff war, but we’re going to win this tariff war.”
He also said Ontario was tearing up a contract with Elon Musk’s Starlink company worth $100 million because of the tech billionaire’s backing of the tariffs.
The stock market reacted to Trump’s tariff announcement with a minor crash that erased all of the gains made since Trump won the election, about $3.4 trillion in market value, according to Bloomberg News.
Trump responded to the threats in a post on Truth Social.
“Please explain to Governor Trudeau, of Canada, that when he puts on a Retaliatory Tariff on the U.S., our Reciprocal Tariff will immediately increase by a like amount!” he wrote.
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Trudeau and ford vs trump, Trump tariffs, Trump trade war, Canada trade war, Politics
