By Yiannis Damellos
Canadian Premiers took action today in response to Trump's tariffs. Ontario Premier Doug Ford moved forward with his commitment to impose a 25 percent tariff on electricity exported to the United States, starting Monday. Meanwhile, British Columbia Premier David Eby announced that his government will be charging fees on American commercial trucks passing through the province on their way to Alaska.
Ford's response to President Donald Trump’s tariffs on Canadian goods could raise costs for 1.5 million customers in three border states. American media were quick to call it an escalation of the trade tensions between the two countries, but little did they say about Trump repeatedly threatening and withdrawing tariffs against Canada, which is the U.S.’s biggest energy trading partner.
Ford replied to FOX Business Network, a Trumpian affiliate, which asked him whether he had changed his mind about imposing the tariff in light of Trump’s shift: “We’re going to put a 25 percent tariff on electricity coming from Ontario to Michigan, New York and Minnesota,” Ford said. “And isn’t this a shame? It’s an absolute mess he’s created.”
Now, according to officials in affected states, the move could raise costs and threaten grid stability for the 1.5 million customers across Minnesota, Michigan and New York who receive power from the province.
Earlier on Thursday, Ford lamented the decision in a CNN interview, but said he felt he had little choice. “And honestly, it really bothers me we have to do this,” Ford said in that interview. “I don’t want to do this. I want to send more electricity, more critical minerals, more oil. That’s what we want to do.”
While Canada’s total hydropower exports to the U.S. constitute only a small fraction of the nation’s electricity generation, experts believe that the interconnected grid between the two countries is essential for ensuring system reliability. The Premier of Quebec previously told POLITICO that the province would also consider imposing tariffs on its power exports to New England.
According to a statement from the New York Independent System Operator, which operates the state power network, “The United States and Canada share one of the most integrated international electric grids in the world, allowing system operators in both countries to pool resources for reliable and economic electric supply. The NYISO and neighboring system operators have serious concerns that applying export tariffs to electricity may have serious adverse effects on reliability and wholesale electric markets.”
B.C. to levy tolls on U.S. trucks travelling to Alaska in tariff retaliation
British Columbia Premier David Eby says his government is levying fees on American commercial trucks transiting the province on their way to Alaska in response to the economic threat of U.S. tariffs on Canadian goods entering that country.
Speaking to reporters in front of the B.C. legislature, which had been draped in a large Canadian flag for the occasion, Eby said the new legislation would also give his government the flexibility to “respond rapidly” to executive orders from U.S. President Donald Trump as they arise.
“Trump thinks he can bring us to our knees by threatening tariffs,” Eby said. “What he is seeing is that Canadians are standing tall.”
The British Columbia government is responding to the economic threat of U.S. tariffs on Canadian goods with a tariff-response legislation. This legislation is expected to be introduced to the legislature in the coming days. Its purpose is to ease the economic fallout from tariffs that have been repeatedly threatened and withdrawn by the U.S. government.
The proposed legislation includes measures that would allow the province to apply tolls and fees to U.S. commercial trucks bound for Alaska, and would mandate that all low-carbon fuel additives in gasoline and diesel are produced in Canada.
Eby also said that his government is working to diversify markets for B.C. products to become less reliant on American markets, regardless of whether or not the threatened tariffs are in place.
“We will never again put ourselves in the position of being so dependent on the United States,” Eby vowed. “We need to structurally change the way we do business within the country.”
Premier David Eby has also said that liquor from parts of the U.S. controlled by Trump’s Republican party will stay off the shelves in B.C. liquor stores. This will last until the tariff threat is gone, and his government’s actions will not stop until the threat is gone. The B.C. government is also working to prioritize domestic producers in all areas of government procurement. They are directing Crown corporations to favor B.C. and Canadian suppliers for everything they buy.
A Canadian response
The retaliatory moves are part of a larger Canadian response to the U.S. tariffs, which includes reciprocal tariffs of 25 per cent on $30 billion worth of goods imported from the U.S. The White House signalled Thursday it would pause tariffs on some Canadian imports that comply with the Canada-U.S.-Mexico trade agreement.
In response, federal Finance Minister Dominic Leblanc announced that Canada’s plan to impose a second round of retaliatory tariffs on $125 billion worth of American goods would not proceed until April 2.
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