The premier of Ontario, who has imposed a 25% surcharge on electricity exports to the United States, on Tuesday said he would not back down until U.S. President Donald Trump scrapped his tariffs on Canadian imports.
Doug Ford, reiterating a threat he made on Monday, also said he would not hesitate to cut the supplies if need be. Ontario exports power to 1.5 million homes in New York state, Minnesota and Michigan.
“We will not back down. We will be relentless. I apologize to the American people that President Trump decided to have an unprovoked attack on our country,” Ford told MSNBC shortly after Trump said he would double his planned tariff on all steel and aluminum products coming into the United States from Canada.
Any generator selling electricity to the U.S. is now required to add a 25% surcharge valued at $10 per megawatt-hour to the cost of power. Ontario says the surcharge will generate revenue of C$300,000 to C$400,000 ($432,346 to $576,462) a day.
Asked in a separate CNBC interview about the possibility of cutting power supplies altogether, Ford said: “Is it a tool in our tool kit? 100%. And as he continues to hurt Canadian families, Ontario families, I won’t hesitate to do that.”
(Reporting by David Ljunggren Editing by Bill Berkrot)